Even a temperature of 10°C couldn't deter city golfers from turning up at Patna Golf Club as early as 8am on Sunday.

Around 90 golfers exhibited their skills on the concluding day of the two-day amateur golf tournament having been organised by the club as part of its centenary celebrations.

The club was established on March 21, 1916. It was then called South Bihar Gymkhana Club.

The final day of the tournament was dedicated to experienced golfers of 0-18 handicap. A handicap is a numerical measure of an amateur golfer's ability to play the game. A golfer with lower handicap is considered to be more skilled than those on the higher side.

Braving the fog and westerlies, the golfers gave tough competition to each other. Vishal Sahay, a businessman and an amateur golfer, said: 'For me Patna Golf Club is like a second home. Even a colder day could not have deterred me from taking part in the tournament today (Sunday). Golf needs dedication, discipline and passion and I chose to exhibit these qualities by turning up on time.'

While for some it was passion, for others it was a stepping stone to prepare for professional tournaments. Golfer Aman Raj said: 'Such tournaments help young golfers brush up their skills. I have been playing golf for the past eight years and have planned to take part in professional tournaments. Such tournaments help shape us to get into the shoes of professional golfers.'

Raj has grabbed many trophies last year, including NCR Cup, Asia Pacific Amateur Championship, Northern India Amateur Championship and Malaysian Amateur Golf Championship.

Hole-in-one was the bullseye and it was not hit. 'Hole-in-one is a tough nut to crack. Getting the ball inside the hole in first shot needs regular practice and perfect timing,' said Varun Singh Tikari, a businessman.

The players gave some classic golf shots, including high standouts, down swings and backswings, leaving the spectators thrilled. Rizwan Ali, the coach of the club, said: 'The golfers of 0-18 handicap are quite perfect about their timing and shots. In golf, the body posture of the player while swinging the ball matters a lot. The golfers have perfect body posture. They are quite disciplined and few of them are capable of taking part in professional tournaments.' Ali, who was earlier associated with the Royal Calcutta Golf Club, joined Patna Golf Club's academy as coach around two years ago.

The golf club captain, Tapan Ghosh, said: 'The participants played well. It was a neck-to-neck competition and participants gave their 100 per cent. I hope in the near future we will get more participations for such tournaments.'

The Patna Golf Club has decided to organise a series of events in the run up to the centenary celebrations. It has lined up tournaments - inter-state, annual and professional - in the next two years.

The club has organised some important events in the past few years, including Professional Golf Tour of India Tournament in 2006 and 2011 (state player Mohammad Islam became the runner-up), Inter State Championship (Farooq Abdullah came with the J&K team) in 2011 and Tata Steel Junior National Championship in 2012.

National players like Vijay Kumar, Feroz Ali and Rafiq Ali, have played at the Patna Golf Club earlier.