Turn after turn the hills keep appearing, ascent after ascent, heights approach one after another. Eagerness of reaching the final peak increasing by the minute and enthusiasm to step on the 11th highest golf course in the world, is very consuming. I cannot wait to hit from a tee at 6350 ft above sea level. In this round the score is no longer a priority. We just want to be there for a casual round. What eyes see here, words don’t express. What words express would not do justice to this beauty.
The clubhouse at CGC (Chinar Golf Club) is located at the top of a hill and a golf course rotates around it. It has a vast veranda and front yard on two levels. The furniture is a combination of lawn chairs & dinner tables. Chinar Family resort and Chinar Golf Club are two sister organizations. Tourists staying at resorts use the Clubhouse dining facilities regularly; a grand buffet is served here almost on a daily basis.
A view of fairways from the clubhouse veranda is out of this world. It may be one of the largest lawns at such a height. It is a grand display of man’s efforts to commemorate natural landscape and bring it to another level.
I am sure Col. Dag must have had a dream to put up a golf course on the top of this magnificent mountain and Mr. Gulab Khan was determined to fulfill it. Otherwise, it’s impossible to conceive a development of such sort. They initially developed a three hole golf course here back in 1934. Later in the 1980s it was raised to the level of a full eighteen holes legendary marvel.
Each time I play here, the desire to play again is reinforced. Such is the grandiose this place offers. A splendid blend of nature’s and man’s design. This course has no water hazards yet it has pine trees and deep steeps as replacements. No other course can claim to be more ‘hazardous’ than CGC since playing through tree hazards is much more daunting than water ones. Diving fairways, tees upstairs and steep greens put you through a challenge beyond imagination. A golfer has to take much more in consideration than greens, fairways, bogies, pars and birdies on this magnificent golf journey. This ride is psychedelic. You have to be an experienced mountaineer to perform eagles and albatross on this magnitude of hurdles. They have placed benches and gazebos at such strategic locations that sometimes you wouldn’t like to leave them, even when you would have a birdie waiting for you at the green. The scenic spots, romantic paths, breathlessness, tired torso, painful back, angry knees and refusing feet keep you on that bench for a bit more.
Being a golfer is a privilege, to be in this part of the world is a charm, and not playing on this golf course is strong evidence of misfortune. It is an experience, it is a luxury and it is good luck. I could give you a tour of the complete course hole by hole but I leave that undiscovered here so you can have first hand experience yourself.
By
Ahsan Jamil
Golfer, Blogger, Entrepreneur, Poet, Author, Wanderer
Gmail: Golfaij@gmail.com
Website: Golfaij.com