Golf is played on all courses throughout the year

Sri Lanka is relatively unknown in the field of Golf, but surprisingly the country has three of the finest 18 hole courses in Asia. In fact the association with golf is more than a century and the Sri Lanka Amateur Golf Championship, which was instituted in the year 1891 follows the British Amateur Golf Championship, as the oldest national championship in the world.

The three courses are situated in Colombo, Digana and Nuwara Eliya, Colombo at sea level, Digana at an elevation of 600 m and Nuwara Eliya at 2'070 m have distinctly different terrain and climate conditions. This contributes to the enjoyment and challenge, as you feel you are playing golf in three different countries.

The Courses

The Royal Colombo Golf Club

This course is 5'770 m long (par 71). A flat course with broad fairways, which looks simple to beginners but there are many water hazards and well guarded bunkers which quickly change the opinion. The Royal Colombo Golf Club is easily accessible, being 20 minutes drive from all first-class hotels in the city.

The Royal Golf Club in Colombo established in 1879 is one of the oldest in the world. The 18 hole course is 5700 yards in length with broad tree lined fairways. It is not as easy to play as it may seem from first impressions - it is possible to go into the water at every hole

Address: Model Farm Road, Colombo 8, Sri Lanka
Holes: 18
Metres: 5770
Telephone: 94-1 691 401
This club's history goes back to 1879. It features many water hazards starting with the first hole. At the 6th hole, golfers meet the Kelani Valley train which passes across the fairway.

The Nuwara Eliya Golf Club

This course which is reputed to be one of Asia's finest is 5'520 m (par 71). The fairways are long and narrow and bordered by fir trees and thick bushes. It demands skilful "position play" and the hilly terrain makes it essential that players can cope with up-hill and down-hill lies. The Golf Club is 10 minutes walk from the Grand Hotel and 190 km from Colombo.

The setting: a shady golf course surrounded by swaying trees, a period clubhouse complete with restaurant, bar and well-stocked pro shop in the distance and sloping green lawns stretching out endlessly in front of you. Not exactly the type of atmosphere you would normally associate with Sri Lanka, tropical isle of wild, untamed beauty? Well, think again.

The 18 hole Nuwara Eliya course is 6250 yards long and situated at an elevation of over 2000m. In the cool climate and scenic surroundings the course was laid out by the Gordon Highlanders stationed in Nuwara Eliya in the late 1880s. The course is acknowledged as one of Asia's best. Narrow fairways make it a highly challenging course with the hilly 12th, 13th and 14th holes amongst the most daunting.

A legacy from the British colonial period, golfing in Sri Lanka has many nostalgic links to this era. In the old days, wealthy English planters and governors spent their evenings at clubhouses, in an effort to recreate the lifestyle they left behind them. Today, these period relics are put to good use by hordes of tourists and traveling executives enticed by the calm and soothing atmosphere of the golfing terrain, as well as by locals taking a break from the absorbing national pastime of cricket.

Although the Royal Colombo Golf Club is one of the island's oldest, measuring 5770 yards in length, and has hosted a number of local and regional championship events in the past, however for sheer scenic beauty, visitors journey to the hills where the 18-hole Nuwara Eliya Golf Course lies at a chilling elevation of over 2000m. Laid out by the Gordon Highlanders stationed in Nuwara Eliya in 1889, the course is acknowledged to be one of Asia's best, irresistibly fringed by forest cover and gifted with a stunning view.

Nuwara Elliya Golf Club
Address: Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka
Holes: 18
Telephone: 522 835
At the base of Mount Pidurutalagala in the heart of tea country. At 1890' above sea level, it features fir lined fairways, bunkers and scenic surroundings. The 9th is an island green surrounded by bunkers. Water (rivers) come into play on 6 holes.

Victoria Golf Course

The newest addition to the island's golf courses is the Victoria Golf Course. Located on a 207 hectare site with a 8 km waterfront it overlooks the panoramic Victoria Reservoir.

Victoria Golf Club, Digana: This course is 6'190 m long (par 73) a championship golf course designed by Donald Steel and inaugurated early in 1999. The fairways are rather narrow in a hilly country side. Stately trees and avenues of coconuts lend the course an immediate air maturity. Impressive natural outcrops of rocks are a distinctive feature and indeed a hazard of the course. The Victoria Golf Club is situated 25 km east of Kandy and 150 km from Colombo.

The newest addition to Sri Lanka's golfing assets is the Victoria Golf Course, overlooking the sweeping panorama of the Victoria Reservoir, with only the heavy sounds of rushing water intruding on the silence of a golfing paradise.

Describing the Victoria Golf Course Golf Architect, Donald Steel says "Some golf courses have a splendid undulating terrain over which the holes are routed. Some golf courses have a scenic back drop of hills and lakes which excite the senses. However the Victoria Golf Course near Kandy is blessed with both attributes."

One of the most exhilarating and difficult holes at Victoria is the 473 yds. Par 4, Seventh. The drive from an elevated tee call for distance, accuracy and nerves of steel, if the player is to have a chance of reaching the green in two.

Stately trees and avenues of coconuts lend the course an immediate air of maturity. Impressive natural outcrops of rock are a distinctive feature and indeed a hazard if the course.

Measuring 6879 yds at its full Championship length, Victoria's Par 73 layout has four Par 5 holes of which three are over 500 yds long. There are four excellent Par 3 holes ranging from the very short, but tricky 5th of 124 yds to the testing 210 yds 13th hole, a great Par 3 by any standard.

Victoria International Golf and Country Resort
Kandy
Holes: 18
Yardage: 6877 Par: 73
E Mail Address: info@victoriagolfclub.com
Web Site: www.victoriagolfclub.com
Opened in January 1999. Designed by Donald Steel & Company. Set in Sri Lanka's central mountains right on the shores of the Victoria Reservoir.

Sri Lanka's Amateur Feast

The fifth annual Sri Lankan Golf Classic takes place from October 28-29, 2003 with organisers hoping the event will attract its traditional array of amateur competitors from Asia, Europe, America and beyond.

For the first time, the event will be staged at the stunning Victoria Golf Club in Rajawella (as featured in 'Sri Lanka's New Beginning', May issue). When it opened recently, Victoria was the first new course in Sri Lanka for more than 100 years and is one of only three courses in the country. As well as the main two-day tournament, there is also a mini-tournament on October 26, 2003 at the Nuwara Eliya Golf Club.

Competitors in the Sri Lankan Golf Classic can win prizes including business class return tickets, trophies and holiday packages in Sri Lanka. The event rounds off with an awards ceremony at Earl's Regency, complete with gala dinner dance. Sri Lankan Airlines are offering attractively priced Golf Classic holiday packages, which include return flights and four nights' hotel accommodation.

For further information or entry forms, contact your local Sri Lankan Airlines office. For Singapore, contact tel: (65) 223-6026, fax: (65) 221-9425, or e-mail: airlanka@airlanka.com.sg. For Hong Kong, contact tel: (852) 2521-0812, fax: (852) 2801-5600, or e-mail: srilanka@netvigator.com