Royal Calcutta Golf Club

Royal Calcutta Golf Club affectionately known as the "Royal" is synonymous with the game of golf in this country. Founded in 1829, Royal is the oldest golf club outside the British Isles. The oldest being the Royal and Ancient, St. Andrews in Scotland, the home of golf. The golfing heritage and history of Royal makes this a truly hallowed place for the game of golf. Originally located near the Calcutta airport, the club moved to the Maidan and finally to its present location at Tollygunge in 1910. Meant exclusively for the use of gentlemen, ladies were very reluctantly admitted to the club in 1886, when the committee voted 43 against 13 on the condition that female members be allowed to use the course only in the mornings. The area over which the Royal Calcutta course is laid, was originally paddy fields, and the course is consequently very undulating. Successive committees built mounds and planted thousands of trees and shrubs to enhance the beauty of the property. However, Royal's conspicuous features are its strategically located water tanks and natural water hazards. Greens at Royal are quite large by modern standards and their undulations make them tricky. The par fours and long and challenging to score on where approach shots require long and medium irons to be hit which test the skills of all the golfers.