The Calcutta Ladies’ Golf Club sports a clean look the day after the Sunday rally on the Brigade Parade Ground and (below) the Metro report on February 12. (Amit Datta)

The Calcutta Ladies’ Golf Club received a surprise Valentine’s Day gift from the Left Front: fairways free of the ravages of the big Brigade rally on Sunday that left the rest of the Maidan in a mess.

“It’s a great feeling to see that all’s not lost in this city. We are thankful to everyone — the army, police and the Left Front — for protecting our golf course,” Minakshi Chanda, the acting captain of the country’s only ladies’ golf club said on Monday.

Metro had reported on the eve of the rally about the club petitioning Lalbazar and Fort William, the custodian of the Maidan, to protect its freshly laid greens from the assault of a million feet.

“We believe the Left Front had instructed its cadres to co-operate with the administration and spare our greens. We are thankful to them,” Chanda said.

This is the first time that the nine-hole course has escaped a mauling along with the rest of the Maidan on a rally day at the Brigade Parade Ground.

The ladies club, set up in 1891, is set to host some of the country’s top women golfers in the Gold Cup tournament sometime next month.

Left Front leaders wouldn’t admit they made an exception for the lady golfers following their public appeal, but party workers said word did go out from Alimuddin Street that the fairways and the greens be spared.

“We tried our best not to inconvenience anyone, although that’s not possible when so many people attend a rally. Every year, we try to focus on our shortcomings and this time we were also careful not to damage the golf greens, among other places,” senior CPM leader Niranjan Chatterjee said.

Members of the golf club had been preparing for the worst when a record crowd converged on the Maidan from all sides for possibly the Left Front’s last Brigade rally before a landmark election. But Monday morning brought good news from the gardeners, who were the first to notice that their labour of love had been left untouched by the red army.

Cellphones buzzed around town over the next half an hour and many members who usually don’t visit the club for days after a Brigade rally were soon on their way to the course.

“I am so relieved to see the greens and the driving range looking just the way they were on Saturday. We can now host the Gold Cup tournament with our heads held high,” said golfer Soma Ray.

Unsure about the fate of the course, the ladies’ club had postponed announcing the dates for the three-day tournament. The announcement finally came on Monday afternoon. “We have decided on March 25-27,” said a member.

The police and the army said a team effort saved the course a mauling.

“We are happy to know that our efforts have been appreciated by the club,” a senior officer in Lalbazar said.