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get it india
India has always been popular with those looking for adventure and a genuine travel ‘experience’. Now golfers have the perfect reason to go there, too. By Jon Underwood.
It may be sacrilegious for a travel writer to admit this but I’ve never had a burning desire to visit India. Too many horror stories, most involving alimentary tsunami’s, left it way down my pecking order of bucket list destinations.
Having spent just three days in this fascinating, baffling, entertaining and emotionally draining country, I can’t wait to go back.
My epiphany began at the Jaypee Greens Golf & Spa Resort in Greater Noida, about an hour’s drive from Delhi. A more complete contrast to the chaotic madness of India’s second-largest city you could not hope to find, with the five-star property offering a sanctuary of elegance and sophistication. A Six Senses Spa (the first in India and one of the largest on the subcontinent with 26 treatment rooms) complements the multiple dining options, Olympic-sized swimming pool, health club and sports complex, to name but a few of the hotel’s amenities.
Testament to the resort’s stature, the Formula One drivers and teams have chosen to stay here during the inaugural Indian Grand Prix later this month (Oct 28 – 30).
“I think one day Jaypee Greens is going to be considered India’s finest luxury resort,” says 42-year-old Brisbane-born Grant Raymond, the resort’s Vice President. “You wouldn’t think there could be such an oasis just outside the capital of India.”
At the heart of the 180-hectare resort is a golf course that has all the hallmarks of its famous designer, Greg Norman. High-faced bunkers (all 88 of them) filled with white sand make the holes visually appealing while the contours and shaping is classic Norman, who took a flat, featureless site and turned it into the longest course in India (6,718 metres off the black tees).
“I think in the past Australians may have considered India a three- or four-star environment, a little bit unorganised,” says Grant. “But the economy is booming. You’ve got all the big brands here now. Four Seasons is opening up the road and here’s this luxury hotel as part of the Jaypee Group. We’re running up there with the best of them.”
I was pleasantly surprised by the condition of the course, which I had expected to suffer in a part of India where the temperature regularly passes 40 degrees. But I found immaculate Bermuda grass fairways, fast greens, lakes aplenty and well-manicured pathways and borders. Some 10,000 trees have been planted, along with local species to attract wildlife.
“The landscaping and maintenance of the course takes a lot of effort. I like to get out there with the greens staff and make sure that they’re happy. They really take pride in their work and I think it shows in the physical results on the course.”
Opened in 2000, Jaypee Greens is Norman’s only course in India. While it can be a challenge off the plates, there are three other tee options, reducing it to just 5,812-metres off the forward markers.
After a couple of gentle par-fours, players face the first real challenge at the 520-metre third, allegedly Norman’s favourite hole. A solid drive is needed up and over a hill to give you a look at the task ahead: a classic risk-and-reward scenario. Water cuts in down the left hand side but the confident will still fancy their chances of smashing a fairway wood or long iron over the H2O, thereby shortening the hole. My caddy had clearly summed up my game and character by this point…and duly handed me a seven iron.
There’s a couple of fine holes back towards the resort at four and five, the latter a dainty par-three played over water, before arriving at the hole rated stroke index one, the 462-metre seventh. At first glance it doesn’t appear to hold too many terrors – apart from the water on the left and the fairway bunkers on the right. Safely negotiated, there’s an uphill second shot to a green where you can’t see the bottom of the pin.
The ninth is also worthy of mention: a par-four, dogleg left to right with water cutting in at the front of the green. If the flag is on the right hand side you’ll be extremely brave to attack it. Best to play for the wide part of the green, avoiding the cavernous bunker, and take a two-putt par.
The finishing stretch is a tough one, with two of the final four holes rated two and four on the course. Seventeen is particularly nasty, being the longest par-four on the card at 440-metres and usually played into the prevailing wind. Three fairway bunkers must be avoided from the tee and three more around the green. Not the kind of hole you look forward to at the end of your day.
Jaypee Greens was an unexpected delight and surprisingly tough, thanks in part to the design and also the weather conditions. They hope to attract professional tournaments here one day and I have no doubt the course will stand up to the challenge of the big boys.
“I think Australians are really going to embrace India,” adds Grant. “Over the past few years it’s all been about Bali and Thailand and I think Aussies are looking for something unique, with a little more history and a bit further away. And India has enough to tempt everyone’s palate. I see Australians loving India.”
DELHI
One of the big advantages of staying at Jaypee Greens is that it is the perfect base from which to explore Delhi. A short drive into town will see you immersed in the colourful, crowded streets that are always teeming with activity.
I joined a walking tour with Intrepid Travel that takes you inside ancient temples and through the cramped laneways of Old Delhi. We started at Jama Masjid, the largest and most famous mosque in India whose courtyard can hold more than 25,000 worshippers. Surviving the heat of the stone floor on our bare feet was priority number one but it was worth it for the view of Delhi from one of the minarets.
Spending a few reflective moments in this holy place couldn’t prepare us for the next part of the tour, walking the streets of Old Delhi. While most visitors stick to the popular spots – the Red Fort, India Gate and Humayun’s Tomb ¬– this was the real India, where you could get down – and slightly dirty – with the locals.
