The Madras Gymkhana Club (MGC) is an elite social club in Chennai, India, which was founded in 1884 to promote sports and social and cultural activities. It owns and operates one of Chennai's two 18-hole golf courses, one of Asia's oldest courses. Tamil Nadu Governor Surjit Singh Barnala published The Glory Years, a coffee-table book commemorating the club's 125th anniversary, in 2009.

History

The club was founded in April 1884. Early membership was restricted to garrison members, British executives and some upper-caste Indians. A tent was erected, and early activities included polo and pigsticking. The Raja of Venkatagiri donated a grandstand. In addition to playing polo, members began trap shooting and playing cards, rugby, tennis and golf. The South Indian rajas made donations for buildings, billiard tables and polo ponies.

The club's history is intertwined with the history of India. Although an ordinance expelled its German members at the onset of the First World War, the club later learned that most of the German settlers had already fled. Women were allowed to join the club as "Independent Lady Members" from 1971.

A bowling green was established, along with a ballroom in the paddock. Dance nights concluded with grand suppers, where dancers were photographed. A swimming pool was built, at which the American Olympic gold medalist Sammy Lee performed a diving exhibition. The club kitchen was upgraded with an ice-making plant, an ice–cream machine and freezer. A miniature golf course was built, and the bar was renovated.

+Club presidentsYearName1884Lt. General C. B. Johnson1885Brig. Gen. Johnson1886J. A. Boyson1887H. McLeod1888–1889G. J. Smart1890–1891G. M. J Moore1891–1892T. Vanstrauveiy1893–1898G. M. J. Moore1916–1921J. H. Symons1921–1923L. H. Bewas1924–1925C. E. Odgers1926G. W. Chambers1927A. D. Charles1928–1929C. G. Alexander1930Owen Beasley1931–32G. A. Bambrioge1933J. W. Wyles1934M. A. Angus1935V. Mockett1936H. M. Small1937K. R. Simpson1938F. W. Gentle1939–1940C. A. F. Hingston Keobe1941–1942K. M. Kelso1943K. R. Simpson1944–1945G. Gill1946–1947S. Jackson1948R. J. J. Perry1949A. Sinclair Rose1950–52R. Wright1953K. H. Chambers1954R. Wright1955R. M. King1956H. I. Cormack1957–58K. M. Nanjappa1959–60K. Ramunni Menon1961J. V. S. Milne1962K. Ramunni Menon1963–64I. G. Macintosh1965–66V. S. Subramanian1967–68R. N. Manickam1969G. A. Phadke1970–71N. Seshachelam1972–73S. Vishnu Mohan1974–75J. M. Thambuswamy1976–77K. S. Vaidyanathan1978–79P. L. Reddy1980–81C. R. R. Pillay1982–83A. R. Ramanathan1984–85R. G. Phadke1986–87K.S. Vaidyanathan1988–89R. J. Rajasekhar1990–91N. R. Santhanam1992–94T. K. Singaram1994–96Rabi Rajaratnam1997–98B. Surender1998–99M. V. Raghunathan1999–2001K. J. Ramaswamy2001–03P. B. Santhanakrishnan2003–05C. S. Sivanandan2005–06V. V. Mohindra2006–08D. V. Seetharama Rao2008–10Arvind Ramarathnam2010N. A. Mirza (November)2010–13P. V. S. Vencatasubramaniam (acting) 2013–14M. R. G. Apparao2014–16P. V. S. Vencatasubramaniam2016–18S. B. P. Anand Mohan2018–2021C. Venugopal2021–2024Mr.Sanjay Shroff2024Capt. S. Seshadri (Retd.)

