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 teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

located near Chashme Shahi overlooking Dal Lake in

Srinagar Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

History

The Royal Springs Golf Course, initially locality of Old Theed as In 1940–1942, the Dogra Ruler, Hari Singh, ordered the

mass migration Mass migration refers to the migration of large groups of people from one geographical area to another. Mass migration is distinguished from individual or small-scale migration; and also from seasonal migration, which may occur on a regular basi ...

of people from their homeland old Theed, the present-day Chashma Shahi,

Botanical Garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

, Royal Springs Golf Course,

Raj Bhavan Raj Bhavan () is the common name of the official residences of the governors of the states of India and may refer to: List of Raj Bhavan See also * Raj Niwas *Rashtrapati Ashiana *Rashtrapati Bhavan *Rashtrapati Nilayam Rashtrapati Nilaya ...

, and Hari-Niwas after that a part of which was converted into Salim Ali National Park, which situated at the foothills of Zabarwan mountains overlooking Dal Lake, it is managed by Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation, a quasi-government institution. The Royal Springs Golf Course, commissioned in 2001, is designed by the American golfer Robert Trent Jones Jr. It is regarded as one of the most picturesque golf course in Asia and has quality amenities like motorised golf carts etc. It 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 TNT Sports unit. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's competitive golf. The magazine started by John F. ...

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

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

, son of Emperor

Shah Jahan Shah Jahan I, (Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram; 5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), also called Shah Jahan the Magnificent, was the Emperor of Hindustan from 1628 until his deposition in 1658. As the fifth Mughal emperor, his reign marked the ...

during the Mughal 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, ''Quercus'' sect. ''Cerris''. It is the primary source of cork (material), cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, ...

s, planted by last Dogra maharaj, Hari Singh, before 1947, the plants were imported from Europe. Cork had demand then, mostly for closing 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 Royal golf clubs Organisations based in India with royal patronage {{JammuKashmir-geo-stub