Set amidst a beautifully serene environment, surrounded by the green hills of Eastern Ghats, the East Point Golf Club (EPGC) is one of the best golf courses India has to offer. The course recently got a facelift and is now accredited with a category A championship title. With approximately 300 active members, out of a total of 1400, and 64 staff members, the Eastern Point Golf Club in Vizag is growing exponentially. Mr. Sridhar, head coach at EPGC, who has an overall experience of 34 years in golf, speaks with the Yo! Vizag team on recent updates at EPGC.
“I moved to Vizag from Bengaluru over a couple of years ago. I previously coached at the Karnataka Golf Association (KGA), which is the best course in Southern India. With the latest changes done to EPGC courses, I must say, Vizag stands extremely close to KGA, Bengaluru,” says Sridhar. “We have players coming in from 5:30 AM and playing till 11:00 AM. We get back on course again from 1:00 PM and close for the day at dawn,” shares the coach. EPGC also coaches juniors in the sport of golf. Currently, EPGC trains 40 young girls and boys, ranging from 5 to 18 years of age.
“Owing to the amazing location and the tough 18-hole course, the golf course in Vizag would easily rank among the top 10 courses of the country,” says Sridhar, who played golf professionally for 17 years at courses across the nation. With intrastate tournaments already being held at EPGC, the city can expect to host tournaments conducted by the Indian Golf Union (IGU) and the prestigious Professional Golf Tour Of India (PGTI) by 2022.
“My parents have been playing golf for the last 7 years, but couldn’t motivate me to get on course. However, when I played a few balls in Bangalore for the first time, I thrived in the competition. As a competitive person myself, that feeling brought me back to the course and helped me compete nationally and Internationally,” says Sriya Machiraju, a 17-year-old professional golfer from Vizag. She represented her home course of EPGC at Delhi, Bangalore among other cities. She also represented India abroad in Malaysia and Thailand. “It is tough to compete against players with over 10 years experience compared to my 3 years in the sport. With the course being upgraded, it really helps me up to my game.”
Dolly Dhillon, an artist, who picked up this sport in the winter of her life, shares, “I was always inclined towards sports from a very young age. With most of my family members playing golf, I thought of giving it a go myself. So far, it’s going great and with such a beautiful course, I’m enjoying myself to the fullest.”
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