Broadening Horizons

Sri Lanka

Old School

With only four courses in the entire country, Sri Lanka is not exactly a fully-fledged golfing destination. But the journey from the capital Colombo to Victoria Golf and Country Club, the island's finest track, in the central hill country is among the most adventurous anywhere.
In the old days, your transport options for getting to the spectacular Donald Steel-designed course were limited to two rather unappealing choices: a six-hour ride on a cramped, non air-conditioned train or a five-hour drive up a windy – and at times, terrifying – mountain road by car. Now, thank goodness, you can fly: the Sri Lankan Air Taxi service from Colombo to Victoria is incredibly scenic, and the landing – which takes place on an adjacent Victoria reservoir – is especially thrilling for those who seldom travel by seaplane. The flight itself takes only 40 minutes, making it possible to be standing on the first tee within an hour of landing in the country.

While Victoria, a mountainous and wonderfully picturesque course perched on the edge of the aforementioned reservoir, is undoubtedly the class of the island, lovers of colonial-era clubs will get a thrill at both Nuwara Eliya Golf Club (negolf.lk), situated at a height of some 6,000 feet above sea level in the former British hill station of the same name, and the venerable Royal Colombo Golf Club (rcgcsl.com), in the heart of the capital. Both courses can at times be a little scruffy around the edges but that's hardly the point: these are two of the most traditional clubs in Asia, something that is weirdly refreshingly in a continent where the vast majority of courses are less than 20 years old.

Getting there: Cathay Pacific (cathaypacific.com) operates a daily flight to Colombo (with a stop in Bangkok), while Sri Lankan Airlines (srilankan.lk) flies three times a week (also stopping in Bangkok).

Where to stay: The Earl's Regency (earlsregency-kandy.com) in Kandy is a good choice and only 40 minutes by car from Victoria Golf and Country Club; for golfers visiting Nurawa Eliya the obvious place to stay is the St Andrew's Hotel (jetwinghotels.com), which radiates old world charm; CASA Colombo (casacolombo.com), right in the middle of the capital and less than 15 minutes from Royal Colombo, is a relatively new boutique hotel offering and highly recommended.

Need to know: Be aware that Poya (the day of a full moon) is a public holiday and some courses will not be fully staffed. Bars are also closed (including those in clubhouses) during Poya and drinking of alcohol is restricted to private areas.