Golf may become an exclusive sport in Singapore, warns community

[The_King]

SINGAPORE - National junior golfer Irvyn Tan picked up the game in the Singapore heartlands.

At the age of five, he convinced his father to enrol him in KinderGolf, a kids golf academy at AMK Hub. In the small shop unit, he practised striking balls into a hitting net and gradually, his love for the sport blossomed.

When he started primary school in 2012, Tan decided to pursue golf more seriously. But without a country club membership, he did not have access to most private courses here. Luckily there was an alternative and he honed his skills at the modest Mandai Executive Golf Course, which was open to the public.

 

For the next four years, he trained thrice a week with Honshin Golf Academy at Mandai’s driving range and played on the nine-hole course every Wednesday. In 2017, he was selected for the national junior development squad.

Having spent the bulk of his formative years there, the 18-year-old has fond memories of the course which opened in 1993.

It was initially scheduled to close on Dec 31 to make way for a new outdoor adventure learning centre, but has since been given a reprieve with a two-year tenancy extension till December 2026. But with Mandai the sole public golf facility left as of end-2024, the dearth of such venues here has caused dismay among the fraternity, including professional and recreational golfers, coaches and officials.

 

 

In 2023, there were three fully public golf courses in Singapore. Champions Public Golf Course, located in Bukit Timah, ceased operations on Dec 26, 2023 and the Republic’s only 18-hole public course in Marina Bay is also set to shutter on June 30.

 

This is a stark contrast to 2006, when there was a peak of 17 golf facilities – 13 private and four public – in Singapore. By the end of 2026, only 11 private ones will be left following closures to Jurong Country Club and Raffles Country Club, though Keppel Club has some allocated slots at its Sime Golf Course for public use.

A big blow for golf

The impending closures have hit the community hard and those who spoke to The Straits Times say they will have a significant impact on the sport, as the limited access to facilities will affect golf and player development.

“When I heard Mandai was closing, I was really sad because that was where I grew up,” Tan told The Straits Times before the March 21-24 Singapore Classic.

 

“Normally people start on public courses because it’s the most accessible... it will really be quite bad for their development.

“There will be a lot of people who might not want to start golf any more. We are already a very small community. If people cut down the courses, it is going to shut down opportunities for Singaporeans trying to break onto the scene.”

Bobby Poh, operations manager of Poh Bros Golf Management which runs Mandai, said: “Mandai is a special place. It is where most beginners start their golfing journey. The golf course is very beginner-friendly in terms of the terrain and the distance is shorter.

“We hope that the Government can continue to let Mandai stay as a public golf course (beyond 2026). If not, there will be fewer facilities for the public to use.

“Without Mandai, there will be only Keppel left. But they can take in only half of their capacity for the public. The demand is still there but the supply is reducing.”

 

Dalston Koh, who runs the SgGolfCoach academy at Mandai, currently coaches about 120 juniors. He expects that number to more than halve when it eventually closes.

The 33-year-old said: “We don’t see anywhere else that is able to house this capacity. It’s like cutting off a stepping stone for beginners which leaves them with nowhere to go. The two-year extension was beyond expectation. All our coaches and customers were ecstatic. We will do our best to nurture more talent for the Government to see the need of having this sport.

“Sadly, our jobs in golf are never permanent as we are bound to golf course leases.”

Is there a future?

While recreational golfer Alvin Phua, 56, who has a membership at National Service Resort and Country Club, is not affected, he is concerned about the future of golf here.

Phua, who works as an accountant, said: “I think the impact may not be felt immediately. It will probably be the younger generation and those picking up golf that will feel the impact if Mandai is gone.”

After all, Phua began his golfing journey at Toa Payoh Golf Range, which ceased operations in 2018. Without an accessible platform to learn golf, Phua said he may not have picked it up.

If there are no public courses left, social players will have to fork out for expensive country club memberships to play. Alternatively, they can travel to courses in Malaysia or Batam, Indonesia, to get their fix.

However, these trips can be costly and inconvenient. Sid Kim, who owns indoor golf company GolfX, fears it could become a sport for an exclusive group.

Kim, 54, said: “The majority of the population here, they don’t have resources to buy an expensive country club membership. If they have rich parents? Sure, they can play at Sentosa or Tanah Merah.

“But if you don’t have sort of a free opportunity for everybody to at least try it in the beginning, you’ll never know, maybe the next Tiger Woods is just falling through the cracks and you will never identify him or her because they’ve never had a chance.”

He is trying to provide opportunities to learn the game via his indoor golf start-up, but concedes it cannot fully replace outdoor golf. Kim is part of the Golf lndustry Development Task Force (GITDF) set up by the Singapore Golf Association (SGA) in May 2023 to grow the game. Its proposed plans include creating indoor facilities in public schools and incorporating golf into physical education programmes.

 

From there, school teams can be formed and an indoor golf league can provide pathways and a talent pool for SGA to select from, he added.

SGA said in a press statement that it is “deeply concerned” by the closure of public golf facilities. “SGA has been dedicated to increasing accessibility to golf and ensuring its inclusivity within the wider community,” it added.

“SGA, together with our GITDF, has been proactively engaging our various stakeholders in the indoor golf sector to increase the number of facilities for participation among new and old golfers.”

[The_King]

hahaha

 

you voted for the policy, so deal with it

[Londonchocolateroll]

Order fish when eating cai png is also exclusive

[chamfer]

All along golf is exclusive only for elites. Since when got see low ses peons play it as sport....

[Chestnut]

Moi lady boss play golf

[Homelander]

15 minutes ago, Chestnut said:

Moi lady boss play golf

 

Play in sg? My fren go jb to play

[Chestnut]

14 minutes ago, Homelander said:

 

Play in sg? My fren go jb to play

 I think so

[coffeenut]

Play this better - needs smaller greens, and can play in HDB. Maybe get the next generation of ah pek ah ma interested - monthly championship winner gets $1000

 

 

[pigpigoink]

golf = waste space --> gone with it ba 

 

SG ish too small 

Edited April 7 by pigpigoink

[XianGe]

38 minutes ago, pigpigoink said:

golf = waste space --> gone with it ba 

 

SG ish too small 

Golf dun bring much benefits except let rich ppl mingle... 

Better off keep football pitches than golf...