Kashmir Golf Club (Srinagar), Jammu and Kashmir

The Kashmir Golf Club at Srinagar is interspersed between chinar and pine trees and a professional 18-hole course. This golf course has been the venue of many tournaments. The Kashmir Golf Club has all the luxuries fitted that make playing golf a memorable experience. It is spread over 52 sprawling acres of lush land adjoining the Maulana Azad Road. The course has common fairways and a par of 70. Srinagar offers an exclusive opportunity for golf enthusiasts to play through an extended summer, from April to November. While the plains are boiling, Srinagar's temperate climate allows the golfer to play longer hours without getting tired. Its president, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, is himself a keen golfer. Associated with history of Kashmir Golf Club is its famous pro man of many golfing facets, the 98-year old Ghulam Mohammad. In 1930, he was the first golfing professional in India. He trained hundreds of aspiring golfers during his long career as a golfing pro. Ghulam Mohammad started his life as a fore caddy in the early years of this century. Later, he went on to play to a scratch handicap for 30 years. Through time, he trained famous golfers of India like the late Billoo PG Sethi, the late Maharaja Hari Singh of Kashmir, the late Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and J.S Pathak. He has also trained Farooq Abdullah who began playing golf since the age of 12, and today is living up to his teacher's name. According to Ghulam Mohammad, "golf is like an addiction. You can't have enough of it."