Ball set rolling for golf course revival in Darjeeling

One of the country's highest golf courses at Tiger Hill in Darjeeling is set to be revived with the State Tourism Department inviting an expression-of- interest from both national and international firms. The move to restore the golf course will not only help promote high-end tourism but will also bring into focus the racecourse at Lebong  that has been defunct for more than two decades. 

"We have already called for an expression-of- interest to revive the golf course at Tiger Hill. The response has been tremendous with both national and international firms evincing interest in the project . Some of the firms have already visited the area." the principal secretary of the West Bengal Tourism Department, told.

He said once the firms were short-listed they would be asked to give a presentation after January 16. Sources said, the Principal Secretary had taken the initiative to revive the nine-hole golf course. "I remember playing at the Tiger Hill course when I was posted in Darjeeling in the mid 80s (as Additional District Magistrate)", said the Principal Secretary.

Tiger Hill is situated at an altitude of 8100 ft. The golf course in Darjeeling was built around 1900."It was leased out to a club called Golf Links in 1907 by then the district commissioner for 99 years," said a golfer from Darjeeling.

After the British left the country in 1947, Golf  Links had virtually become defunct. However, the army personnel used some turf till the late 1980s. They left the area as documents proved that the land belonged to the Darjeeling Improvement Fund (District  Administration).

"We want to call it the Darjeeling Golf Links and we have already applied for its registration" said a golfer. "An expert  who designs golf courses did visit Tiger Hill recently and told us that the turf  itself  had not been damaged much and it could be revived. The DI Fund has 32 acres of land at Tiger Hill though we are not very sure about the total area of the golf course. The tourism department alone won't be able to maintain and run the course. The total investment needed to revive the course will be finalized after the presentation is made by the interested parties.”

Local people say apart from the golf course, the defunct racecourse could also be added to Darjeeling’s tourism stable. “None in Darjeeling needs to be told about horse racecourse at Lebong. It would be wonderful if this course is also made functional in the days coming.”

The racecourse had first hosted the Darjeeling Gymkhana Club races in 1925 and shut its gates at 1984. The course is presently under the army.

The horses would race for anything between three laps (1337 metres) and four-and-a half laps (2080 metres). Old timers recall that Governor’s Cup, Burdwan Cup and Steward Cup used to be held in Darjeeling.