The only resort’s golf course in Sri Lanka recently opened its driving range and is now USGA (United States Golf Association) Course Rated and Slope Rated.

Shangri-La’s Hambantota Golf Resort & Spa recently welcomed Rodney Wright, the globally celebrated golf architect who designed the 18-hole course, spread across a vast coconut palm plantation offering spectacular views and distinctive challenges for both beginners and seasoned players. Wright visited the resort to share his expertise with the resort team, review the golf course and celebrate the accreditation of the course as it has recently been USGA (United States Golf Association) Course Rated and Slope Rated.

Rodney Wright is a firm believer in integrating the culture and environment of the surrounding area into a golf course. His goal is to design a course that people walk away from, but remember every hole. With more than 40 years of experience designing award winning golf courses worldwide, he takes pride in creating unique and memorable golf courses.

Rodney Wright commented: “My inspiration in Hambantota came from the unique settings of this former coconut plantation which gave us the opportunity to create a sense of place on the golf course and work with the coconut plantation grid to create a golf course which has a unique and distinctive character. This is one of the most unique golf courses I have designed; it has a great variety of golf holes, it is a place that you can come to have a fun round of golf, and enjoy the day in scenic settings.” Rodney Wright has honed this valuable expertise on sites of every terrain imaginable, from the red clay hills of Georgia to the lava floes of Hawaii to the rice terraces of Bali, to the beaches of the Seychelles islands and the forests of France.

The beautifully-landscaped par-70 golf course at Shangri-La’s Hambantota Golf Resort & Spa offers three zones, each with its own unique character; The Coconut Plantation offers lush fairways and challenging bunkers, The Dune Area - with its subtle elevation changes - gives way to breath-taking views of the Indian Ocean, and The Sapphire Mine showcases generous greens with an abundance of water features. The resort also recently opened its driving range where golfers can practice their golf swing.

The course development was approached from an eco-perspective, due to the resort’s dedication to biodiversity and habitat protection. The structure has revitalised an abandoned sapphire mine, restored vegetation, re-introduced birdlife and uses Paspalum grass for its salt-tolerant turf, which is resilient in the tropical climate and allows for the highest standards of course conditioning.

The golf membership at Shangri-La’s Hambantota Golf Resort & Spa provides all the amenities you would expect from a world-class golf club, with different categories of membership to suit golfers’ preferences and special benefits at the resort.

For information and reservations: Tel: (94 47) 788 8888 or email slht@shangri-la.com.

ENDS

About Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts
Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts currently operates over 100 hotels with a room inventory of over 41,000. Shangri-La hotels are five-star deluxe properties featuring extensive luxury facilities and services. Shangri-La hotels are located in Australia, Canada, mainland China, Fiji, France, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Sultanate of Oman, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. The group has a substantial development pipeline with upcoming projects in Australia, mainland China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. For more information, please visit www.shangri-la.com.

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PRESS CONTACT: Niranga Gunaratna, Director of Communications, Niranga.Gunaratna@shangri-la.com tel +94 117 888 288