Like almost everywhere else in Asia, caddies are a mainstay at Royal Colombo, but unlike the pretty young girls you tend to find in other countries, Royal Colombo’s caddies are all men—and what’s more they know their stuff. Jinasena, a 60-year-old Sinhalese with wild facial hair, was the man chosen to lug my hefty bag around for the afternoon and was quick to provide every ounce of information that I—or Tiger Woods—would ever need.
“This is a short par-4, Sir,” he advised when we reached the second tee. “Aim at the lone tree on the left with your drive. A good shot here will only leave a pitching wedge to the green. But watch out! The pond in front of the putting surface will gobble up any short shots, so better to be long with your approach. Also the green has a lot of slope…are you a good putter, Sir?”
“Well, I suppose I have my moments,” I said.
“Then this is an excellent birdie opportunity,” he replied, oozing misplaced confidence by the bucketload.
After slicing my ball onto the railway track that runs parallel with the fairway, Jinasena, his faith in my abilities well and truly extinguished, boasted: “I play to a handicap of three. But I’d be a lot better than that if they allowed us caddies to play more.”
The real joy of playing Royal Colombo, however, comes from the variety of flora and fauna encountered on the course. Magnificent acacia and mara trees line many of the holes here, while lotus-filled ponds and lakes, home to great numbers of storks, ibis, spoonbills and pelicans, serve as the course’s predominant hazards. Giant monitor lizards—some of which measure up to five feet in length—can be seen sunning themselves by the side of the fairways, while snakes of all descriptions are said to lurk in the higher grasses of the rough. A round of golf at Royal Colombo is akin to walking through a wildlife sanctuary, the only difference being the occasional need to whack a small white ball towards a flag somewhere in the distance.
To be perfectly honest, Royal Colombo will never make it onto a list of Asia’s best courses. It’s a little too rough around the edges, a little too eccentric perhaps, for those who judge these things. But that’s hardly the point. This is a complete one-off. A course with history, character and hardy old men called Jinasena who will carry your bag and regale you with stories of the club’s rich past. It is, I’m afraid to say, one of a dying breed.
All Aboard the Bogey Train
While the title of Royal Colombo’s hardest hole probably goes to the par-4 1st, which requires a long arrow-straight drive followed by a good mid-iron over a pond, things don’t get much more surreal than playing the 6th—but only at around 8am in the morning. At first glance there’s nothing particularly taxing about this par-four. It measures less than 300-yards and the landing area is more than generous. But wonder up the fairway, and at roughly 50-yards short of the green you’ll notice that a railway track bisects the hole. This is the Kelani Valley railway line and every morning the Kelani Valley Express whooshes through ferrying commuters into the centre of Colombo. Free relief (two clublengths) is permitted for anyone whose ball comes to rest on the track.
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