Shillong Golf Club

Overview: In Meghalaya's hill capital, Shillong Golf Club plays 18 holes to par 70 over 6,081 yards. The current operator places it at roughly 4,750 feet above sea level and on about 121 acres, among the rolling ground and tall pines that define Shillong's golf landscape. The course is described as a natural layout rather than a heavily engineered resort design, so elevation, vegetation and the changing shape of the ground are central to its playing character. Its combination of altitude, history and forested scenery makes it one of India's most distinctive city-course settings.

History: The club's current history contains several layers. It records an early nine-hole course at Laban, developed in 1878 by J. C. Arbuthnoth and B. C. Allen, while another section refers to a nine-hole course in 1898. The present Shillong course was upgraded to 18 holes in 1924, with Captain Jackson, C. K. Rhodes and E. L. Walts credited for the work. That distinction matters: Shillong's golf story began before the current routing, and the 1924 date is used here for the 18-hole course rather than as a simplified founding date for all golf in the city.

Did You Know? Shillong is widely known by the course nickname “Gleneagles of the East,” a description linked to its pine-lined highland setting. The club's own account also identifies it as the first 18-hole course in Asia, although the site's separate early dates show why broad historical claims should be read alongside the underlying chronology. The most durable fact is the playing environment: a par-70 route at altitude, surrounded by pines and shaped by the natural contours of Shillong.