Ooty Golf Course, Ooty, Nilgiris
Ooty Golf Course is located in Ooty Town in
Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu. The golf course is set at an
altitude of 7200 feet. It is owned by the Gymkhana Club in Ooty. The
course extends over 193.56 acres and comprises 18 holes. Golf Course situated
on the rolling Wenlock Downs, is one of the finest natural golf courses in the
world.
History
Colonel Fane Sewell, the then Secretary of the Blue
Mountains Tennis and Cricket Club, formed the golf course in March 1891, which
initially comprised nine holes. Golf enthusiasts formed a golf club nearby,
called the Gymkhana club in September 1896. The Ooty Golf Club was redesigned
in 1929 by Ross Thompson who turned the browns into greens. In 1929, hydraulic
systems were installed to pump water from a nearby stream using a hydraulic ram
for storage in a water tank. Feeder pipes were installed in 1970 to water the
golf course.
Golf Course
Ooty Golf Course extends over 193.56 acres and comprises
18 holes. The entire course is surrounded by an avalanche range which contains
thick woods. The golf course itself contains many copses of aromatic
eucalyptus, oak, rhododendron and fir, which provide a very scenic atmosphere. As
the air is thinner in Ooty due to the high altitude, the balls travel
comparatively farther. The course is surrounded by thick forests.
The golf course contains many varieties of trees like rhododendron, oak,
aromatic eucalyptus, and fir which
add to the scenic atmosphere. Nine holes out of the eighteen holes are shot
blind as the course has a rolling landscape. This is also the reason for the
green being not visible from the tee-off area, though there are guide posts
which help the players to the right direction. The fifth hole rises about 200
feet above the fourth hole and hence is considered the toughest hole of the
course.
The most exciting green is undoubtedly the 13th.
It is here that the player could be interrupted by the baying of hounds as he
bumps into a fox hunt in progress. Beagles and Foxhounds are still trained
today to take part in the hunt. The fox hunt area dates back to 1847 and can be
witnessed in the course even today. The greens are fenced in order to prevent
other wild animals from wandering onto the course.
Tournaments
An annual amateur golf championship is held during
summer, which dates back to 1906. The first winner of the championship was
Major Quinton. Another golfer, R.B. Carrick, won the championship nine times
between 1914 and 1929. In recent years several other major tournaments have
been organized on the golf course.
Facilities
Accommodation for golfers is provided by the golf club
with an annex with ten rooms and six huts. Other facilities include indoor
games like billiards, cards and table tennis, swimming pool, bar and a
restaurant.
Connectivity
Ooty Golf Course
is located at about 5 Kms from Ooty, 4 Kms from Ooty Bus Stand, 4 Kms
from Ooty Railway Station, 23 Kms from Coonoor, 33 Kms from Kotagiri, 54 Kms
from Mettupalayam Railway Station, 87 Kms from Coimbatore and 98 Kms from
Coimbatore Airport. Ooty is well connected to Coimbatore, Kerala and Karnataka.
Location