Rohan de Silva elected to lead Nuwara Eliya Golf Club

By Shamseer Jaleel

Rohan de Silva was elected as the President of the Nuwara Eliya Golf Club (NEGC) at their 132nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) which took place at their clubhouse recently.

NEGC President Rohan de Silva

NEGC Ladies  Skipper Ahalya Rajan

NEGC Mens Skipper Sudath Kumar

This AGM which was scheduled to be held in April 2021 was postponed due to the restriction imposed by the Government in conducting meetings and public events due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the General Committee decided to postpone the same. Later the membership was notified of the postponement and the online meeting on virtual platform took place on 26 September.

Immediate Past President Major General Srinath Rajapakse stepped down from the Presidency after five long years of yeoman service for the NEGC. The century-plus-old club from the hills will have a year full of golf once the country opens out in the near future. Another veteran in the golf field and banker, Trevine Fernandupulle, comes in to the Vice President’s post. Brig Nanda Hathurusinghe with his tremendous commitment and vast experience on the golf course and his management experience gained from his military service will add value to the key position of Club Secretary.

Newly-appointed President of NEGC, Rohan De Silva speaking to Daily FT said, “Our main focus will continue to be the development of the golf course. We have already engaged the services of Mike De Alwis, an experienced planter who is an expert in this field and have invested in several green equipment for maintenance of the course. With the kind help of the Mayor of Nuwara Eliya Chandralal Karunaratne, we are trying to redesign some of the public footpaths, which cut across the fairways, away from the playing areas, making it a safe place for golfers as well as the public. Beautification of the course and the surrounding areas will continue to be given the highest priority so that golfers can have a wonderful experience second to none. 

Speaking further Rohan de Silva said, “We have completed 12 deluxe rooms and in all we now have 30 guest rooms available for use by the members. We have an excellent restaurant overlooking the fairways and a modern kitchen to match and have upgraded the laundry facilities enabling us to attract discerning golfers both from overseas and locally.

“Prior to the pandemic, the Junior academy was our way of contributing to the community as part of our CSR activity by recruiting students from schools in the area and putting them through a structured training program with the help of professional golfers. I am proud to say that our junior golfers performed admirably in the inter-club tournaments that were conducted. We were able to raise funds to provide golfing equipment to these kids free of charge with the generous help of our members and well-wishers. 

“During this pandemic period unfortunately, the club was closed for prolonged periods; however, we continued to keep our staff, caddies, ground staff on our payroll with zero lay-offs despite the club having very little opportunities for revenue generation. In this regard, I must take this opportunity to thank the membership who came forward to make generous donations to ensure that we were able to keep the payroll ticking. I must also thank our sponsors Dialog Axiata who have come forward with generous sponsorship over the years without which we would have found it very challenging to manage the club.”

Men’s skipper, Sudath Kumar was in the General Committee from 2017 to 2021 before being elected as the captain of the NEGC. Further he was a single digit handicapper and active golfer. Presently he is also the Treasurer in the Sri Lanka Golf which is the national body governing golf in Sri Lanka. Speaking to Daily FT, Kumar said, “My main task as a captain is to assure excellent playing conditions and a beautiful golf course for our members as mentioned by the President in his inaugural speech. Thus, enhancing necessary equipment and use of technology for a better management of our golf course is one of our primary goals.

“Further we cannot forget our employees; necessary action will be taken to improve the knowledge and skills of our human resources involved in maintaining the golf course as they are the key asset of ours towards achieving this goal.

“The upcoming 2021/22 no doubt will be a tough year as we have to live with the new normal environment. However, all attempts will be made to present our members’ entire golfing calendar at my best.”

Kumar ended by saying, “Hence I invite all our members to support us, support your club with your innovative ideas, suggestions and even constructive criticisms if any to build our club from strength to strength, together.”

Speaking to Daily FT, Ladies skipper Ahalya Rajan who is a veteran in the field as a golfer plus top-class administrator, with the club for more than seven years said, “I am truly humbled and honoured to be appointed as NEGC Ladies Captain for 2021/2022. The new normal has halted most of our golf events for the past two years. However, we all look forward to a more active golfing calendar in the future as travel and health restrictions ease. Like me I am sure all the ladies can’t wait to get back on the course again.” She further said, “We plan to initiate new tournaments which are a mix of cause based, as well as fun events to re-engage with all our members.”

The following were appointed for the 2021/2022 Committee:

President :

     Rohan de Silva

Vice President :

      Trevine Fernandopulle    

Immediate Past President:

Maj. Gen. Srinath Rajapakse

Mens Captain:

Sudath Kumar

Ladies Captain:

Ahalya Rajan

Secretary:

Brig. Nanda Hathurusinghe

Committee Members:

Air Marshal Sudharshana      Pathirana, Nayana Dehigama,

Thivanka Ekarathne,

Dilan Polonowita,

Austin Bartholomeusz,

Chamara Abeyrathne, and 

     Rev. L.S. Joshua