‘World’s toughest golf course’ is on the cards again this week

What is your favorite horror movie? “Halloween”? “The ring”? “The Hostage Attack”?

Mine is a little-known arthouse classic called “The Coldest Golf Course in the World?” The 15-minute short was never seen in theaters and never received a Rotten Tomatoes rating; went straight to the DP World Tour YouTube page where it drew quite a few viewers – about 15,000 viewers – probably because most golfers don’t have the stomach for it.

Among the horrors of this horror game: England’s Matthew Jordan set up a steeplechase to end the ball. . . take a 90 degree turn and roll back to him (“It makes you look stupid,” said the commentator); Andreas Halvorsen of Norway hits a shot to the side of the green. . . in a bad place. And Troy Merritt playing left on the cart route from where he was. . . he takes his ball out of the forest. Those are just PG-13 scenes; NC-17 clips are not suitable for this site.

This terrific medley of shots, among many other highlights, all took place at the 2025 Hero Indian Open at the Delhi Land & Finance Country Club, popularly known as. [cue dissonant violin chords] . . . DLF.

DLF, which has played the Indian Open since 2017, is a sharp beast with careless swings and uncertain readings. The park’s original design, by Arnold Palmer, unveiled in 1999 is complete with 15,000 newly planted trees and 195 flood lights, allowing for golf under the stars on all 18 holes. In 2015, however, the course took on a new look and feel, thanks to a Gary Player redo that included nine new holes and the reuse of Palmer’s nine holes. The Player course, which stretches north of 7,600 yards, has two lakes, craggy rock formations, beautiful fairways choked with trees and shrubs and bunkers like the Great Pit of Carkoon. Then you get to the greens, which are almost as manageable as the banks of a Nascar track. As the course review site noted with DLF, “The average handicap golfer will need to bring a sense of humor and an arsenal of golf balls.”

Professionals too. The DP World Tour returned to DLF this week for the latest round of the Indian Open, and, after a first round in which 14 players failed to break 80, there was a familiar chuckle (crying?) from the press centre.

“It might be the hardest course this year,” said German pro Freddy Schott, who had to take two drops on Thursday, both of which resulted in bogeys. “Your game must be very good, nothing can be rewarded.”

And that was your first round leader talking! Schott erased his rewarding swing with eight perfect birdies to take the lead at six under.

“It’s a lesson you have to endure,” added Eugenio Chacarra after fifty-five years under 67. “I just think it’s a real golf course. You hit every club in the bag, you can’t really have a weakness – you need to hit it well from the tee, you need to have a good approach, the landings are small. You need to put it right and read it right.”

A the original Golf course.

The good guys on the other side of the board didn’t talk much, but their cards spoke volumes. India’s Shubhan Jaglan shot a back-9 49 that included a double, a triple and a quad. Amardeep Malik, also from India, made four runs and scored 89.

Akshay Bhatia, who won the Arnold Palmer Invitational earlier this month, hit his first shot, on the 4th 10th, out of bounds and making two. After five holes, on the par-4 15th, Bhatia fouled his second shot, resulting in two penalties and a triple-bogey 8. Bhatia bounced back with a front-nine 33 but finished with a welcome-to-DLF 77. “I’m glad I didn’t shoot 80,” he said nervously.

By 2025, three DLF’s holes ranked among the 10 hardest holes on the DP World Tour: 414 yards par-4 14, with a score of 4.54; 535-yard par-4 (yes, par-4!) 17 (4.51); and the 446-yard par-4 6th (4.44). From the 17th, Droll English expert Eddie Pepperel tweeted in 2018, “The great thing about the 17th hole in India is that it has 15,000 rocks and 15 fans. Most of the best 17th holes have 15 rocks, and 15,000 fans.”

In the first round on Thursday, there were 14 players Harder stillto an aspect ratio of 4.93. Twenty-five players scored twice or worse.

You might be wondering, What was Gary Player’s last game here? At a time when playability and ease of use have become fashionable, what was the motivation for creating a shin-kicking test? On Thursday afternoon, I dropped a line at Player’s office to see if he might talk me through his design strategy. The player was traveling, but one of his representatives sent me a written response from Black Knight on his “key design philosophies” at DLF.

“Our design objective was to create an engaging and memorable golf course that would achieve world-class standards,” Mdlali wrote. “Although the course is very challenging, it has been very well received by the golf community.”

He continued: “The course shows a great amount of variety and strategic interest, highlighted by many restored residential areas, an amazing rock quarry, a large lake, attractive contouring, and amazing views. What makes the achievement even more remarkable is that the whole area started as a flat area. To turn that blank canvas into 18 golf balls is really the goal of a golf tournament. It is mind-blowing, offering a wide variety of shot values for the players. a challenge to think logically throughout the round. Every hole offers something different, always engaging the player’s attention from the first game to the last green.

Oh, they’ll get your attention nicely. They might keep you at night, too.

Two years ago, the DP World Tour social team asked a handful of experts what an 18-handicapper might shoot at DLF. The question drew wry smiles, if not outright laughter, from many of the players – and surprising answers.

“I think I can easily see 80,” said Niklas Norgaard Moller from Denmark. “I think we’re close to 150, maybe 160. It’s such a tough course.”