“World’s Toughest Golf Course” again this week

What is your favorite horror movie? “Halloween”? “The Ring”? “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”?

Mine is a little known art classic “The hardest golf course in the world?” The 15-minute short was never released in theaters, nor did it receive a Rotten Tomatoes rating; it went straight to the DP World Tour’s YouTube page, where it has attracted a small audience — about 15,000 viewers — likely because most golfers don’t have the stomach for it.

Among the horrors in this terrifying move: England’s Matthew Jordan set up a ball-only slope at . . . make a 90 degree turn and head back towards him (“Makes you look stupid,” says one commenter); Andreas Halvorsen of Norway chipping a shot into the green bunker. . . in approx. And Troy Merritt playing left handed off a cart path from where he . . . chips his ball into a bush. These are PG-13 scenes only; NC-17 clips are not suitable for this site.

This horrifying mix of shots, among many other lows, all took place at the 2025 Hero Indian Open at the Delhi Land & Finance Country Club, better known as (suggest dissonant violin chords). . . DLF.

DLF, who has played in the Indian Open since 2017, is a sharp-toothed beast that thrives on uncommitted swings and uncertain readings. The original park design, by Arnold Palmer, debuted in 1999 complete with 15,000 newly planted trees and 195 floodlights, which enabled golf under the stars on all 18 holes. By 2015, however, the course had a new look and a more intimidating feel, thanks to a Gary Player remake that included nine new holes and a reworking of nine of Palmer’s holes. The Player’s Course, which stretches north of 7,600 yards, has two lakes, craggy rock formations, fairways choked with trees and bushes, and bunkers that resemble Carkoon’s Great Hole. And then you get to the greens, which are as easy to handle as fairways on a Nascar track. As a course review site observed by DLF“The average handicapper will need to bring a sense of humor and an arsenal of golf balls.”

The good ones, too. The DP World Tour is back at DLF this week for the latest Indian Open and, after a first round in which 14 players failed to break 80, the familiar choruses (screams?) could be heard from the press centre.

“It might be the hardest course this year,” said German pro Freddy Schott, who had to make two bogeys on Thursday. “Your game has to be so good overall, there’s nothing that can leak.”

And that was your first round leader talking! Schott erased his teetering swing with a stunning eight birdies to take the sole lead at six under.

“It’s a course you have to be patient with,” added Eugenio Chacarra after a superb five-under 67. “I think it’s a real golf course. You hit every club in the bag, you can’t have a weakness – you have to hit it well off the tee, you have to have a good approach, the landing areas are small and the greens are hard to putt.

or true golf course.

The pros on the other side of the “board” weren’t so chatty, but their cards spoke volumes. India’s Shubhan Jaglan hit a 9-9-49 that included a double, two triples and a four. Amardeep Malik, also from India, hit four triples and signed for an 89.

Akshay Bhatiawho won the Arnold Palmer Invitational earlier this month, hit his opening tee shot, on the par-4 10th, out of bounds and made a double. Five holes later, on the par-4 15th, Bhatia accidentally fouled the ball on his second shot, leading to a two-stroke penalty and a triple 8.

In 2025, THREE of the DLF holes ranked among the 10 most difficult holes on the DP World Tour: the 414-yard par-4 14th, which had a scoring average of 4.54; 535-yard par-4 (yes, par-4!) 17 (4.51); and the 446-yard par-4 6th (4.44). From the 17th, the English professional, Eddie Pepperell, tweeted in 2018“The best thing about the 17th hole in India is that it has 15,000 rocks and 15 fans. Most of the great 17th holes have 15 rocks and 15,000 fans.”

In the first round on Thursday, 14 played more difficult STILLat a batting average of 4.93. Twenty-five players made double figures or worse.

You might be wondering, what was Gary Player’s end game here? In an age when playability and ease of use have become fashionable, what was the motivation to build such a foot strike test? On Thursday afternoon, I dropped the player’s office a line to see if he could talk me through his draft strategy. The player was traveling, but one of his representatives sent me a written response from the Black Knight on his “key design philosophies” at DLF.

“Our design intent was to create a captivating and memorable golf course that would achieve world-class standards,” Player wrote. “While the course presents a meaningful challenge, it has been extremely well received by the golf community.”

He continued: “The course contains a huge amount of variety and strategic interest, highlighted by updated iconic bunkers, a dramatic rock quarry, a large lake, imposing contours and breathtaking views. What makes the achievement even more remarkable is that the entire landscape started as flat land. To transform that blank canvas is extremely good. Provocative in purpose, offering a wide range of challenging shot values players to think strategically throughout the round, each hole offers something unique, constantly drawing the player’s attention from the first tee to the last green.

Oh, they will get your attention. They can also keep you up at night.

Two years ago, the DP World Tour social team asked a handful of professionals what can an 18 handicapper shoot at DLF. The question drew wry smiles, if not outright laughter, from most of the players – and cringeworthy responses.

“I think I can easily see 80 for myself,” said Denmark’s Niklas Norgaard Moller. “I think we’re close to 150, maybe 160. Such a tough course.”