A Different Side of Delhi

Being an avid golfer I thought I would do something a little different from the typical backpacker scene here in Delhi. There are several courses dotting the city but only one with a lot of history, which dates back to British rule, The Delhi Golf Club, first established as a municipal course in the early 1930's was then changed to a private, members only facility in 1950. There are 2 courses to play here but the main 18 hole course is only available to members or non-members who are accompanied by a member. The other course is a 9 hole 'executive' course where the non members can play and is where I had my first Indian golf experience.

I decided to go for the full package and hired a caddy and a fore-caddy (who goes searching for lost balls amongst the snakes in the trees). The rental clubs were a little less than quality but it was still the experience over the golf that I came for. It was great having the caddy, who's knowledge of the course was incredible. I'm not surprised as he has been working there for 35 years and he told me his brother is one of the golf pros and has been working for the club for 50 years!

Afterwards I sat sunning on the deck of the clubhouse, overlooking the 18th green of the main course and watched the members come in after their rounds. A beer was definitely in order as was an amazing bbq chicken tikka. As I was playing at the course I was privileged to be able to eat on the deck and non playing patrons had to sit downstairs where it was no where near as nice. You could tell I was amongst the money of Delhi. I was told that this was one of the most exclusive places in Delhi where Kings, Queens, Politicians, corporate CEO's and others spend their time here. It was a stark contrast from the other side of the fence where it's filthy dirty, noisy, chaotic and there's 20+ million people trying to go about their day.

In all it was a great experience and I'm happy I was able to afford it as it's not in the backpacker budget range of things to do.

A little side note... I was disappointed this morning when had discovered my caddy had actually stole from me. It wasn't a lot but just the principle of things. I had brought a number of golf balls, tees, a glove, etc with me and I discovered the next morning that the caddy had stolen a sleeve (3 balls) of expensive Titleist golf balls. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, this is India, where, when opportunity knocks....

Me and the caddy

The 4th hole

Apres...