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GOLF COURSE
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
Golf
coaching is available at the driving range that runs adjacent to the 2nd
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 14th hole, a par 4
measuring just above 400 yards from the regular tee, when the wind
blows, accomplished golfers get the feel of the 14th 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. |