PANCHKULA GOLF CLUB

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Set up in 2003 over a 135 acreage and playing to a par of 72, the 18-hole PGC matured over the years with its trees and roughs gaining in stature. Set to a linear layout, the PGC is a public sports facility run by the Haryana Government and designed as part of a larger sports complex. The PGC is affiliated to the Indian Golf Union (IGU).

Apart from its locational advantage, being just off the Panchkula-Kalka-Zirakur highway, the PGC’s nominal green fees (Rs. 225 for a weekday Rs. 300 for the weekend) and caddie fees (Rs. 60 for an 18-hole round) make it an attractive proposition for golfers.The PGC has been designed to provide challenges to both top pros and weekend golfers. An imposing club-house with a gym, restaurant and bar has been recently commissioned. There are 1440 members from all walks of life. The PGC is controlled by a governing body under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary, Haryana.

There is a distinctly Scottish links golf touch to the Panchkula Golf Course (PGC). With its undulating fairways and wind gusting in from the Ghaghar river valley. A rambling course flanked by the Shiwalik hills and the Ghaghar, golfers sample both its beauty and its tricky nature.Take the 10th hole : a short par 4. Wind blowing in hard from the Ghaghar can mean the best of golfers can perish by hitting it out-of-bounds. Yet, in their anxiety to avoid hitting it right into the Ghaghar, golfers can easily hook the ball into punishing roughs flanking the fairway’s left. A straight drive, on the other hand, yields plenty of dividends as average golfers may need no more than 100-125 yards to approach the flag.

Reckoned to possess amongst the finest of greens in the Chandigarh region, the Tiff dwarf grass has recently been sanded to make the greens true holding and fast. The undulations to the greens, which are cut to 3.5mm, add the distinctly West-style, design to the greens. The greens are large and spread to an average that meets international standards. Rolling, undulating fairways carpeted with a velvety Bermuda grass lend themselves to soft divots that often fly in one piece when the ball is hit solidly with the wedges and the short irons. Flat, evenly-mowed tees allow golfers to feel comfortable while setting up their stance.

Golf coaching is available at the driving range that runs adjacent to the 2^nd hole. “A new fully-automated irrigation system and machinery for upkeep of the PGC has been inducted.

Four very challenging 3 par holes add to the mystique of the PGC as these include some of the longest such holes in the region. Four 5 par holes, with ample driving width and hilly knobs make these a true test of a golfer’s long irons and woods. The 4 par holes are not very long but the wind factor ensures that conventional yardages and the par of a hole can be easily mocked. Take the 14^th hole, a par 4 measuring just above 400 yards from the regular tee, when the wind blows, accomplished golfers get the feel of the 14^th hole playing as a medium-length 5 par ! However, the silver lining of the wind nightmare is that the PGC always offers golfers cool climes. At the PGC, golfers get the feel of an autumn afternoon much before the weatherman augurs in winter for the rest of the region. Nearly 14,000 trees adorn the PGC.

The front nine of the PGC provides ample room for the long hitters to pull out their 460cc stiff-shafted drivers and let loose. A miss on either side of the fairways on the front nine is not severely punished because the golfer can hit back into play from the adjoining fairways. While some of the roughs are penal, being wild jungle, other roughs afford a chance for the golfer to retrieve par or bogey. Water hazards on some holes not only gives a tweak to the PGC’s layout but also prepares Indian golfers to mentally adjust to this feature, which has become a cornerstone on most golf courses on the international tours. The finale hole (18^th ) is indeed a fitting one. Flanked by an out-of-bounds to the right and a jungle rough to the left, the long par 4 meanders through bunkers and water hazards before the summit green; a fast-sloped expanse that puts the putter to the litmus test.