Hyderabad - Southern India - India

“With fourteen holes laid out inside the remains of the massive 16th- century Golconda Fort, the public Hyderabd GC is a remarkable setting for the game,” wrote Tom Doak in Volume V of his book The Confidential Guide to Golf Courses .

“Trees, ruins, and boulders within the fort had to be preserved, to the extent that several holes play like an obstacle course over random and frustratingly blind features… conditioning is scruffy, but the greens are reasonably good, and for $12 what more would you expect? Any golfer visiting Hyderabad should support this project’s development.”

The course is something of a work in progress and architect David Hemstock told us at the end of 2018:

“I am in the final stages of the bid to remodel the 18-holes at HGA. I was involved with them from 1997, first of all on a search for land in the city, and then with the complex process of forming golf inside the fort walls, and on tip land outside.

The last few holes were not constructed with my monitoring, and so do fall short on character/playability. I am hoping to correct these short-comings in the next couple of years, in conjunction with my fellow EIGCA designer, Simon Gidman, who will be sharing site checks.

There is one section of the inner fort land under investigation by the Archaeological Survey of India. Once completed, this land is hopefully coming into the golf area.

Loss of this land, and the pressure to open 18 holes resulted in some odd holes being shoe-horned in, on what was hoped to be a temporary basis. It has taken a very, very long time, but now things are moving on.

A new driving range area has been levelled, and should be opened mid-2019. The new outer four holes should also be ready post-monsoon, October 2019. Then, onto the inner fort holes. The clubhouse is having a major re-vamp and extension too.”.