Annadale

Few golf experiences in Asia carry quite the weight of history that playing at Annadale does. The course sits on a rare flat plateau carved into the Himalayan hillsides above Shimla, a setting that once served as the British colonial administration's primary recreation ground during the summer months when the Raj relocated its capital here from the heat of the plains. The ground has hosted polo, cricket, and military parades — golf is just one chapter in a long story of this remarkable clearing, which remains one of the most improbable and storied sports grounds on the subcontinent.

Managed by the Indian Army, Annadale sits at roughly 2,000 meters elevation, and the thin mountain air means the ball carries noticeably farther than players accustomed to sea-level courses would expect. The surrounding deodar cedar and oak forest creates a genuine sense of enclosure, with the ridgeline of the Shivalik range framing almost every shot.

Shimla itself was once India's summer capital, and the colonial character is impossible to miss — Victorian architecture, the famous Mall Road, and an unhurried pace that makes a round at Annadale feel less like a quick game and more like a proper afternoon.