South Korea’s Ham Jeong-woo claims breakthrough win at the rain-disrupted Singapore Open. Photo courtesy of The Business Times

SINGAPORE - The successful conclusion of this year’s Singapore Open golf tournament on April 26 should be cause for cheer within the local golfing community.

Over the past 15 years or so, the marquee event – which used to be held annually and was backed by the likes of Barclays and SMBC, and most recently Kweichow Moutai in 2025 – has seen some editions scrapped due to the lack of a title sponsor. The 2021 competition did not take place because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Decades ago, Singapore’s Laguna National Golf Resort Club hosted a series of Singapore Masters events. These attracted top players from around the world such as Phil Mickelson, Pádraig Harrington, Rory McIlroy, Diego Garcia, Adam Scott and Ángel Cabrera.

The top-rated players at this year’s Singapore Open, with The Business Times as presenting partner for the first time, were lesser-known names such as eventual champion South Korea’s Ham Jeong-woo, Thailand’s Ekpharit Wu, India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar and Australia’s Travis Smyth.

It is encouraging that the national Open was revived last year after a three-year absence. But the big question is whether the event will be sustainable and continue to take place uninterrupted from now on.

This issue is particularly pertinent given the state of golf in Singapore today.

Over the past decade or more, land-scarce Singapore has seen numerous golf courses forced to shut.

The removal of Jurong Country Club, Raffles Country Club and the popular Marina Bay public course from the map has reduced the number of courses significantly.

Keppel’s beautiful Bukit Chermin course is already gone, and the club is now temporarily at the Sime Course, which it shares with the public. This course was once owned by the Singapore Island Country Club (SICC), which will soon also lose its 18-hole Bukit course.

Orchid Country Club (with three nine-hole courses in Yishun), Warren Country Club and the short chip-and-putt public course at Mandai will all disappear by the end of this decade. Tanah Merah Country Club could also lose its 50-hectare Garden Course to Changi Airport by 2035.

By 2040, there might only be about half a dozen clubs left in Singapore: Sentosa Golf Club, Tanah Merah’s Tampines course, Seletar Country Club, SICC’s five nine-hole courses at the Island location, Laguna National, Changi and Sembawang.

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

The fate of the two 18-hole courses at Sime Road, formerly owned by SICC, remains in the air. Indications are that they could be taken over by the Singapore Labour Foundation – one to be a public course and the other to become the new Orchid Country Club.

Still, all these developments may be somewhat disheartening for golfers in Singapore, and a setback for the advancement of the game here.

To be fair, Singapore’s limited land resources are a stark reality.

Golf courses occupy vast swathes of land which could potentially be used for housing, critical infrastructure and recreational space for the masses. The needs of present-day Singapore, with a population of over six million and growing, must be prioritised over those of some 70,000 golfers.

That said, golf is a sport in which Singapore can, and has, excelled on the global stage.

Shannon Tan is already a champion on the Ladies European Tour. Nicklaus Chiam is a well-known, top-ranked professional on the Asian Tour.

James Leow, Troy Storm and Brayden Lee are rising stars. These young players follow in the footsteps of the legendary Mardan Mamat, Singapore’s most decorated male golfer internationally.

Figuratively speaking, many young and talented Singaporean golfers are just a few swings away from hitting the headlines. One only has to visit any golf course or driving range on a weekend to see scores of youngsters training and taking up the game.

Golf used to be considered largely an elite sport with niche demand.

Then came the pandemic in 2020. Almost overnight, hordes of people, seeking to avoid being confined at home, took to the fairways and driving ranges for relief and release. Today, many of them have become regular golfers.

But getting access to the remaining courses in Singapore is proving increasingly difficult.

It is common for golfers to wake in the early hours of the morning to sit in front of their laptop booking systems to secure tee times, while others make a beeline to their clubs at 4am or earlier to try to personally secure a slot, especially at weekends.

Those who do not have access to courses here are driving over to Johor or sailing down to the Riau Islands. Regional golf trips are becoming increasingly popular among Singaporeans.

Indeed, golf remains a popular sport here. But with fewer courses across the island, being able to play locally is a challenge, especially for those without club membership.

Given rising costs and inaccessibility, golf risks becoming an elite sport again, with the rich and privileged enjoying the game at the remaining few private clubs dominating the scene. There needs to be greater grassroots development of the sport, which is an objective of the Singapore Golf Association (SGA).

Given these circumstances, golf will struggle to attract younger players from schools and casual players from the community.

But it need not be so. So what can be done?

While the closure of courses reflects Singapore’s broader challenge, balancing recreational space with pressing housing and infrastructure needs need not be a zero-sum game.

Golf is the only sport where players can naturally mingle, chat, laugh and enjoy a good walk as they move through the fairways and greens. It is also one of the very few sports where one can play well into the octogenarian phase of life.

In a fast-ageing society like Singapore, this is not something to be dismissed lightly.

There is no doubt that, given the country’s constraints, land-use policy must be realistic. But it can also be holistic. This approach could ensure that, even as land is repurposed, some public courses remain open and affordable around the island.

Private clubs could be encouraged to offer affordable access to members of the public who want to tee off on their courses, perhaps on low-traffic days. The SGA could also devise a more proactive nationwide programme to encourage the sport in schools.

Whatever measures are taken, the guiding principle must be that golf does not become a prestige sport accessible only to the privileged in Singapore, with private clubs dominating the scene. The sport should not become unaffordable and inaccessible to the masses, nor struggle to attract younger and casual players.

Given the Republic’s broader challenge of balancing recreational space with pressing housing and infrastructure needs, this is no doubt a difficult task.

This year’s Singapore Open, which attracted strong crowds on all four days at Sentosa Golf Club’s Serapong course, underlines the popularity of – and enthusiasm for – the sport. This is a point worth noting for urban planners in Singapore.

Source: The Business Times