The Poona Club

Poona over the past few years has been developing rapidly especially as the Mumbai is busting at the seams. In the past few years a number of corporations have set up their operations there and have contributed in a major way to the further development of the city. The recent introduction of the Mumbai-Poona express way; has only helped matters as connectivity between these two cities has greatly improved something that many other states are hoping to emulate. The game of golf as well has seen a similar increase in interest. From just a few army courses where entry was restricted and one accessible golf course the Poona Club Golf Course, the city has grown to have two golf developments, the Aamby Valley City and the Oxford Golf and country club and a few more on the cards. The first stop on my visits to the golf clubs here takes me to the historic Poona Club Golf Course.

The Poona Golf Club is one of the oldest courses in the city at just over 100 years. It has been part of the city for time immemorial. The golf club was initially started by the British who were stationed there. Once the British left it was handed over to its name sake, the Poona Club to be maintained and managed by them. The Poona Club is a very old club and one of the most prestigious in the city. Since then the course has been managed by them, initially for the members of Poona Club only. In recent past the course has allowed people to become members of the golf club only, separate from the Poona club, as it became un feasible with the total number of members at the Poona Club totaling close to 4000.  

The course at the Poona Club is well laid out. It is quite flat and also reasonably short. The longest hole on the course is just over 560 yards (must check that before posting). The layout of the fairways is also forgiving with not many fairway bunkers to trouble the golfer. the length of a few holes can be daunting to look at from the tee, but with only green side bunkers to deal with one can easily ‘go for the green’.  The course features an American blue grass on the greens and the tees. Unfortunately the fairways have almost been completely overrun by weeds. This has been one of the biggest problems for this course. a few years ago the course attempted to solve this problem by relaying the entire fairway. However, the weeds were back again nearly 3 years later. For now the course is choosing to protect the greens and the tees from the weed and some parts on the fairway where the original grass prevails. The rest the course is mowing down and make it as flat and playable as possible. 

One beautiful feature on this course however is the number of trees. This truly makes this course one of the most beautiful. the course has been trying for while to get more visiting guests and junior programs started in the club. The membership base that it has is able to sustain it through the season, but the course wants to attract more tournaments etc. One method it is using is to encourage a number of PGTI pros to train here. This is an intriguing idea; especially it is vying to become the home course for some top Maharastran pros. This idea moves away from the conventional idea of having a teaching pro with the golf course, but building a golf course around a few existing professionals and allowing members to be part of the privilege to use the same driving range they do etc…

Golfers in Poona seem to have been bitten by the golf bug many years ago, and it is safe to say that the enthusiasm for the game has not changed. After the summer season when the golfing season resumes this course is extremely busy, with a packed tee sheet on the weekends and at least a 100 people using the course during the day. One blot on this otherwise beautiful paradise is the weeds. I believe a probable cause could be the water it is using on the course, as it is not filtering the water before it sprays it. Maybe using some agents or a quick filtration unit could benefit the club, especially since it has a very active and enthusiastic golfing audience. 

If this is the start to my adventure in this city I cannot wait for the next…!