India..and golf? That sounded so much out of context to me when I first heard it.

But did you know that the first golf club (club as in organization) outside Britain was formed in Bangalore, India (1820)? India, under colonial rule, had the honor of being the first country outside Britain to help develop golf as a sport. Turns out we did not leave even this stone unturned (cricket being the biggest) to mimic the royal empire !

The year-round warm climate and the vast stretches of lush green grasslands probably contributed their bit to this royal choice of creating a number of golf courses during the 19th century in India. Soon enough, we witnessed the Royal Calcutta (1829), Royal Bombay (1842) sprout up in no time.