At the foot of Mullayanagiri, Karnataka’s highest peak, lies Chikmagalur—a land of rolling coffee estates, dense forests, winding trails and ancient temples. Cradled by the Western Ghats, it is also the birthplace of six life-giving rivers that have shaped this landscape for centuries and it plays an important role in South India.

For all its natural beauty and rich plantation heritage, one tradition was missing. While many plantation towns had their own golf courses, Chikmagalur did not. A.B. Sudarshan of the Aralaguppe family saw not what was absent, but what was possible. His vision gave the hills a fairway and Chikmagalur a golfing legacy that continues to inspire.