Royal Calcutta Golf Course, India.

India golf course Royal Calcutta, Tollygunge, Calcutta.

The Royal Calcutta Golf club was founded in 1829 and deserves a mention here due to its being the oldest golf club in the world outside Great Britain.

Royal Calcutta was granted its royal status by King George V in 1911 and is maintained to the highest standards. It is very long, nearly 7,200 yards (6,580m) from the back tees and has a mass of water hazards. The course may appear easy at first sight but it is not and the par-4s require particularly accurate iron play from the fairways while the greens are full of subtle undulations.

Another hazard used to be kraits, small but deadly snakes, which were sometimes found on the fairways. The course was originally in the Dum-Dum area of Calcutta, which is where the international airport is now, and it moved from there to Tollygunge where the golf course was developed from a paddy field. The whole golf course is only a few feet above River Ganges. The Indian Amateur Championship, one of the oldest championships in the world, has been held on the course since 1892.