Shangri-La’s Hambantota Golf Resort & Spa

Nice course. Very slow greens. Friendly caddies but also ‘trolley puller’s ‘ who know nothing about golf. Where is the first tee? No clue. Give you a 9 wood to chip…..plus speaking no english. That makes is hard to communicate. They state they have buggies but have only 5 much older that the course is!!! No brakes, no stearing. I do not think the golfcourse has any priority here.

Amazing experience, incredibly warm but very cool course to play! For most travelling Sri Lanka, Hambantota wouldn’t be a place you’d venture to without much offering for tourists but there are a couple of beautiful resorts situated here and in particular the Shangri-La. It really is stunning and they have a wonderful golf course to go along with it.

18 holes of mostly coconut tree lined fairways, it is quite a challenge in the humid conditions down there. I teed off around 7:30am and would’ve suggested starting even earlier if possible. By hole 12 I was drenched in sweat and opted to go have breakfast for a quick break and some time to cool down. The course was very quiet, I played in the off season and not many people played, coupled by the fact that golf isn’t particularly accessible for most Sri Lankans means pace of play here is pretty quick, humidity dependent.

There are a bunch of awesome holes, all lined with coconut trees but what was even more surreal were the peacocks roaming some of the greens and 2 giant iguanas that came waddling past us as I putted on one of the greens. Apparently a crocodile comes out onto the front 9 around hole 8 in the afternoon but we did not see it nor any cobras as was alluded to in another review.

Caddies are compulsory here and I’d recommend a buggy with the heat. Would’ve loved the pro shop to stock a few more items, it was fairly sparse in there but there’s a lovely little bar overlooking the 18th green and happy hour later in the afternoon meant we spent much time there. Worth noting the rental clubs in the pro shop did look good so no worries there. I was sad enough to travel Sri Lanka with my own set of clubs.

Unfortunately the driving range is no longer there so practice facilities are limited to the chipping/putting green but the course was in pretty good condition all things considered. Nice lush fairways and pretty honest, true running greens.

Highly recommend if you’re a golf fan and in Sri Lanka, the experience is certainly worth it!

Club house was shut.

Course was a little rough around the edges.

Greens slow.

Caddies compulsory, second one was better than first.

Nice golfcourse. Not very long but still difficult. Though Bermuda grass.

We played the course three days in a row.

Sri Lankas neuester Hotel Golfplatz. Erbaut in einem flachen Palmenhain wo Caddys mit Helm! ausgestattet werden um sich vor herunterfallenden Kokspalmen zu schützten. Helme für Spieler sind keine vorgesehen... Sehr anspruchsvolle und abwechslungsreiche Schlusslöcher 14-18. Pfaue, Warne oder eine Affenhorden (bei Green 16), das Tierreich ist auch präsent. Vorsicht vor Cobra Giftschlangen an Löchern 8-11. Gegengift sei im Golfshop vorhanden. Nach "High Skilled" Caddys verlangen. Grosse Auswahl an neue Mietgolfschläger (Links & Rechtshand) im Pro Shop erhältlich.

Sri Lanka's newest hotel golf course. Built in a shallow palm grove where caddies are equipped with helmets to protect themselves from falling coco palms. Helmets for players are not provided... Very demanding and varied final holes 14-18. Peacock, Warne or a monkeys (near Green 16), the animal kingdom is also present. Beware of Cobra poisonous snakes at holes 8-11. Antidote is available in the golf shop. Ask for "High Skilled" caddies. Large selection of new rental golf clubs (left & right hand) available in the Pro Shop.