Sentosa Golf Club’s Serapong course has earned multiple accolades, including being named Asia’s Best Golf Course from 2022 to 2024. Photo courtesy of The Business Times

SINGAPORE - What makes the Augusta National Golf Club course – the permanent venue for the US Masters every year – so extraordinary? The answer is “Amen Corner”, a notorious three-hole stretch consisting of holes 11, 12 and 13, where many Masters tournaments have been won or lost over the decades.

The nickname was given by the late American sports writer Herbert Warren Wind. Amen Corner is a section of the course known for swirling winds, water hazards and plenty of drama whenever a golfer has to navigate it.

Many of golf’s greatest stars have competed at the Masters and found themselves in prime position to win the coveted Green Jacket, only to see their hopes dashed by those very three holes at the start of the back nine.

The most famous collapse was that of Jordan Spieth, the defending champion in 2016, who held a commanding lead after the ninth hole. He ended up making a double bogey on the 11th and an astonishing quadruple bogey on the 12th.

Spieth never recovered from those setbacks, and Englishman Danny Willett overtook him to take the championship.

Drawing a parallel with Augusta, Sentosa Golf Club’s award-winning Serapong course features its own “Dragon’s Tail”, a testing, twisting stretch between the third and seventh holes where pinpoint accuracy is essential to emerge unscathed.

Serapong has won many accolades over the years, including being named Asia’s Best Golf Course from 2022 to 2024, and being ranked in the top 55 of Golf Digest’s World’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses.

This year’s Singapore Open, presented by The Business Times, a US$2 million tournament, took place from 23 to 26 April at Serapong.

The par-four third hole – named the Dragon’s Feet – is reckoned to be the hardest at Serapong. It has distance and a high landing area, from where players must find a bunker-laden green from about 200 metres.

The par-five fourth is known as the Dragon’s Leg, a serpentine stretch that runs alongside water on the left. A perfect tee shot over water is required; a golfer can typically reach the green in two with accuracy and a long iron.

The par-four fifth, called the Dragon’s Body, is regarded as one of the toughest holes, requiring two extremely precise shots to reach the undulating green.

If a golfer manages to overcome those obstacles, a challenging par-four sixth, called the Dragon’s Tongue, awaits. It calls for an accurate drive to a narrow fairway sloping towards water on the right, followed by a well-judged second shot past a rock and bunker.

The par-five seventh features a World War II bunker, offering players a glimpse of Singapore’s history. The drive has to land on a long fairway along the Singapore Strait.

If executed well, a tempting second shot to a tricky, winding, long green is possible. However, if overhit, the ball may find water beyond.

103 bunkers

Serapong is a par-72, 6,765-metre championship course that offers dramatic views of the Singapore skyline, fast greens, and a high-stakes layout with water hazards and 103 bunkers.

The Serapong course underwent a major upgrade in 2020, with enhanced bunkers, greens and fairways, improving playability and design quality. Photo courtesy of The Business Times

Opened in 1982 and designed by Ron Fream, it underwent a S$12 million upgrade in 2007. The course saw another major upgrade in 2020, with enhanced bunkers, greens and fairways, improving playability and design quality.

Holes 1 and 2 are particularly interesting. The par-four first is a dogleg right with a blind approach, requiring a calculated tee shot to avoid trees and bunkers on the right.

The second hole is a beautiful short par three, providing a panoramic view of Singapore’s Central Business District skyline, but is heavily guarded by bunkers. It is a short downhill hole requiring accuracy with short irons.

Hole 15 is a tough 393-metre par four, which some consider to be the hardest on the course, with a handicap index of one. It demands a good drive down the right to avoid water at the harbour on the left.

The par-five, 496-metre 18th hole offers golfers a superb finish, with a risk–reward opportunity and water running along the left.

It was on this very hole that the crowd went into delirium when American Paula Creamer sank a 75-foot downhill eagle putt to win the HSBC Women’s Championships in 2014.

Creamer’s miraculous putt curled across the green, then rolled slowly down the slope and directly into the hole. She ran across the green, fell to her knees and placed her head on the ground, laughing and pounding the grass in joy.

Australian major winner Adam Scott, a three-time Singapore Open champion, has a commemorative plaque on the par-five fourth hole, serving as a reminder of his achievements at the national event.

Scott is often referred to as the “Sorcerer of Sentosa” because of his dominance at what is known as “Asia’s Major”.

Serapong has produced countless memories and stories that will last a lifetime, and there will undoubtedly be many more in the years to come, especially on the course’s infamous Dragon’s Tail.

Source: The Business Times