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GOLF IN KASHMIR
Kashmir offers outstanding opportunities for the golf players all through the
summer - from April to November - in inspiring surroundings, through trees of
chinar and pine.
In the flourishing golf courses at Srinagar and Gulmarg, one is able to play for
longer hours than one can in the plains because of the lower temperatures -
Srinagar's highest temperature never goes beyond 30 deg. Cent.. Srinagar has an
18 hole golf course with common fairways, and a par of 70. The golf course at
Gulmarg is something unique, you have ever seen or imagined before.
Kashmir boasts of acquiring one of the world's highest green golf courses, as
well as a clubhouse, a historical building in its own right, situated at
Gulmarg, also one of the finest hill stations at J&K. Situated at an incredibly
high altitude of 3730 metres above sea level, it is not only the highest green
golf course anywhere in the world but also one of the most beautiful with
amazing ambience. The tourism department of J&K justly offers all required
facilities for the travelers and golf lovers. There are various facilities for
both the beginners and the experts. For the starter, there are golf sets on
hire, instructors to instruct one in the game, and temporary memberships.
Similarly, these facilities are available for the players as well, leaving out
the serious golfers, who usually carry their sets along.
As a part of IGC Tourism, the government of Jammu and Kashmir in the early 1990s
conceived the idea of having an 18 hole International Golf Course near
CheshmaShahi in Kashmir. For this purpose the government secured the services of
the world renowned Robert Trent Jones-II of California, USA as consultant for
designing and laying out the course. The irrigation system is provided by Toro .
It is an underground sprinkler irrigation system controlled through a computer.
Kashmir and Golf have been synonymous for over a 100 years now. Kashmir is
famous for it's beauty as well as it's rich heritage for being the Mecca of
Indian Golfers. Gulmarg, known for it's world famous slopes is also very famous
for it's natural Golf course. It was the efforts of Col. (afterward Sir )
Neville Chamberlain and Mr. Henry Mitchell who were visiting Gulmarg in 1888 who
then stumbled onto this beautiful and picturesque meadow which they felt was a
perfect site for a golf course. So natural indeed that they immediately got down
to clearing away some of the Rose bushes and the Alpine flowers to carve a short
6-hole course at about the place the practice area is located. To this course
,three more holes were added by Col. George Shakespeare in 1896 , and these 9
holes were played as such until 1901, when the course was extended to the
mandatory 18 holes.
In early 1900's golfer's used to get away from the heat of the plains to Gulmarg
to play golf in this picturesque and high altitude (8700 ft above sea level)
golf course which is surrounded by mountains on one side . The golf course of
Gulmarg has everything it takes to make a world class golf course. This world
famous meadow is shaped like a horse shoe.
The club building lies in the center of the meadow. At the west end of the Marg
is the 18 hole course .The first 9-holes are known as the "Upper Course" and the
later added 9-holes are known as the "Lower Course" . On the lower slopes of the
Marg are located the many wooden huts in which the visitors reside.
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