The Royal Springs Golf Course, is a public

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". The ...

located near

Chashme Shahi Chashme Shahi or Chashma i Shahi Or Cheshma Shahi (translation: ''the royal spring''), also called Chashma Shahi or Cheshma Shahi, is one of the Mughal gardens built in 1632 AD around a spring by Ali Mardan Khan, a governor of Mughal emperor Sh ...

over looking

Dal Lake Dal is a lake in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It is an urban lake, the second largest lake in Jammu and Kashmir, and the most visited place in Srinagar by tourists and locals. It is integral to tourism and recreation in t ...

in Srinagar, Kashmir.

History

The Royal Springs Golf Course, previously the

Salim Ali National Park Salim Ali National Park or City Forest National Park is a national park located in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India. It covered an area of 9.07 km2. Notified in 1986, the name of the park commemorated the Indian ornithologist Salim Ali. T ...

is situated at the foothills of

Zabarwan mountain The Zabarwan Range is a short (20 mi (32 km) long) sub-mountain range between Pir Panjal and Great Himalayan Range in the central part of the Kashmir Valley in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in India. Geography The Zabarw ...

s over looking

and it is managed by Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation, as quasi-government institution. The Royal Springs Golf Course, commissioned in 2001, is designed by the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the " United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, ...

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

Robert Trent Jones Jr. Robert Trent "Bobby" Jones Jr. (born July 24, 1939) is an American golf course architect. He is the son of golf course designer Robert Trent Jones and the brother of golf course designer Rees Jones. Background Jones was born in Montclair, New J ...

It is regarded as one of the most picturesque golf course in Asia and has quality amenities like motorised golf carts etc. and is considered as No.1 golf course of India by

Golf Digest ''Golf Digest'' is a monthly golf magazine published by Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit under its Warner Bros. Discovery Golf division. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's compet ...

. This golf course is one such course which is open to non-members also (not restricted to members only) and golf tournaments are conducted at regular intervals. First ever women's golf tournament conducted at Srinagar valley, was arranged in this course in July 2012, which attracted more than 50 woman golfers across India. Overlooking the golf course, in the hillside, is a heritage structure named Paree Mahal, built by Prince

Dara Shikoh Dara Shikoh ( fa, ), also known as Dara Shukoh, (20 March 1615 – 30 August 1659) was the eldest son and heir-apparent of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. Dara was designated with the title ''Padshahzada-i-Buzurg Martaba'' ("Prince of High Rank" ...

, son of Emperor

Shah Jahan Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugh ...

, during

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

period.

Cork oaks groove

The golf course harbors a rare groove of

cork oak ''Quercus suber'', commonly called the cork oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section ''Quercus'' sect. ''Cerris''. It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring and as the co ...

s, planted by last Dogra maharaj,

Hari Singh Maharaja Sir Hari Singh (September 1895 – 26 April 1961) was the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. Hari Singh was the son of Amar Singh and Bhotiali Chib. In 1923, following his uncle's death, Singh became ...

before 1947 and the plants were imported from Europe. Cork had demand then, mostly for closing the bottles and the cork oaks and other trees escaped felling at the time of construction of the golf course.

References

External links

Official website

Sport in Jammu and Kashmir Golf clubs and courses in India Sport in Srinagar Sports venues in Jammu and Kashmir 2001 establishments in Jammu and Kashmir Sports venues completed in 2001 {{JammuKashmir-geo-stub

History

Cork oaks groove

See also

References

External links