IT’S early morning in Bangalore, India’s ‘garden city’ situated in the country’s southern highlands, and Australian golf course superintendent Ben McLean is marshalling his 50-strong team of greenkeepers for another day’s toil on the magnificent Prestige Golfshire Club’s championship course.
Their challenge is to further improve a course that has already been voted India’s best four times in the past five years and prepare it for October, when it will announce itself to the world as the host of India’s leg of the International Series, the LIV Golf-funded schedule of big-time tournaments.
They’re putting the finishing touches to a new driving range, upgrading the bunkers, building a new tee block, lengthening a couple of the par-five holes and making it a tougher test for the world’s best golfers.
For the rest of us, the 7,000-yard course will remain immensely playable, with five tee options on every hole ensuring golfers of all levels enjoy the experience.
The lavish Prestige Golfshire clubhouse.
As general manager Declan McCollam says, when those renovations are complete Prestige Golfshire will “by far be the best golfing facility in southern India” and one of the best in Asia.
Like McLean, McCollam has strong connections with Australia. A long-time Troon Golf employee, he has been general manager of The Cut in Western Australia, Peregian Springs and Brookwater in Queensland, as well as managing the opening and operational development of new Troon courses in Portugal, Russia, Italy, Morocco, UK, Dubai and the Azores.
McCollam has managed Prestige Golfshire since 2020, and marvels at the changes that have taken place since the club was first established in 2012.
“If you see pictures of the original project and where it is now, it’s so different,” he says. “It’s amazing – even how much the trees have grown.”
The Prestige Golfshire Club is a 275-acre golf course, residential community and five-star hotel, the golf operations managed by Troon and the hotel and restaurant by JW Marriott. The course was designed by world renowned golf architect Bob Hunt, who had been involved in development master planning since 1975.
It features meticulously managed fairways, strategically placed bunkers, and undulating greens. The scenery is spectacular with views of the Nandi Hills providing a backdrop for every round. Streams meander their way through the property, linking many of the 15 lakes and providing a calm atmosphere.
Left: The convention centre at the JW Marriott Prestige Golfshire.
Centre: Villa living at the JW Marriott at Prestige Golfshire.
Right: Experience a Signature Massage at the JW Marriott.
Golfers are required to employ a caddy and, unlike in most parts of Asia, they are of the male variety – polite, young men who assist in club selection and green reading, their knowledge honed by playing at least a couple of times a month themselves.
There are state-of-the-art practice facilities with a driving range, putting green and chipping areas opening next month, a pro shop packed with the latest equipment and apparel, as well as locker rooms and showers plus a huge gym, sauna and even an ice bath.
So proud are they of the facilities at Prestige Golfshire that McCollam and his team are keen to host other significant golf events – even the Indian Open.
McCollam is lavish in his praise of Ben McLean, with whom he worked at Brookwater Country Club, west of Brisbane. A former Kiwi who did his apprenticeship at Cape Kidnappers, McLean had worked at Royal Sydney and in the UK before becoming assistant superintendent at Brookwater in 2018.
“He went from Brookwater to Delhi,” McCollam said. “I managed to talk him into coming here and he’s super happy now. He’s done a fantastic job – really cleaning up the golf course, spent a lot of time on areas where we had some foreign grass infestations, taking them out and replanting.”
The Prestige Golfshire course, rated India’s best four out of the last five years.
Twice a year, staff harvest coconuts from the palms which define many of the fairways.
“Just last week we cut 700 coconuts down,” McCollam said “They’re used in the restaurant for coconut chutney and different things. The coconuts all get used – nothing goes to waste in India.”
Prestige Golfshire – Golf is only part of the attraction
Inside the lavish clubhouse is Falcon Greens restaurant which serves a unique blend of Indian, Oriental and Western cuisines. The facility also offers poolside and function room dining and is the domain of head chef Manish Kumar, who has worked throughout India.
At the JW Marriott, which basically overlooks the first hole, the culinary team at the open-air all-day dining restaurant, The Aviary, is overseen by award-winning executive head chef Neeraj Rawoot.
“He’s fabulous with every type of cuisine,” said hotel manager Ronan Fearon, an Irishman from Dublin. “He also worked in Asia, so his Asian cuisine is excellent. So is his Western cuisine. His roast chicken is actually almost as good as my mother’s. He tries new things and he’s very creative.”
Fearon, who confesses he gets to play golf only about once a fortnight, controls a staff of 450, increasing to as many as 600 during the busy cooler season.
The hotel comprises 300 rooms so, while golfers are an important and growing segment of his business, he is aware of the need to attract other types of guests.
“If you have just a golf resort then nobody else wants to go there, right? Ours is a luxury leisure resort, so you’ll have golfers, you’ll have business people, you’ll have families that want to come.
“One of the parents might want to play golf while the other goes to the spa, and there’s plenty of things for the children to do – the bowling alley, the entertainment zone.
“And we’re close to Bangalore – a metropolis, one of the biggest cities on the planet; plenty of treks, temples, vineyards. You might get up in the morning, play golf, then relax and chill out in the afternoon with a spa. The next day you might want to do those treks, you might want to go and see those temples, those vineyards. It rounds out the whole stay for a guest.”
The club’s swimming pool, gymnasium and wellness areas are available to members and guests. Indeed, the accessibility of the golf course and club facilities is important to McCollam.
“Everything is open to the public – that’s a big thing, I think,” he said. “The course, the restaurant – it’s all about being inclusive.”
The quality of the resort has been widely recognised. As well as having the best golf course in the country in four of the past five years, Prestige Golfshire was also named ‘Best Golf Resort’ at the world golf awards.
The resort is ideally located – 20 minutes from the international airport and 40 minutes from Bangalore.
Prestige Golfshire’s 5th hole.
And while the rest of India might swelter in the hot summer months, Bangalore remains relatively cool, thanks to it being situated 900 metres above sea level.
While it’s hot in March and April, the climate is ideal from May to November – a pleasant 20 to 30 degrees – dipping slightly in December and beginning to warm up again in January.
Asia has quietly become the most exciting region in the world for golf travel, with golfers from Australia, Europe and North America discovering destinations that deliver world-class courses, attractive climates, and outstanding value.
But while Thailand, Japan, Vietnam and Indonesia have been quick to take advantage of golf tourism, India has been largely overlooked as a holiday destination for Australian golfers.
That is about to change, with the owners of Prestige Golfshire preparing to open similar luxury golf resorts – comprising villas, 300-room hotels, convention centres and, of course, high-class golf courses – in Chennai, Goa and in Lonavala, in northern India.
Perhaps anticipating the upcoming demand, Qantas now operates direct flights from Sydney to Bangalore, and daily flights with a stopover in Singapore. India requires Australian visitors to have a tourist visa, which costs only $10 but should be arranged before making a booking.
Prestige Golfshire Club www.golfshire.com
JW Marriott Bengaluru Prestige Golfshire Resort & Spa www.marriott.com
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