Golf Training Camp at Katunayake
12:01pm on Thursday 20th February 2014
A one-week training camp for aspiring golfers commenced on 17 February 2014 at the Mini Golf Couse at SLAF Katunayake. Forty five highly enthusiastic officers have enrolled in the training camp which is part of the drive to improve the game of golf in the SLAF.
SLAF Katunayake, formerly RAF Negombo and then RAF Katunayake, has a history of Golf that dates back to the 1940s, when there was a 9 Hole golf course running parallel to the East-West runway. Over time, with the expansion of the runway and the transfer of the station to the RCyAF, the golf course receded from use and memory. It was with the resurgence of golf in the SLAF in the recent past that the Commander of the Air Force directed the Base Commander, Air Commodore Sudarshana Pathirana to seek the possibility of constructing a mini golf course at SLAF Base Katunayake.
Initially, a practice range with three greens and a club house overlooking the runway was planned and constructed within a very short period using assets available at the Base. The Palm Groves Mini Golf Club was declared open on 6 September 2013. Work is ongoing to further expand the course, on completion of which, the course will be transformed into a 6-Hole Golf Course meeting the specifications of the International Golf Federation.
This unique 6-Hole Mini Golf Course, constructed between two Fighter Squadrons and overlooking the International Runway and the Airport has two Par 3, two Par 4 and two Par 5 fairways totaling 24 Pars and 2073 Yards.
The challenges of the course include water hazards, sand bunkers and mounds, roughs and doglegs. Also, wake turbulences and wingtip vortices of wide-bodied international passenger aircraft as well as roaring fighter jets taking-off and landing add to the challenge. To enhance the excitement of the golfer, the second teeing ground is placed at the bund of a 95 yard water hazard of the second fairway, while the fourth teeing ground is placed just underneath the windsock where a golfer can get the idea of wind direction and strength. The view of the sunrise through the greenish peaks and the red western skies at sunset add to the wonder of the course.
SLAF Katunayake, formerly RAF Negombo and then RAF Katunayake, has a history of Golf that dates back to the 1940s, when there was a 9 Hole golf course running parallel to the East-West runway. Over time, with the expansion of the runway and the transfer of the station to the RCyAF, the golf course receded from use and memory. It was with the resurgence of golf in the SLAF in the recent past that the Commander of the Air Force directed the Base Commander, Air Commodore Sudarshana Pathirana to seek the possibility of constructing a mini golf course at SLAF Base Katunayake.
Initially, a practice range with three greens and a club house overlooking the runway was planned and constructed within a very short period using assets available at the Base. The Palm Groves Mini Golf Club was declared open on 6 September 2013. Work is ongoing to further expand the course, on completion of which, the course will be transformed into a 6-Hole Golf Course meeting the specifications of the International Golf Federation.
This unique 6-Hole Mini Golf Course, constructed between two Fighter Squadrons and overlooking the International Runway and the Airport has two Par 3, two Par 4 and two Par 5 fairways totaling 24 Pars and 2073 Yards.
The challenges of the course include water hazards, sand bunkers and mounds, roughs and doglegs. Also, wake turbulences and wingtip vortices of wide-bodied international passenger aircraft as well as roaring fighter jets taking-off and landing add to the challenge. To enhance the excitement of the golfer, the second teeing ground is placed at the bund of a 95 yard water hazard of the second fairway, while the fourth teeing ground is placed just underneath the windsock where a golfer can get the idea of wind direction and strength. The view of the sunrise through the greenish peaks and the red western skies at sunset add to the wonder of the course.
