The men who play at this time have given them the permanent honour to be the first ones off the tee, and not surprisingly, if the ladies are waiting for their fourth, they seek permission before teeing off ahead of them.

Darshi Narang, presently, the oldest lady golfer on the Chandigarh golf course, Pramila Chari, a doctor in the PGI, Anjana Seghal and Kiran B. M. Singh, make up this fourball.

They originally started playing this early in the morning because Dr Chari had to be at the hospital, after her round. Now, they are so addicted to this early hour that it has become a habit.

They either sleep in different rooms or keep their clothes in other rooms and creep out to get dressed in the morning, so as not to disturb their husbands at 4.30 in the morning (or night, if you like). Dr Chari, even goes to the extent of tip-toeing down the stairs to get dressed before leaving for golf.

They all have their reasons for this addiction. Anjana Seghal, niece of the legendary golfer, Billoo Sethi, plays at this time because she cannot play in the sharp sun. Every year she had to stop playing golf in June to avoid the sunshine. ``Since I have started playing golf in the mornings, I can play every day, throughout the year,'' she says.

Kiran B. M. Singh has another reason altogether. "I play this early as the day starts on a happy note. We have been doing so for the last six or seven years and it has become a habit now".

Kiran's husband also plays golf, therefore, for her it is easier to play while he is on the golf course. However, it is also a good time to play because they are home before anyone misses them, she says. As the household rises, they are present. She has always worked, so this is a happy alternative for her. Darshi Narang plays at this early hour because she wants to. She feels that "nature is very beautiful early in the morning. All the moods of nature are worth seeing".

Promila Chari, who started this trend, feels that she has to play her golf every day or she feels stiff. An energetic person, she even grabs a swim before hitting the first tee ... though often enough she has to wait for the guard to arrive and open the changing rooms, before she can jump in.

Anjana Sehgal adds: "It has come to stay that we tee off first. Therefore, as a rule, we do." They all narrate a time when a fourball started from the second hole as they teed off from the first, just to be ahead of them. But since they would always hit the woods, we had to take a pass from them. Now they don't even attempt to tee off before us".

The foursome is full of early morning antedotes ... like the time they played in really thick fog. "When we reached the green all our golf balls were on the putting surface. We were very surprised they played out. Later we learned that the caddies had picked up the golf balls and threw then onto the green," giggles Darshi Narang.

This lot plays through all weather conditions. As Darshi Narang says: "Where else would you find a 70-year-old lady who plays golf even in the rain. But I love it and can play through anything." Incidentally, she also played through the heat of the recently concluded Chandigarh Open and took home a bag of prizes.