Chikmagalur Golf Club

Overview: Chikmagalur Golf Club is an 18-hole course in Karnataka's coffee country, at the foot of the Bababudangiri range in the Western Ghats. The club describes a scenic, undulating setting close to Chikmagalur town, where open fairways and changing ground sit against a backdrop of hills and plantations. Phil Ryan's design gives the course a broad appeal: the club presents it as challenging without being intimidating, with enough natural character to make the surrounding landscape part of the round. For a golf traveller, it is an especially distinctive pairing of a quiet hill destination, coffee culture and a full-length course.

History: The project was driven by a group of 51 founder trustees led by A. B. Sudarshan and A. B. Ravishankar. The Karnataka Golf Association records that construction commenced in 2000, the first stage was inaugurated in 2002 and the full 18-hole course was completed in 2015. Australian architect Phil Ryan was the course designer, working with the founders to create a course in a region better known for coffee than golf. The club's later history therefore belongs to a long, staged development rather than a single resort launch, and the 2015 date is used for the completed 18-hole configuration.

Did You Know? Chikmagalur is one of India's historic coffee-growing districts, and the club's own destination material links the course's setting to the Bababudangiri hills and the surrounding plantations. The landscape is not a decorative backdrop: the club presents the mountain foothills, quiet greenery and changing weather as central parts of the golfing character.