One of the highest golf courses in India, Royal Springs occupies a spectacular site on the lower slopes of the Zabarwan Hills above Dal Lake, at an elevation of about 1,700 metres. The 18-hole course was designed by Robert Trent Jones II and opened in the 1990s. The combination of mountain air, the views over the lake, and the surrounding chinar trees makes this one of the more atmospherically interesting golf courses in the country.
The course is run by the Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation and is open to visitors. Equipment hire is available for those who don't bring their own. Golf aside, the location is worth knowing about: the course driveway provides access to a viewpoint over Dal Lake and the city that is higher and clearer than most lakefront viewpoints, and the café at the clubhouse has a pleasant terrace. Non-golfers occasionally drive up simply for the view. The course is adjacent to the Nishat Bagh gardens, making a combination of a morning garden visit and a late-morning round of golf a reasonable programme for a single excursion.