A fist pump and a yell, that is what a few of us remember the last time the Asian Tour visited the Delhi Golf Club. Khalin Joshi was all aggression when he sealed his first Tour triumph with a final-hole birdie on October 28, 2018. It's been almost three years and five months since that day, and a pandemic may have changed life as we know it, but all seems in order when we turn the page to the jungle book that is DGC.
All those notes on tree hazards will now have to be asterisked with green warnings at the inaugural $500,000 DGC Open presented by Mastercard. Golfers who have grown up on the course will have to steer themselves from auto-pilot mode to additional challenges on the runway to the top prize, a trophy symbolic of DGC's grand heritage. The past will still whisper its open secrets, but that legend called Gary Player will probably not offer any tips after his magic retouching of the greens.
Gaganjeet Bhullar, who enjoyed a top-5 finish in Thailand earlier this month, had an experience of the revamped course in a charity event in 2020. On Wednesday, he played nine holes with Gary Player, who may have let a few thoughts slip. "It was a great honour to play with him and pick his brains. " At the foliage-heavy Lodhi course, there is no entry for the driver. The nine-time winner on the Asian Tour will rely on his 3-wood, rescue and 3-iron. And then, there are the other challenges.
"With this redesigned look, it's not only about hitting the fairway, it's also about how close you are to the flag as well, because if you miss green on the wrong side, you'll be surely coming up for pretty long putts. One has to really understand the course management well."
Surely "a tougher test of golf with the humps and hollows and crowns," was Shiv Kapur's take on the colour lining his childhood cradle. The 39-year-old helped conceptualise the tournament with the late Siddharth Shriram. "It's a completely different beast, with the way the green complexes are now," he had shared on the Asian Tour website.
"This is especially true for the par fives. Like the first and the 18th holes, once you hit the fairway, you knew you had a good birdie chance. But now they've built it like a modern golf course. " DGC veteran Gaurav Ghei emphasized on the "interesting pin positions" and the value of a sharp short game. "There are slopes and run-off areas. Some of the toughest pins are now on the front of the green as the entrance is so narrow, and if you miss it on the wrong side, you're going to struggle big time."
American Paul Peterson, who is the highest-ranked player in the field, marvelled at the amount of grass on the course. "They have done a fantastic job with the redesigned greens and there is so much grass everywhere."
He did see some silver lining in the brown rough. "They have actually got some rough to slow it down, so from that standpoint I think it is going to be a little bit more manageable off the tee."
Indonesia's Rory Hie, a winner in India in 2019, called the course "truly international". "The slopes now really reward a good shot," was another way of looking at it.
Viraj Madappa, who won the first PGTI event played at the renovated course, has the chance for a repeat at a higher level. "The bunkers have been moved a little, the greens are re-shaped and there are some fantastic slopes and a lot of collection areas one should look out for," was his total recall.
Khalin Joshi finished second in that local tournament. "The DGC gets me excited," he said, visualising that perfect picture. Now, who will get the loudest cheer on the new-look 18th green come Sunday?
