In which city was the first golf club of India situated?

Correct — A. India's first golf club was the Royal Calcutta Golf Club, established in 1829 in what is now Kolkata.

It is described as the oldest golf club outside the British Isles, founded by British residents while Calcutta was the capital of British India.

The Royal title came later, granted by the Crown. The club still plays at Tollygunge in south Kolkata.

Why the others are wrong

• (b)
  Mysore — Mysore was a princely capital with plenty of British-era sport, which makes it sound plausible, but India's first golf club is not credited to it.
• (c)
  Shimla — Shimla has the well-known Naldehra course in the hills above the old summer capital. Famous, and much later than an 1829 foundation in Calcutta.
• (d)
  Gulmarg — Gulmarg in Kashmir holds one of the highest golf courses in the world and was a British hill resort. Altitude, not seniority, is what it is known for.

Golf came to India with the British, and the earliest clubs mark where they were concentrated.

Calcutta was the capital of British India until 1911, and it got the country's first club in 1829, well before the game spread inland.

Hill stations followed, because the game wanted cool air and open ground. Shimla, Gulmarg and Ootacamund all acquired courses.

The Royal Calcutta Golf Club is usually quoted in one form - the oldest golf club outside the British Isles - and that is the form the exam tests.

Key facts

• The Royal Calcutta Golf Club, founded in 1829, was India's first golf club.
• It is regarded as the oldest golf club outside the British Isles.
• Calcutta served as the capital of British India until 1911.
• Gulmarg in Kashmir has one of the highest golf courses in the world.

Common traps

• Choosing a hill station because golf feels like a hill-station game, when the first club was in the plains capital.
• Confusing the oldest club with the oldest course or with the highest course.

No directly related past PYQ was found.