Cars, buses, bikes, tuk tuks, animals and humans, all battling for space yet somehow managing to avoid each other and survive. As Australian author Gregory David Roberts puts it so eloquently in his magnificent book Shantaram: “Traffic churned through the streets with wondrous and mysterious efficiency.”
THE TAJ MAHAL
During a trip to Spain in the 90s I queued for two hours to get into the Alhambra in Grenada and it was worth every second just to see the Moorish palace. After a six-hour bus ride from Delhi, we arrived at the Taj Mahal in Agra and after 30 seconds I couldn’t have cared less about my aching back or sore knees.
One of the eight Wonders of the World, the Taj Mahal is a mystical place that moves you from the moment you first set eyes on it through the Great Gate. It was built by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, as a mausoleum for his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to their 14th child. They now lie side by side (although their actual tomb is closed to the public), surrounded by walls inlaid with gemstones.
Calligraphy decorates the exterior, quoting passages from the Qur’an, and the gardens are beautifully laid out and tended. Indeed, for me the exterior was much more appealing than the interior, which often tends to be overcrowded and hot, with visitors totally ignoring the signs forbidding photography. You can hardly blame them. The Taj Mahal is one of those magical places where you feel humble just to be there and hang on to every moment.
Fortunately, a trip to the Taj is about to become much easier and quicker thanks to the Yamuna Expressway, a multi-lane highway built by the Jaypee Group that stretches 165 kilometres from Noida to Agra. This should cut travelling time from Delhi down to about two hours. Or, if you really want to arrive in style, the resort can arrange helicopter flights to Agra.
India won’t suit everybody. If you’re even vaguely agoraphobic or easily flustered, this is probably not the place for you. But if you’re willing to suffer a little heat, dust and noise, then don’t let the heaving mass of humanity put you off.
While it can be a bit intimidating at first – children begging in the street are never easy to see – you’ll be rewarded with memories that will last a lifetime. You will see sights that enrich your soul and others that will destroy it. But that’s India. You can’t take your eyes off it for a second.
MAN AT THE TOP
It was almost inevitable that Grant Raymond would end up in the hospitality business. His father owned pubs in Brisbane and Toowoomba; his mother was the first female hotel general manager in Australia. Grant was washing glasses in the bar when he was six years old.
“I used to ride my horse to school. We had the only pub in town. Straight after high school, I was off,” he says.
Grant (pictured right) worked his way around the world: the Barrier Reef, New Zealand, Singapore, London and then onboard the Queen Elizabeth 2. A brief stop in Bombay in the early 90s planted the seed of one day returning to India.
“I was lucky to serve Princess Diana and her family. Elton John and Bono used to travel frequently on the trans-Atlantic sailings. They’d get the ship one-way and Concorde on the way back. I also had the honour of serving Sir Donald Bradman, Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Greg Norman and Jack Nicklaus.”
Success in the Green Card Lottery enabled Grant to work at the Soho Grand Hotel, becoming the youngest ever General Manager in New York City. His next role was to help a Maldivian family establish a luxury brand of hotels.
“After four years in the Maldives I felt a bit like Tom Hanks in Castaway. I thought New Delhi would be a little different.”
He arrived in early 2010 and set about helping the Jaypee Group establish its brand of luxury hotels. His wife and two children are settled on the Gold Coast and one day he will join them, with another exciting project in mind.
“My ambition is to open a boutique hotel near the Barrier Reef with a championship golf course attached. I’m going to build one from scratch. I just love hospitality and golf. It’s a great blend. It makes sense after 24 years around the world to return home to my roots and do something special.”
So who will design his new course?
“I’m a big fan of Greg Norman but then again, there are also a couple of nice American designers. I think we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
at a glance
Getting there: Air AsiaX fly from Melbourne, Perth and the Gold Coast to Delhi via Kuala Lumpur. 1300 760 330; airasia.com
Accommodation: Jaypee Greens has 170 rooms (152 deluxe rooms and 18 suites). There are also 36 self-catering, serviced apartments available.
Dining: The resort has 14 dining options, including Eggspectation, Southeast Asian cuisine of Ano Tai, La Brezza Italian restaurant and Indian fusion restaurant Paatra. There’s also the Matrix lounge bar and The Churchill for cigar aficionados.
Facilities: Six Senses Spa, gymnasium, Olympic-sized swimming pool, sports complex, tennis courts, health club, business centre, conference halls, shops, ballroom.
What to do: Jaypee Greens can arrange helicopter flights down to the Taj Mahal. Alternatively, the road trip will take just under two hours when the new expressway opens. A day trip into Delhi will give you a taste of the real India.
For more information, visit jaypeegreens.com or
Hotel Representation Australia: hotelrepresentationaustralia.com.au
For more information on tours of Delhi, call Intrepid Travel on 1300-364-512; intrepidtravel.com
For more information on travelling to India, visit Incredible India: incredibleindia.org
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