Coaches welcome lease extension of Mandai public golf course until end-2026

SINGAPORE: Just as the initial announcement that Mandai Executive Golf Course would be shut down by the end of the year came as a shock, golf coaches say the news of an extension until December 2026 was equally a bolt from the blue. 

Except this time, the latest twist in the tale was a welcome one, they said.

It was revealed on Wednesday (Apr 3) that the public will be able to play at the Mandai Executive Golf Course for two additional years, after the operator was granted a tenancy extension.

Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth Eric Chua said this in parliament, noting that it was one of the options made available to provide for public access to golfing.

"All my coaches and customers were ecstatic. I received tons of messages today," said Mr Dalston Koh, who runs SG Golf Coach Academy at Mandai. "The news that it was going to be closed was as shocking to us as the news that it is going to be extended."

Mr Koh, who is also a professional golfer, described it as a day of "thank you". "We do not know what went right or who to thank," he added.

The Singapore Golf Association's (SGA) general manager Joshua Ho said the association was "pleased" to hear of the two-year lease extension.

"It was a very good, pleasant surprise," said Mr Daren Lim, who first started golfing at the Mandai course about 30 years ago when he was still a junior player. 

While Mr Lim coaches at Tanah Merah Country Club, he also conducts sessions at the Mandai golf course.

"Mandai welcomes everybody to learn the golf game there," he added. "Any coach that wants to bring their student there, they are welcome."

It was initially announced in February that the Mandai golf course would have to make way for a new outdoor adventure learning centre after its tenancy expires on Dec 31.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) intends to consolidate eight outdoor adventure education sites to four locations, to allow all schools to conduct upper primary and lower secondary cohort camps at those locales.

The four consolidated locations include the existing MOE outdoor adventure learning centre at Dairy Farm, which is in Bukit Timah, as well as two new centres to be built in Mandai and Sembawang.

"The Ministry of Education's plans for the Outdoor Adventure Learning Centres, which were made in consultation with other government agencies, are not affected by Mandai Executive Golf Course’s tenancy extension," said MOE in response to queries from CNA.

Mr Koh said that he had been losing customers ever since news first broke of the Mandai course's closure.

"We were nowhere, we were actually losing customers," he said. "Customers were unwilling to carry on their lessons (or) signing longer plans. Customers were reducing their sessions, from signing three months to a month. We did not have that clear solution."

HOPE AMID A "STRESSFUL" FUTURE

The Mandai golf course, located at Upper Seletar Reservoir, was opened in 1993. However, it appears that it will eventually follow the fate of golf courses and ranges in Singapore that have closed over the past few years.

Previously, Singapore had 14 private and three public golf courses - including Mandai Executive Golf Course -  taking up 1,500ha of land.  

Of the two other public golf courses, Champions Public Golf Course closed on Dec 26, 2023, according to a notice on its website. 

Meanwhile, Marina Bay Golf Course will be closing down soon on Jun 30, due to "imminent land lease expiry", as stated on its website.

Given that the extension is only for two years, Mr Koh admitted it was "stressful" thinking about the future beyond that.

Question marks remain over how much accessibility members of the public will have in the future as well as whether the plan is to revamp older courses, or create new ones to meet the need, he said.

"Without Mandai, I actually don't see any other golf course that can cater to real beginners coming in to play," he said. "(When the leases for the course expire) where else will people go?"

"Honestly, golf has been growing, especially among the younger generation. Golf has lots of good things to offer for people that learn the game, and Mandai is the best spot. It is the only place where we can grow the game ... If the place goes, that's very sad," said Mr Lim.

He added that his hope is that the government reconsiders plans to build the outdoor adventure learning centre at Mandai. 

A PLACE TO LEARN GOLF FUNDAMENTALS

SGA's Mr Ho added that public facilities like Mandai are "crucial" to the development of golf, especially for beginners who get their first taste of playing the game on the golf course there.

He pointed out that such facilities also play a vital role in junior development and high-performance training.

"SGA hosts a series of junior events like the SGA-BFG Mandai Junior Series. It (Mandai) is also a facility where we organise our High-Performance training programmes, including the training of national players who represent Singapore at the SEA Games and Asian Games, under the guidance of national coaches," said Mr Ho.

"This extension ensures continuity and stability for these essential programmes."

At the same time, the extension offers hope to coaches like Mr Koh that the government is aware that public courses are important for the growth of the sport in Singapore.

"I think these two years are a chance for golf in Singapore to prove itself, what it can do and how it can grow," added Mr Lim.