Nuwara Eliya Golf Club ready for tee-off after COVID-19

The beauty of Nuwara Eliya Golf Club

By Shamseer Jaleel

After near 3 months of pause in activity due to the unfortunate situations arising from the COVID-19 global pandemic, Nuwara Eliya Golf Course (NEGC) opened its doors to its members once again.

NEGC President Maj. Gen. Srinath Rajapakse

NGEC Club Captain Priyanga Hapugalle

NEGC will be in full swing on 14-16 August, when the two annual tournaments plus the AGM (Annual General Meeting) of the club will take place at the coolest hill in the country.

Daily FT caught up with both NEGC President Maj. Gen. Srinath Rajapakse, and Club Captain Priyanga Hapugalle, to find out in detail on NEGC becoming a favoured destination to local and international golfers.

Maj. Gen. Rajapakse said, “Some significant moves were that since its inauguration in 1889, the golf course added two additional plots of land to complete a stunning 18 holes course. The Burdett Trophy, which is an annual match play tournament between NEGC and RCGC (Royal Colombo Golf Club), was inaugurated in 1902, and is recorded as the second oldest annual golf tournament in the world. In 1936, the Ladies section of these two clubs commenced a similar match play tournament for the Puffin Cup.

“The centenary year was celebrated in 1989 with a grand dinner dance, and a special category of centenary-year life members were recruited. A similar event was organized for the 125th year and a coffee table book was also launched to mark the 125th anniversary, and it records the history and all past winners of the major tournaments.

“Following the tradition of the NEGC vs. RCGC tournament for the Burdett Trophy, a tournament between NEGC and VGCR was commenced in 2018. The Club House added on two additional wings to accommodate the growing demand in the eighties, and a major transformation took place in 2019, with the addition of a new building to house the Office and the Pro Shop.

“In 2020, the 130th membership drive took place, with almost 200 new members joining in and boosting its membership by 10%. A challenge trophy for the Nuwara Eliya District Inter School Golf Tournament was also inaugurated in 2020, with 9 schools taking part in its first edition.”

Club Captain Priyanga Hapugalle said, “Membership at NEGC is open to both gents and ladies of Sri Lankan as well as foreign nationality. Members can access the many coaching programs at NEGC and free green fees when they play at any of our local or overseas reciprocal clubs.

“Special rates are on offer for accommodation, which is housed over 3 wings and the Par 8 Cottage. The in-house restaurant, billiard room, bar, foot spa, and library, are some of the facilities members have access to.

“We have also added some interesting outdoor activities for non-golfers including biking, trekking, hiking, boat rides on Lake Gregory, visits to wildlife parks and farms, etc.”

Speaking on the COVID-19 challenge, the Club Captain said, “It was a major challenge to NEGC as we were not really prepared for such a situation. In fact, we were looking forward to the popular April season with many events and surprises for our members.

“Our first priority was the health and safety of our members and staff. We conducted the regular safety measures of sanitizing the club house and the equipment regularly. As the curfew eased off in the area, our committed green staff cleaned up the course and its surroundings. The service staff took the lead to grow our own organic vegetable plots which will now be used for preparations at our restaurant. We also kept our membership engaged with some exciting virtual content throughout the period.”