If you have been wanting to take a shot at golf after feeling left out at conferences, boardroom meetings and cocktail parties where golf is the flavour of the day, then summer is a great time to do catching up.

But then, summer is also the time when you need to take your family out to give both your famil and yourself a break from the heat. And the country has been shaping up to your needs in quite a genial manner. The vast size of our country offers solutions aplenty.

Thanks to the British Raj and the support of the Army cantonements around the country, golf courses have been built and maintained for the past century in some of the most unlikely spots in hill stations.

Recently state tourism authorities have realised that supporting golf, once considered elitist and to be distanced from, is in fact good for the state’s tourism revenues and the state’s image.

The bulk of the golfing facilities are concentrated in south and north India with a sprinkling of options in the East as well. Here’s a quick rundown of the options: In the south the most well known and delightful golf courses are in Ooty and Kodaikanal.

The Ooty course is so well laid out that it hosts national level championships - a delightful bar and clubhouse at the course will be full of golfers from Chennai and Bangalore.

The appropriately named Addicts Golf Society of Southern India have a series of fixtures during the April - September period in these two locations with Coimbatore thrown in as well - so it is a great option.

The Kodai course a few years ago built a clubhouse with ten rooms that have a most spectacular view of the valley below. So do check it out. The course itself is a delight as well.

A by product of the coffee plantations of Kerala is the course at Munnar - a lush green gem. But the most variety of golf is to be found in Coorg which boasts as many as three golf courses and with the delightfully pleasant weather is a haven for a family wanting to indulge in a variety of recreational activities.

National Parks close by and the coffee plantations are a must see part of any visit.

Moving North , a golf wannabe is spoiled for choice. The most spectacular and the number one choice is the Royal Springs Golf club in Srinagar, just off the Dal Lake, near the Palace Hotel. This magnificent Kashmir Tourism creation is probably the most exciting golf course to visit in the entire country.

Unlike the other hill courses where to learn, you will have to use the main course, Royal Springs has a dedicated practice area. Only a two hour drive away is Gulmarg with its 18 hole course situated at 9,000 feet.

You can visit Gulmarg as a day trip from Srinagar or stay overnight at the Highland Park or Nedou’s hotel. The course is particularly good for beginners with its wide flat fairways. Very difficult to lose a golf ball here and an ideal place to be introduced to the basics of the game.

Move over to Himachal Pradesh and you have the Nalderah course at Mashobra , just outside Shimla. Quaintly designed in a bowl shaped valley, the course is adjacent to deluxe huts that can be hired from the HP Tourism Corporation and is surrounded by excellent walks among the pine scented forests.

In Uttaranchal, courses at the Raj Bhawan, Nainital and in the Army cantonement in Ranikhet are picturesque and pleasant. The Ranikhet course has been the site for shootings of many earlier classic Bollywood films because of its wide open green fairways.

The Armed forces are fairly generous with sharing this particular facility and Uttaranchal Tourism is keen to promote this course along with Nainital to golf seekers. In fact Uttaranchal Tourism have two tournaments open to tourists planned this summer at Nainital.

One on April 16th and the other a two day affair on the weekend of May 21-22nd. Supported by the Governor himself, the visit to this course is memorable because of the spectacular Raj Bhawan building which is a replica of a classic English castle. The course is situated at three different levels on the hillside and is surrounded by lush green hills.

In the East - Shillong is the main course, and is a championship layout being restored to its original character after a decade of neglect. In addition the East is full of small nine hole courses amid the tea plantations.

The crowd of over 100 active players in this region have a regular schedule of tournaments which are more fun than competitive. It is said that in Assam there is a course every 100 kilometres or so. Patronisation by the oil companies has also kept some facilities alive and active. Digboi and Duliajan are two such facilities.

So if you are looking to try your hand at golf and want to combine it with a getaway to the hills - there is a lot to choose from. The courses mentioned above welcome visitors openly and are keen to increase usage of their vastly underutilised facilities.

Just walk in. You will usually find golf clubs to be rented and someone who can guide you on the basics.