My Journey to Explore Golf Courses in the North: The Rambagh Golf Club, Jaipur

I had been looking forward to this part of the trip for some time. The city of Jaipur takes one back in time, to the India of old where people spoke of an exotic destination of the east shrouded in royalty and mystery… From the beautiful palaces to the tantalizing street food, Jaipur is a treat for the senses. The pink city of India also boasts of one of the most beautiful golf courses in India, the Rambagh Golf Club.

The Spectacular 'Hawa Mahal' in the Old City

The Rambagh Golf Club is located on the grounds of the Rambagh palace and is patronized by the Royal family of Rajasthan. The golf course is stunning with almost every fairway lined by a variety of flowering trees. The course itself is quite small, spread over 80 acres of land, but it is very well designed as it is offers 18 individual holes of golf. This is the only course in India that has a true compact course design. The fairways are tight and demand accurate tee shots from the golfer, but for the most part it is straight forward and does not feature many hazards to trouble the scoring.

This club is one of the many  prominent social clubs in the city. The golf club is controlled by an association of members, while the land is leased from the JDA (Jaipur Development Authroty) similar to most other golf clubs in India. The course has been host to many amateur events in the past; however, the focus has not been on championship tournaments. It aims to promote the game and encourage more people to take up the sport.

The manicured fairways of the Rambagh Golf Club 

 The layout of the course was interesting to me because the golf course had 18 holes and did not take up too much of land. During times where land costs are escalating this is important in order to develop golf courses. In order to make golf more accessible the country will need more of such well-designed golf facilities. Unfortunately, for many years, people hold the misconception that golf requires very large acreage (greater than 175 acres) to play; this golf course breaks that myth. This could makes it easier for the sports ministries at the center and the state to allocate land for promotion of the sport.

I have often said that golf can be a sport that India can compete in. However, there is a strange apathy in the sports ministry towards non main stream sports such as golf. This has got to change. In the years ahead I hope that the attitude to golf that I have seen here is replicated around the country; where people are encouraged to play and courses are not out of reach.

The Imposing 'Amber Fort'

My next stop on this tour is the heart of India’s golfing world the NCR and Delhi. For many years golf in India has been centered mainly in the North, with cities such as Gurgaon, Delhi and Kolkatta being centers for major tournaments or golfing exhibitions. In fact most of the major governing bodies for the game in India are based in Delhi. In recent times the NCR has seen a flurry of new golf courses, each of which hopes to be the best course in the country. It will be interesting to see this first hand… Next stop Gurgaon!