When Shyam Tamang registered his name for the recently held golf tournament in Mustang, he had a lot of doubts regarding the standard of the Mustang Golf Course. There were valid reasons for him to be doubtful. The course was relatively new and as it was situated at an altitude of 4,645 meters, there were doubts about how it would play through given the hard weather in the region.
“Whenever you hear Mustang, the first thing that comes to mind is the rugged terrain. I was afraid that my golf club’s iron would be damaged,” says Tamang.
But, when Tamang reached the course on August 26, a day before the tournament, he was pleasantly surprised. After crossing a 3,700-meter hill that was full of rock and sand, he reached a green patch of land where the Mustang Golf Course was located.
“I had a completely different picture of what it would look like. I realized how wrong I was and how making preconceptions was bad,” says Tamang, who recently won the stableford 3/4 handicap event held in the Mustang Golf Course on August 27.
Called the Top of the World Golf Classic, the event was organized with one purpose: to tell the world that a golfing event could be held at Mustang Golf Course which is on the verge of entering the Guinness Book of World Records. Now, the challenge is to get competitions going on this nine-hole golf course and hold them regularly as many believe that it can be another tourism product for the country.
Mustang’s uniqueness
“It’s great for a place like Lomanthang,” Tamang says. “Everyone looked to enjoy it. The locals wanted this to be a success and I feel it was a very successful tournament.”
The event was a joint effort of the Lomanthang rural municipality and Lomanthang Youth Club where the local youth became caddies for the golfers and the women’s group provided water and other services to the golfers.
“It looked like a joint effort and it was lovely to see men, women and children be a part of history,” says Tamang.
Usually, a golf course is full of greenery. But, Mustang Golf Course is not as green as usual. It’s also quite high, which means people can suffer from altitude sickness.
But, there are ways around it as shown by Rita Thapa, 84, who teed off the tournament. As long as people acclimate well, the altitude will not be an issue, says Tamang.
“I didn’t know that there are such green meadows up there. We have nine holes so far and I think we can make nine more holes and make it the best high-altitude golf course in the world,” says Tamang.
Getting the world’s attention
Currently, Mustang Golf Course is on natural grass, but with some investments and the right planning, the course can be developed substantially, he says.
“We can bring in high-quality grass to make the putting green better. That’s the number one priority the course should focus on along with a tee box,” he says.
Comparing the terrain to that of Las Vegas in the US state of Nevada, he feels the course can attract the top professional golfers in the world.
“We need to bring in golfers from around the world and make them members so that they can help make the course better,” says Tamang.
Indra Dhara Bista, a Provincial Assembly member who is also the chief campaigner of the golf course, says he envisioned the Mustang Golf Course project after visiting the Arizona desert in the United States of America.
“If they were able to make a golf course there, why couldn’t we dream of making it here,” he says.
The project started in the fiscal year 2021/22 after a budget of Rs 1 million was set aside for it. The budget was used to make tee boxes and holes, cut grass and create a putting green.
“Since our terrain is a bit rough, we couldn’t make the putting green as flat as we wanted,” says Bista.
Bista says a plan to add nine more holes and make it an 18-hole golf course by using the flat pasture next to the current course is in the offing. But, that needs building a bridge to join the two land plots.
Bista also believes that if Mustang Golf Course is able to get into the Guinness Book of World Records and make an 18-hole course, golfers from around the world will come and that will in turn help promote tourism in the area.
“I want people to come to Mustang to play golf in the same way they go to Everest,” he says, adding the area has enough hotels to accommodate tourists and golfers.
Glory of golf
When asked why they invested in golf, he says all the rich play golf. “We want high-end tourists to visit us. Most rich people in the world play golf as a recreational activity, and we want to tap into that market,” he says.
Mustang Golf Course can also be a boon for Nepali amateur and professional golfers who cannot practice during the monsoon; as it does not rain in Mustang, it can be an ideal place for them, believes Bista.
With all that said, he knows this is just the beginning and a lot needs to be done. The course requires a lot of development, for which a lot of funds will be needed.
“We will gradually turn this course into a major attraction in the country. We need time and money for that,” says Bista.
This story was translated from the original Nepali version and edited for clarity and length.
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