For golfers in the Capital, the lack of all-round getaways in the Himalayas begets a pretty raw deal. And no, let’s not include Kashmir’s fabulous trio — Royal Springs Golf Club, Gulmarg Golf Club, and the Lidder Valley Golf Club (Pahalgam) — in this discussion: Kashmir isn’t a weekend trip. To raise the bar a bit, if you’re wondering where to head on a long weekend that’ll get you a round of golf under the guise of culture, art and luxury (or whatever else will keep things on an even keel with your better half) — then you’re well and truly stymied. A long weekend, however — three days at the very least — gives you the luxury of considering more than one destination.
Two motorable towns in Himachal Pradesh make their case. The first — Naldehra — is a no-brainer: it’s home to the only golf course open to non-members in Himachal Pradesh. The second turns out to be quite a revelation. But more on that later.
Your ride for this trip, the Audi Q3, comes on loan from the German manufacturer despite your protestations about it’s predecessor’s lack of boot space. I mean a golf set, a vanity case, and two suitcases are way too much for the Q3 to stomach. Or were: the newest pup in Audi’s kennel feels properly grown up with luggage space to boot, no pun intended. Full of vim and pep, the two-litre petrol variant scampers through the plains like a spaniel on steroids and turns absolutely manic when we hit the twisties. The new Q3 is a proper SUV: it’s got a clean gasoline heart, effective stature (tall people can actually stretch at the rear), and enough room to stow luggage for a long trip.
Eight hours of uneventful cocooned bliss later you drive past Una town, toward the foothills of the grand Dhauladhar range and arrive at your first marker—the twin hamlets of Garli and Pragpur. Officially the first to be designated ‘heritage villages,’ in Himachal Pradesh, both hamlets are immediately distinctive: there’s a surfeit of gorgeous houses, but nary a soul residing in them.
Garli, you’re told, was largely abandoned by its wealthy occupants in the mid-20th century who moved on in search of better opportunities. Today it feels a bit like a movie set that’s served its purpose: a bit like a town, the occupants of which fled at short notice. It’s almost like the clocks stopped at that moment leaving Garli suspended in timeless limbo.
The wash of years is plainly visible, but given the lack of maintenance, these mansions are remarkably well preserved. It’s not hard to imagine what these once looked like simply because the place that we’re staying at has been restored to its former glory. Built in the early 19th century, the Chateau Garli lay abandoned for decades before it was restored by the family that owns it.
If there appears to be a lack of one overriding architectural style here, or for that matter in most of the mansions in Garli, then it’s because the Suds—a mercantile community that built and lived here—were well-travelled and took inspiration from multiple sources. So you’ve got a potpourri of Belgian, Italian, Islamic, Rajput and Portuguese architectural styles; there are Rajasthani motifs, gabled roofs, Jharokha-style windows, arches, imposing doors et al.
It’s a real find, Garli is, and your stock climbs with every gasp of collective wonder. You insist, unabashedly, that visiting this gorgeous once-magnificent town was your raison d’etre for this trip. Stands to reason, you surmise, to break journey on the way back just short of Shimla, where as it so happens, lies another heritage wonder—the Naldehra Golf Club.
The Naldehra Golf Club was laid out in 1905.
PHOTO COURTESY: DAVID LOWRY CREATIVE COMMONS ATTRIBUTION LICENSE
To be fair, it’s past Shimla, 22 kilometres out, but Naldehra might as well be on the moon; the suburbs’ quiet environs are a world away from its famous neighbour. Not that many people head to Naldehra—and those who do, like to keep their own counsel about the place. And who can blame them? There are only a minuscule number of places in the hills which slip below the radar of the tourist juggernaut in the summer months. And at the risk of incensing those who thought that they’d keep its sylvan charms all to themselves, Naldehra, is precisely such a place.
The drive from Shimla is a circuitous meander which takes 45 minutes for what must have been a day’s trudge (or a long rickshaw ride) at the turn-of-the-century. That’s when folks from the Summer Capital of the British-era came down to Naldehra’s deodar-lined slopes for a spot of peace and quiet.
While the years haven’t been kind to Shimla — it’s concrete-obscured beauty has to be sought out — Naldehra bears a greater affinity to what it must have been like in 1905. That’s about when, captivated by a particular glade where he liked to camp, the then Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon—a keen golfer—decided to ease his homesickness by laying out the ‘The British Old Golf Course.’
That’s the quaint-looking layout, rechristened the Naldehra Golf Club, you walk into early Saturday morning. The original nine are pretty much as Curzon left them but nine more have been added along the natural layout of the land. The 18 holes share a few greens and there’s some crisscrossing of fairways as would be expected in such topography. Today the course’s 4285 yards are spread between 16 greens and 18 tees totalling 68 shots in regulation.
You decide to walk all 18 holes at Naldehra GC and give up after 15. Nine holes are arduous enough to usher most people straight into the lovely wooden-floored upper pavilion of the clubhouse for a quaff of chilled brew. Suffice to say that those looking for drastic weight loss or embarking on a stringent physical regimen only need to spend one month playing golf in Naldehra. But even a long weekend away from turning the wheels of commerce is enough to restore some work-life balance. The Garli—Naldehra GC combination is hard to beat for a quick golfing dash to the hills. Just don’t tell anyone.