Pranavesh Sivakumar delves into the past, present and future of a champion golfer

THE GOLFER TEES OFF

Amrith de Soysa discusses his plans to grow the sport’s following in Sri Lanka

In March, golfer Amrith de Soysa became the youngest Captain of the Royal Colombo Golf Club (RCGC) in the club’s 145 year history.

His journey began as a 12-year-old when he walked along the fairways and spent countless hours at the club. de Soysa remarks: “It’s truly an honour to be the Captain of the Royal Colombo Golf Club. I am extremely privileged to be in this position and appreciate the membership backing me to be their youngest captain in the club’s history.”

Only a few months into his appointment, he is prepared with a series of blueprints and has already got down to business. The first of many undertakings is a bunker refurbishment programme for the golf course.

He explains: “A bunker is a specially prepared area intended to test a player’s ability to play a ball from the sand. It’s a common feature in golf courses around the world.”

De Soysa also plans to build the first Trackman room at the RCGC driving range, where members and juniors will have access to the best launch monitor in golf.

A launch monitor is a computerised radar system that offers players feedback or data on their golf swings. He is confident that this will be a game changer for the future of golf in Sri Lanka.

“I will be installing a solar panel system at the club this year to make it more energy efficient and in line with our strategic plan, the first net zero golf club in Southeast Asia by 2029,” he reveals.

Another plan that’s already being rolled out is a road development project for internal roads.

Returning to where his journey teed off, de Soysa considers himself very fortunate to have set foot on the golf course at such a tender age. He recalls: “I was very fortunate to have begun playing at 12 and gone on to represent Sri Lanka quite quickly at the junior level.”

A mere three years following his debut, de Soysa tasted the sweetness of success when he won the Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Indian junior national titles within six months.

This was followed by a triple delight when he bagged third place in Singapore, second in Malaysia and eighth in the British Junior Open.

Realising that he needed to improve further, de Soysa took flight to the Leadbetter Golf Academy in the US – the best junior golf aca­demy in the world at the time – and spent two and a half years improving his game.

He also played competitively against top junior golfers in the country. A few years later, he finished 11th in the Junior World Golf Championship in California – the largest tournament in the world at the time.

In addition to this, de Soysa represented Sri Lanka at the Asian Games and Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship on two occasions, as well as a number of other events.

Golf has always been a niche game in the world of sports and de Soysa says he has an ever-growing enjoyment in playing. However, he acknowledges that it’s not easy to compete at the national level at present since there’s a talented pool of juniors and young blood, which is dedicated and able to devote time to the game.

To address the sport’s poor following in Sri Lanka, he plans to tap talent through a junior golf development programme in a bid to discover the next generation of golfers.

To garner more interest in the sport, the RCGC will also be expanding its programme for underprivileged children who have grown up around the club’s golf course.

Adding to this, he expressed the club’s support for the country’s national teams to help with their development as well as Sri Lanka Golf, which is the governing body of the sport.

De Soysa has a message for all sports lovers: “To truly enjoy a sport at the highest level, you have to be addicted to the process of getting better. If you don’t keep improving, someone will overtake you.”

“Preparation is vital. At my age, the toughest challenge is getting my body into shape and staying injury free so that I’ll be able to handle the long days of training needed to prepare for a big competition,” he explains.

And de Soysa sums up: “I still enjoy golf and that’s the most important thing.”