The Royal Springs Golf Course at Srinagar is one of the most scenic spots in Kashmir, the enchanting valley. Royal Springs is spread over nearly 300 acres of rolling hills, natural marsh, native deciduous forest, lakes and wilderness. Don't be surprised if you spot the rare Hangul lurking in the thickets. A wide variety of bird life can be spotted on the course. The Royal Spring Golf course (RSGC), sprawled over an area of 300 acres, near the Mughal garden, CheshmaShahi, at the foothills of Zabarvan hills and overlooks the mesmerizing Dal Lake. The credit of designing this beautiful course goes to Robert Trent Jones Jr. II, who is a famous golf architect, and has designed about 500 golf courses around the world. The entire area of this golf course was carved out of a forest. The 18 holes, 6445 m. course at a par of 72 makes the job of a golfer, very challenging. The Royal Spring Golf is open to general public. With separate wings of licker rooms and other services, this club is built in the style of the old Kashmiri architecture.
Play starts out with the long pa 5 bordering a lake. An easy par and a tricky par 4 lead onto the deceptive 4th hole, an uphill pa 4 which looks straightforward enough but is perhaps the mos. difficult hole on the course. Having surmounted this challenge the golfer may feast his eyes on the downhill fifth par 3 green. At the tee (the highest point on the course), this splendid vista that reveals ii may take the golf concentration astray when it . needed the most. The 6th and 7th holes are a relief for the average golfer before the dog leg eighth par 4 with its temptation to the ambitious golfer and the lakeside ninth brings him into the Club House for a much needed drink.
Going out, suitably refreshed the par 5 tenth is a double dog leg across a natural marsh filled with reeds. Caution pays at this hole as well as on the next par 4 eleventh, an intimidating stretch of fairway between marsh and lake. The wicked par 3 twelfth between marsh and hillside can pose serious problems from the championship tee. The par 4 thirteenth is a great relief after these challenging holes before the par 5 fourteenth which poses no problems to accurate players. The fifteenth is an easy downhill par 4 and the par 3 sixteenth too should pose no problems to accurate green readers. The par 4 seventeenth needs a correct drive from the tee and its green demands putting control. The long eighteenth requires all the skills in the golfer's bag from the Championship tee. A long accurate drive followed by expert Iron-play. The lake to the right after the fairway extends all the way to the green. Loose shots mean lost balls.