+Honorary secretariesYearName 1884 G. S. Barister 1885 – May 1886 John F. Caldwell May–December 1886 Seymour Biscoe 1887–1893 H. L. Ansted 1893–1894 H. S. Fraser 1894–1897 J. Campbell 1897–1898 N. Michael 1898– Mr. C. Lane 1913–1915 Mr. Birley 1915–1916 J. Leask 1916–1921 A. McBulloch 1921–1922 D. Stewart 1922–1923 A. C. Rowdon 1923–24 F. C. Bishop 1924 J. M. Wilson 1925–1926 J. E. Cumming 1926–1929 A. W. Hutton 1929–1930 J. W. Wyles 1931–1932 A. C. Mercer 1932–1934 A. Feebles 1934 – March 1935 A. Mackenzie March 1935 – January 1936 J. E. Inglis February 1936 – 1938 W. B. Horrocks 1939–1940 G. L. Rossiter 1941–1944 J. Malvenam 1944–1945 R. J. Perry 1945–1946 F. W. Johnson January – October 1947 W. I. Lavery October 1947 – October 1948 G. L. Rossiter October 1948 – March 1950 H. E. Hele March – September 1950 N. S. Fridinger September 1950 – January 1951 A. J. Martin January – April 1951 H. H. Chambers April 1951 – May 1954 N. S. Fridinger 1954–1955 J. Ashton 1956–1957 E. F. G. Keyser January – February 1958 I. G. Macintosh March – May 1958 J. V. S. Milne June – August 1958 J. E. Peters September 1958 – February 1959 I. G. Macintosh March 1959 – 1960 Mr. T.T.P. Abdullah 1961 – September 1962 B. Devaraj September – November 1962 L. V. Hermon November 1962 – 1964 N. Seshachalam 1965–1969 S. Vishnumohan 1969–1970 P. L. Reddy 1970–1971 T. C. Krishna 1971–1976 P. L. Reddy 1976 – June 1980 M. M. G. Appa Rao June 1980 – 1984 T. C. Krishna 1984 – September 1985 N. R. Santhanam June – August 1986 K. V. Srinivasan August 1986 – 1990 T. K. Singaram 1990–1992 Rabi Rajarathnam 1992–1995 M. V. Raghunathan 1995 – March 1997 K. P. Sashidar Rao March 1997 – 1998 K. J. Ramaswamy 1999–2000 P. B. Santhanakrishnan 2000–2001 C. S. Sivanandan 2002–2003 V. V. Mohindra 2003–2004 D. V. Seetharama Rao 2004–2006 Arvind Ramarathnam 2006–2008 N. A. Mirza 2008–2010 P. V. S. Vencatasubramaniam 2010–2013 S. B. P. Anand Mohan 2013–2014 Giridhar Bail 2014–2016 A. P. Suresh Kumar 2016–2018 C. Venugopal 2018–2021 T. Gunasagaran 2021–2024 Mr. Ishwar Achanta 2024 Mr. Arvind C. Mehta

Accommodations The club has 15 rooms: three deluxe, six regular and six suites. Accommodations are provided for members of domestic and internationally affiliated clubs. All rooms are air-conditioned.

Sports

The club has four lighted tennis courts, and Vijay Amritraj played there. It held the first South India Championships in 1889, and hosted for many years after. It has hosted several International Tennis Federation tournaments and the women's national championships. The club also has a gym, swimming pool, billiards, table tennis and a cards room.

Other facilities The MGC also has a sports shop, salon, beauty parlour, ice-cream parlour and book and DVD libraries.

Guindy annexe Originally on the Island Grounds, the golf course was moved to Guindy around 1887. It originally had nine holes before increasing to 14, 16 and 18 holes. Golf here was originally played off the browns; the transition to greens occurred during the 1980s. The Guindy course was known for its roughs, made challenging by the shifting wind. The 6,325/5765-yard course is within the oval of the Guindy Race Course.

Ross Thompson was the first captain of the golf club. The first inter-club competition between the MGC and the Bangalore Golf Club was held in 1878, and it remains the world's oldest continuing competition between two golf clubs. In 2002, the golf club celebrated its 125th anniversary.

The par-70 course is about 6,258 yards off the regular tees. There are also ladies tees and a set of championship tee boxes. It has over 50 bunkers, most guarding the relatively-small greens.

See also

Guindy Links Cosmopolitan Club

References

External links

Website