Royal Ranthambore BT Golf Know your venue: Boulder Hills GCC

The Boulder Hills Golf and Country Club, venue of Royal Ranthambore BT Golf’s fifth event of the 2024-25 silver jubilee season on Saturday is a long and challenging course that promises an interesting morning’s outing.

Boulder Hills GCC was opened in 2008 set amidst the rocky terrain of the Deccan Plateau that gives the establishment its name. It is a long track, measuring 7,229 yards from the tips, a healthy 6,695 yards off the gold tees, 6,190 yards from the blue tees, 5,875 yards off the white tees and 5,550 yards from the red tees.

What makes Boulder Hills interesting is the stony and undulating topography of the Gachibowli area which the design by Peter Harradine and Niall Glenn makes full use of the to not only make for an eye-catching golf course but also one that tests strategy and ball control.

Harradine’s father Donald, in fact, had looked at developing a course in the area as far back as in 1938 but the Second World War meant that the plan never materialised. It was for his son to take up the development some 60 years later and create the course.

Besides the layout being a long one that navigates rocks and boulders along the way, it also has a fair number of water bodies making accuracy an always desired addition to any plans of tackling the course and getting a good score on the card. To focus on the golf alone given some of the superb vistas from the elevated tees is quite a task though.

Watch out also for the narrow fairways and towering bounders that dominate the course.

Holes to watch out for are the Par-4 second, the Par-4 sixth, the Par-4 12th and the Par-4 15th which promise to be the most testing on the course.

Course layout (from gold tees)

Front nine: Hole 1 376 yds par 4, Stroke Index 13; Hole 2 431 yds par 4, SI 1; Hole 3 135 yds par 3, SI 17; Hole 4 427 yds par 4, SI 9; Hole 5 566 yds par 5, SI 7; Hole 6 393 yds par 4, SI 3; Hole 7 538 yds par 5, SI 11; Hole 8 188 yds par 3, SI 15; Hole 9 419 yds par 4, SI 5. Total: 3,235 yds. Par 36. Blue tees: 3,010 yards. Red tees: 2,695 yards.

Back nine: Hole 10 378 yds par 4, Stroke Index 8; Hole 11 183 yds par 3, SI 16; Hole 12 396 yds par 4, SI 4; Hole 13 324 yds par 4, SI 10; Hole 14 540 yds par 5, SI 14; Hole 15 434 yds par 4, SI 14; Hole 16 197 yds par 3, SI 12; Hole 17 387 yds par 4, SI 18; Hole 18 622 yds par 5, SI 6. Total: 3,460 yds. Par 36. Blue tees: 3,180 yards. Red tees: 2,855 yards.