NEW DELHI, India – The European Tour has visited some pretty exotic places in its history, but it’s hard to find anywhere more diverse than this week’s $2.5 million Emaar-MGF Indian Masters at New Delhi Golf Club in India’s capital city.
After the opulence of Dubai, the European traveling circus turns up in a city that typifies the term “Third World.”
Here are 10 things European Tour golfers will experience on their first foray into India.
1. Tombs. Yes, tombs. One of the peculiarities of New Delhi Golf Club is the profusion of historic ruins on the golf course. The course includes several ancient burial chambers, including one beside the fourth tee.
“Resting place for those who feel like committing suicide after failing to keep the ball on the narrow fairways,” said one caddie.
2. Mosques. Well if you’ve got tombs, it only makes sense to have mosques, right? Sure enough, the ruins of an ancient Mosque dating to the late Mughal Period (1707-1857) sits to the right of the sixth fairway.
3. Noise. Marshals this week might as well leave the “Keep Quiet” signs at home. They’ll do nothing to quell the constant din of traffic on Doctor Zakir Hussain Marg (road) outside the course. Indian drivers always seem to drive with one hand on the horn, which is a constant drone at Delhi Golf Club.
4. Poverty. New Delhi has an estimated population of 75,000 beggars. The gap between the haves and the have-nots is huge in this country. The drive to the golf course contains enough images – people living in hovels and sleeping on the sidewalks, beggars, street children – to ensure that those lucky enough to play golf for a living gain enough perspective to never complain about a missed 3-foot putt again.
5. Smog. New Delhi is home to more than 14 million people. It is also one of the filthiest cities I have ever seen. The air has been gray since I got here, and you can actually feel the smog in the air. You can almost taste it. I could play golf here, but I wouldn’t go jogging.
6. Uneducated fans. Admission is free this week, although numbers will be limited. The Asian Tour and fledgling Professional Golf Tour of India have held events in New Delhi, but it’s a safe bet many of those fans coming through the gates are not going to be au fait with the niceties of the royal & ancient game.
7. Taking a backseat. As Arjun Atwal says: “Cricket is a religion in India.” No matter what Ernie Els’ popularity is like in other parts of the world, 99 percent of Indians are going to be more intent on following India’s progress this week in the International Triangular Series in Australia than on the inaugural Indian Masters.
8. Lost balls. On the golf front, the tight fairways of New Delhi Golf Club mean anything hit wayward is destined either to be lost or unplayable. Dense bushes line most fairways, which means most players will leave the Big Dog in the bag. Local favorite Jeev Milka Singh knows this layout better than most. He may use his driver only twice.
9. Sloping greens. Tight and tricky is the best way to describe New Delhi Golf Club. The greens have many undulations. Avoiding three putts will be a key this week.
10. Culture shock. No getting away with it, European Tour players, officials and media are experiencing perhaps the biggest culture shock of their lives this week. New Delhi is as far removed from our comfortable Western existence as you could imagine.
After what I’ve seen here, I’ll never complain about my life again.
Posted: 2/5/2008
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