Kodaikanal Golf Club, Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu India

Kodaikanal Golf Club came in to existence on June 17, 1895, it is laid over natural grasslands and is criss-crossed by streams. Located about 6 kms from the centre of town on the road to pillar rocks. Total length of the course is 6426 yards.

The fun loving British were the architects of the course; the course and the clubhouse are situated on Golflinks Road connecting the Kochi road, near the famous tourist attraction view point 'Suicide Point' or 'Green Valley View'. The course with its well furnished club house recently gave up the 19th hole, for the license was too costly. Some of the finest greens adorn the course like emeralds; one can play the full 18 holes here. The spread of the course is about 150 acres.The jungle which runs very close to the course attracts wild animals sometimes. Wild boars are commonly sighted in herds. Tigers used to be sighted near the 6th hole, and the hole itself is named 'Tiger Hole'. Some of the other holes are also given very interesting names, depending on the challenges they offer the golfer. The 4th hole is called the Devil's Dip, for the fairway from the tee-box to the green is a solid dip, which runs on as far as one's sight can carry. The 12th hole, due to the strenuousness of the walk and the stroke, is called the 'Cardiac Hole'. A hard hitters' course, the thirteenth green is not visible from the tee box. The 15th hole, which has the longest yardage of 587 yards, needs two good shots to sight the green. The entire course takes about 3 hours to play all the holes.

At least 50 tournaments are conducted during the year. Palani Hill Open, Veday Cup, Rudrappan Memorial Cup, Contessa Open and A V Thomas Tournament (introduced recently), are some of the major tournaments generally held between end April and the beginning of June. A par rating of 72, the course is a long-hitting course. 

 Kodaikanal Golf Course was established in 1895.  During the Golf Tour of Kodaikanal one can enjoy the scenic beauty of Kodaikanal.  There is a beautiful Lake just 5 kms away from this Golf Club.  This course is located about 6 kms from the city center. This course is spread over 150 acres.    Holes like 'Tiger Hole', Devil's Dip and 'Cardiac'  are some of the interesting and difficult .

One misty day in June, twelve avid golfers, posing as hikers, stumbled out of a dense forest onto verdant rolling grassland, with gurgling streams and wooded hills. This, they thought, would be ideally suited for golf. Thus, in 1895, was born the Kodaikanal Golf Club. In those days there was no ghat road as such, and the only mode of transport was by “shanks pony” or the real one, for the mainly American and British missionary with the Indian Civil Servant, who formed the backbone of the club. Almost a hundred years later, with the support of these pioneering members, the club has grown from strength to strength, and now has over 600 members from all overtheworld.

One of the oldest traditions of the club is still followed today, where the new Captain, always nominated by the outgoing one drives into office off the first tee. During the fifties it became a tradition for the Captaincy to rotate between an Indian, an American and a Commonwealth citizen. This tradition continued until the late 70′s, when the expatriate golfer slowly faded away.

The next landmark of the club was the addition of nine holes, hewn out of the hills and the forest, to complete an 18 hole course by the early sixties. This was closely followed by the conversion of “browns” to “greens” – a major undertaking completed in 1986. The Hon. Secretary’s favourite animal, the wild boar, till then largely unnoticed as it happily dug its way through the fairways overnight, made its presence felt when freshly laid greens were found ravaged. Even today a golfer short of eagles and birdies can be rewarded with sightings of the real thing. A brahiminy eagle circling over the 6th green or a couple of barking deer bounding across the 4th fairway, or the majestic white-stockinged bison on the 15th and 16th holes.

This, then, is the Kodai Golf Club today, nestling 7000ft. above sea level in the Palani Hills with cool breezes blowing off the cliff face, which can turn a par three hole from an easy nine iron to a hard four, with descending mist that makes you listen to know where your ball lands, and where the nineteenth hole offers succour and a view over one of the prettiest courses in the world.