All Thai Final tomorrow 127th Sri Lanka Amateur Golf Championship @Nuwara Eliya Golf Course which celebrated 125 years of its existence.

All Thailand into Semi-Final

Nattawat and Chanachok playing excellent golf ensured an all-Thai final tomorrow in the 127th Sri Lanka Amateur Golf Championship being played at the Nuwara Eliya Golf Course which celebrated 125 years of its existence.  read more  at ----------------------------

127 year old Loung of 127 Year old  Club

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Nattawat continued his excellent form and took an early lead against India’s Udayan Mane. Except for a brief lapse in concentration where Nattawat picked up his ball thinking that his putt had been conceded, thereby losing the 11th hole on a technicality, he kept his cool and held on to his lead in the face of a mini fight back by Udayan, to win 3/1 and become the first golfer from Thailand to reach the final of this historic championship.

Chanachok on the other hand had to contend with a fired up Ranga from Sri Lanka and a partisan crowd of local supporters to fight his way back from 2 down after 6 holes. Ranga however, could not cope with the pressure and gradually lost his grip on the game to finally lose 3/2.

Ladies

It is all India

The all-India Ladies final for the Sri Lanka Ladies Championship title over 36 holes saw Tvesa Malik and Astha Madan playing excellent golf but occasionally 3 putting on the unyielding greens of the Nuwara Eliya Course. The morning session ended up with Treva holding on to a slender lead of 1 up. Astha was given a few chances to pull back but could never find the consistency to seriously threaten Tresa who was far superior in her approach shots to the green. Both girls, at 18 years of age, played confidently and showed a lot of maturity giving the enthusiastic spectators a glimpse of far greater potential in the years to come.

Natawat of Thailand

On Sunday, the Thai duo of Nattawat and Chanachok will enter their names in the championship history books as the first All-Thai finalists. Nattawat while showing consistency will have to be wary of an ever improving Chanachok.

On 127 year old Nuwara  Eliya Golf  ClubThe Nuwara Eliya golf course has a interesting history. Built in 1889 this is located very centrally & just off the town center. It stretches across about 100 acres of land & was originally built amidst the tea plantations of this central highland region. This is a hill station town & the course is located at an altitude of 6000 feet.So the ball does travel faster – atleast 6 % approximately. The course is a 18 hole, 6070 yard, Par 70 layout – the scorecard is in meters, the distance from the yardage markers to the edge of the green are in YARDS (distances on par 3 holes are to the center of the pin).

The course was built by a Scottish soldier of the Golan highlanders for the British servicemen & officials who were posted at Nuwara Eliya. It was completed in 1889 & currently has over 2000 members. The town of Nuwara Eliya was built by the British & the entire area has great natural beauty with a salubrious climate right through the year.

The course has huge changes in elevation, the greens are blue grass & run at about 6-7 on the stimp on a normal day & can play upto 9 on a tournament day when the weather is bright & sunny. This course has some very tough & challenging Par 3 holes, significant elevation changes, massive trees that guard the fairways & make broad landing areas look puny in comparison & some very tight holes where a innacurate shot is punished severely. Its designed in a manner that you can never really let your guard down & that is what makes a game at the Nuwara Eliya course a fabulous experience.

The golf course is hemmed in by the city on all sides & you need to cross the road on more than one occassion too get to the next bunch of holes. The highest mountains in Sri Lanka are also located alongside the course – Piduruthalagalla (Mount Pedro), The Great Western & Haggala. July to August are typically the rainy months while winter is from Dec to Jan when the temperatures plunge down to 7-9 degrees Centrigrade. Do take a set of woolens & your umbrella (THIS APPLIES THROUGH THE YEAR) as the temperature drops quite suddenly during the course of a round & the quick downpour here can come in when you least expect it too ! The course also has rooms & golfers can easily plan a short golf break here.

The city of Nuwara Eliya,was founded by Samuel Baker, the discoverer of Lake Albert and the explorer of the Nile in 1846. Nuwara Eliya’s climate lent itself to becoming the prime sanctuary of the British civil servants and planters in Ceylon. Nuwara Eliya, called Little England then, was also a hill country retreat where the British colonialists could immerse in their pastimes such as fox hunting, deer hunting,elephant hunting, polo, golf and cricket.
Although the town was founded in the 19th century by the British, the whole district is today visited by native travelers, specially during the month of April, the season of flowers, pony races, go cart races and auto rally.Many of the buildings retain features from the colonial period such as the Queen’s Cottage, General’s House, Grand Hotel, Hill Club, Town Post Office and even new hotels are often built and furnished in the colonial style. Anyone who visits the city can wallow in its nostalgia of bygone days by visiting these landmark buildings. Many private homes still maintain their old English-style lawns and gardens (THIS PARA courtesy WIKIPEDIA).

 The green at the Par 5, 6th hole is a massive 50 yards wide & measures a good 10000 sq ft plus.

Had a dog called Poonchi (which means small in Sinhalese) LEAD me through 9 holes of my 18 hole round.He would wait at the Tee box & then run down to the fairway, patiently wait for my second shot & then head to the side of the green. Always well mannered & gentlemanly!!

The pro shop has used balls for sale. The interesting part is there are 5 buckets with USED Golf balls from 50 to 100 SLK rupees each.

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DamaruTours@damaru.info