Sri Lanka - Old World Charm

Eccentricities abound at Sri Lanka’s Royal Colombo Golf Club

Royal Colombo ClubhouseFor the golf-starved traveller, the most rewarding aspect of wondering aimlessly through Asia is that you’re pretty much bound to discover great courses in the most unlikely of places. Whether you find yourself in the steamy jungles of Sumatra or in the cooler central highlands of the Malaysian peninsula, there is seemingly always a worthy layout to get your softspikes stuck into.
I was reminded of this very fact on a recent trip to Sri Lanka. Compared to the golfing nirvanas of Thailand, Japan and, increasingly, China, this island nation, home to 18 million people and only four courses, doesn’t really ‘do’ golf. Cricket rules the roost here, and all other sports take a back seat. But don’t let that put you off. The golf here, what little they have of it, is good—and at the Royal Colombo Golf Club they have one of the most intriguing courses around.
Established in 1879, making it one of the oldest clubs outside the British Isles, Royal Colombo is situated in the western suburbs of the country’s commercial capital, barely a 15-minute taxi ride from the main international hotels of the city’s financial district. Unfortunately, I travelled to the club by tuk-tuk (or three-wheeler, as the Sri Lankans refer to these motorized tricycles), which adds at least 10 minutes and immeasurable discomfort to the journey. But I forgot all about that when I arrived at what, in my mind at least, is one of the best clubhouses in the world.
Call me old-fashioned, but I am not a fan of the large, grandiose structures, featuring spas, saunas, squash courts and swimming pools, that pass for clubhouses at the majority of Asia’s newer courses. For me, a good 19th hole should be functional: a simple locker-room, a well-stocked pro shop, an even better-stocked bar and a restaurant serving a decent array of carbohydrate-based snacks. Royal Colombo has all of this, plus a wonderful veranda overlooking the eighth and 18th greens where you can relax with a bottle of locally brewed Lion lager and watch the club’s ageing membership hack their way back home. The waiters may not run around barefoot as they did back in colonial days, but they’re unfalteringly polite and quick to make recommendations from the club’s exotic menu.

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