Kashmir offers outstanding opportunities for the golf players all through the summer - from April to November - in inspiring surroundings, through trees of Chinar and pine. In the flourishing golf courses at Srinagar and Gulmarg, one is able to play for longer hours than one can in the plains because of the lower temperatures - Srinagar's highest temperature never goes beyond 30 deg. Cent.. Srinagar has an 18 hole golf course with common fairways, and a par of 70. The golf course at Gulmarg, is something unique, you have ever seen or imagined before.
Golf tourism is one of the main attractions of the Kashmir valley in summers. The peak season for golf in Kashmir is from April to November. One advantage that the game of golf in Kashmir has over other golf courses that the weather here is quite refreshing and the shade of the bordering Chinar and Pine trees enables the play to go on longer.
The main golf courses of Kashmir are:
Gulmarg
Gulmarg boasts of the highest golf course in the world. Situated at an altitude of 2,650 m, the golf course of Gulmarg is quite different from most of the other golf courses. Rather than being flat, most of the area of the golf course is full of land slopes and inclines and has a par of 72. The origin of the Gulmarg golf course dates back to 1911, when it was started by the British as a holiday resort.
Kashmir Golf Club
The Kashmir Golf Club is situated on the Maulana Azad Road. Spread over an area of 52 acres, it boasts of common fairways and a par of 70. It also has well laid out bunkers and hazards, interspersed between chinars and pine trees. This 18-hole course has served as the venue of a number of tournaments. Kashmir Golf Club prides itself for churning out the first golfing professional in India, Ghulam Mohammad in 1930.
Royal Spring Golf Course
The Royal Spring Golf course is situated near the famous Mughal Garden, Cheshmashahi. Spread over an area of 300 acres, it overlooks the picturesque Dal Lake and Zabarwan hills. Designed and laid out by the renowned Golf architect, Robert Trent Jones Jr. II, the golf course boasts of 118 holes and a par of 72.