NEW DELHI: With the aim of playing an ambassadorial role for India in attracting global golfing icons and major tournaments, and boosting tourism and employment generation as spin-offs in the national capital, the Delhi Golf Club will be inaugurating its renovated world-class championship gold course, The Lodhi Course, on Friday.
The new course has been designed by the renowned Gary Player over a period of just nine months, changing its look. It will be hosting a members’ tournament from November 15 to 17.
“We wanted the Delhi Golf Club to retain its positioning as home of the finest championship course in India, and perhaps Asia. The heavy traffic on the course and the changing look of world golf necessitated this change, and we then sought the best person in the world to help us. The results have been remarkable, and besides the regular players, the enhanced features on the course should help our Indian golfers preparing for the Olympics,” said Major (Retd.) RS Bedi, President of the Delhi Golf Club, during a press conference.
Bedi, who at the age of 90 is one of the members of the club, said that their objective was to prioritise the game of golf, particularly in Delhi. Gary Player, who has designed more than 300 golf courses worldwide, has put his creative mind behind the newly renovated course.
The course was a municipal golf course in the 1930s and today has been developed into a championship course. The grass used in the course is used only in four golf courses across the country, including the DLF Golf and Country Club, two courses in Ahmedabad, and The Lodhi Course.
“DGC is one of the busiest courses in the country and also the most historic. A bold decision to do the entire work in one stretch required a complete shutdown and reconstruction within one year. The logistics were huge, but I am delighted that everyone delivered, and thanks to great teamwork, we are opening the course for play within nine months of starting work,” said the captain of DGC, Rohit Sabherwal, who took on responsibility for the project with a short window of time to complete it, keeping weather conditions in mind.
The new development uses an enhanced water management system, the latest in bunker technology, and needs less fertilizer and pesticides. The MiniVerde grass for the greens, which has proved successful in the varied climate of north India, provides a perfect playing surface the whole year.