Wildlife is par for the course
A GOLF course, besides being a salubrious place to play, is an eco-friendly oasis with its greenery and water bodies. It is also a boon for wildlife, offering a relatively undisturbed natural habitat. Playing conditions vary and so do the peculiarities of the flora and fauna, which give a special flavour to each course. Such is their impact that birds and animals win the race to be adopted as the mascot of many golf courses. Birds take the cake. I mention three courses where I have had the pleasure of swinging the club. The FRIMA (Forest Research Institute Military Academy) course in Dehradun lies amid a dense jungle of pines. Its narrow fairways have an added challenge in the form of the FRIMA crow, which stays hidden among the trees, sharply eyeing the flight of the ball. The bird’s sudden attack and successful getaway are to be marvelled at. Before one realises it, the ball is picked up clean in a crow’s beak and flown away to be hidden. Leopards, too, venture here, but only to bask in the sun. Unlike the crow, no leopard dares to charge and take away the dimpled beauty. The crow is rightly the club’s mascot — with the ball in its beak!
The Chetak course in Bathinda is a surprise package amid the dry, dusty and drab environs. It boasts of wide-open fairways, cascades, dense undergrowth and good tree coverage, making it a haven for wildlife. Antelope and gazelles are in abundance. Herds of chinkaras and nilgais roam around freely. The fairway grass is theirs for the taking. Their hoof marks make shot-making difficult, but they do leave behind trimmed grass. The peacocks present an unforgettable sight as they fan out their feathers to dance and lure the peahens. The chinkara, however, gets to be the mascot. The course badge is a thoughtful work of art — the head is that of a chinkara, the body is depicted by a clubhead and the tail represents the club rod.
Closer home, there is the SEPTA (Shivalik Environmental Park and Training Area) golf course at the Chandimandir military station. It offers an enchanting view of the Shivaliks. The awesome panorama more than compensates for the loss of a ball or two in the surrounding greenery or in one of the nightmarish watery stretches on the fairways. There are nilgais and wild boars around. The latter are an absolute menace. They have a knack for digging up the greens. But it is the shrill-whistling kingfisher that wins the mascot race.
For me, the crown goes to the FRIMA crow. My ode to this biped goes thus: ‘Crowned atop this towering mound / I am ready to hound your round/ I rule the fairways in my flight, for pinching balls is my right / Attacking the dimpled one is a delight, despite the golfers giving me a fright / Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don’t, but success and failure are nature’s wont / So, dear golfers, be fair to my desperate tries, play the ball as it lies, and I will pick it up as it lies / Swing and chip and put it right, play on, play on to your heart’s delight!’
