Commentary: What does the loss of Singapore's last public golf course mean for the sport?

SINGAPORE: Over the 12 years I lived in Chicago, I always noticed the bustle each time I went by one of the city’s 10 public golf courses.

Families were having fun on the greens; there were players of all skills, ages, genders and ethnicities. People wore whatever they wanted. Revelling in fresh air and sunshine seemed as crucial as sinking a putt at par.

It shattered my perception of the sport, growing up in the country club heyday of 1980s and 1990s Singapore. One summer in America, I bought a cheap mismatched bag of second (or were they third?) hand clubs and took a gander, without any experience except self-taught driving range swings.

This could never have happened in Singapore, where golf is played by older, higher-income men in prestigious and luxurious settings, I thought then.

A few decades ago, country club memberships were one of the 5Cs chased by upwardly mobile Singaporeans, along with cash, car, credit card and condominiums. Now, with our larger population and a new generation shifting away from material pursuits, the era of the 5Cs has ended.

It looks like golf's days are numbered too, as Mandai Executive Golf Course will close after its tenancy expires on Dec 31. It will be the last of Singapore's three public golf courses to shutter - the other two being Champions Public Golf Course which closed on Dec 26, 2023, and Marina Bay Golf Course which will close on Jun 30.

The announcement shocked and disheartened local golf professionals. Mandai Executive Golf Course serves about 100,000 players a year, half of whom are juniors, and its welcoming pars 3 and 4 circuit is a haven for enthusiasts of all levels.

Coaches fear a significant drop in public accessibility and exposure to the sport, as well as a threat to their livelihoods. Since 2016, seven golf courses have shut or will close soon, and no golf facility has any confirmed land lease status beyond 2040.

THE REALITY-BITTEN MATH OF GOLF

Golf is famously a game of numbers where players obsess over handicaps, yards, strokes, penalties and more. So here’s the reality-bitten math: Just a little over 1 per cent of Singaporeans play golf, but golf courses take up almost 30 per cent of space allocated to community and recreational facilities in Singapore's 2030 land use plan.

The Singapore Golf Association (SGA) reports that of the 46,000 members of Singapore's private golf clubs, 83 per cent are men and 55 per cent are 55 or older. But 2023’s National Sports Participation Survey found that across genders and ages, the most popular sports are walking, running, calisthenics, swimming and cycling.

Most of these have snagged international podium wins over decades, crowning stars from sprinter Shanti Pereira and marathoner Mok Ying Ren to swimmers Joscelin Yeo and Joseph Schooling. Golf has been more low-profile, although 19-year-old Shannon Tan has just turned pro and already has two international wins.

Undoubtedly, if you build it, they will come. The gorgeous expansions of the Park Connector Network and newly revamped ActiveSG facilities are why 2022 marked an all-time high in regular participation in sports.

But with most golfers belonging to private clubs and guaranteed tee times, the few remaining players will either scramble for limited public spots at Keppel Club, or trek to Johor or Batam to tee off - a much cheaper, albeit more time-consuming, proposition than country club memberships and course rates. Prioritising land-intensive recreation for a tiny segment over pressing housing, transport and healthcare needs simply doesn’t add up.

KEEPING THE LEGACY OF GOLF ALIVE

For everything grand about the game of golf - health benefits, socialisation and fun and relaxation - there’s the creation of rich and authentic experiences for students, when the new Ministry of Education outdoor adventure learning centre takes over the Mandai Executive Golf Course.

But SGA remains confident the sport can flourish and recruit new devotees. Last November, they hosted Golf Week to boost the sport’s mass appeal, and the President’s Cup to help fund national athlete development.

NTUC Club offers subsidised rates to play at selected private clubs, and has a community focused on cultivating new players from schools and higher learning institutes.

Still, the destiny of golf in Singapore lies in the tee box of where it all began - private country clubs. It’s time for them to reconsider just how altruistic and earnest they are about keeping the golfing legacy going.

UK golf participation numbers are growing because the game there has adapted to internet-era attention spans – shorter par 3 courses, more 9-hole courses, a growth spurt of pitch and putts (no more than 90 metres per hole or three clubs needed per game).

So how about private clubs here offering public tee times, discounted guest pass packages, youth academies in conjunction with schools and professional opportunities for competent coaches?

If all of us, clubs included, stop seeing golf the way I did, when I could never imagine playing the game on Singapore sod, then more of us will keep those woods and irons swinging strong. As the great golfing champion Ben Hogan once said, “The most important shot in golf is the next one.”

Desiree Koh is a freelance writer based in Singapore.