Upswing in interest for golf among Singapore youths, despite dwindling number of courses

SINGAPORE — Hoping to play a "less intensive" sport during her junior college days in 2019 so she could better focus on her studies, Ms Grace Hu, 21, switched from badminton to golf and has not looked back. 

“I think golf is just highly addictive,” said Ms Hu, who is also the president of NUS Golf at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

The second-year data science and economics student said golf can be challenging at the start but is deeply rewarding when one gets the hang of it. 

“And because of that feeling of reward, you want to play more golf.” 

Similarly, in 2019, Lee Seughan Phillip took his first swing at the Mandai Executive Public Golf Course when he was all of eight years old and got hooked.

He now plays at least four to five times a week, splitting his time between the nine-hole public Mandai course and the members-only 18-hole Tanah Merah Country Club where his family has a membership. 

“I really enjoy the game, and I think (golf) is part of my life,” said Phillip, a Primary Six student at Cantonment Primary School.

Youths like Ms Hu and Phillip are not the only ones who enjoy playing on the fairways and putting greens. Varsity clubs and golf coaches have reported a surge of interest in the sport among youths in the last couple of years. 

These include youths being drawn to the ritual of the sport, such as adhering to a certain dress code.

Youth golfer, Mr Ang Yu Quan, 23, also told TODAY about the influence of celebrities or athletes who are just as taken with the sport and have spurred youths to try their hand at golf. 

While golf might seem like an “expensive” and elite sport, golf coaches and young golfers tell TODAY that might not necessarily be the case as golf equipment can be purchased second-hand and certain golfing platforms give golfers access to courses at discounted rates without having to fork out hefty membership fees.

The rising interest in golf among youths is despite a dwindling number of golf courses here. 

Since 2016, when Singapore had 24 golf courses, seven have shut or will close soon.

These include two public ones — the Champions Public Golf Course, which shuttered late last year; and the Marina Bay Golf Course, which will close on June 30.

Earlier this year, it was announced that the Mandai golf course will have to make way for a new outdoor adventure learning centre after its tenancy expires on Dec 31.

The news was greeted with some dismay by those in the golfing fraternity, given that it was deemed the last course here readily available to the public.

Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth Eric Chua then announced on April 3 that the operator at Mandai Executive Golf Course was granted a tenancy extension for two additional years until December 2026.

"We recognise that it is important for the public to have continued access to the sport. The Government is looking at how we can ensure continued access to golf courses," he said in Parliament when announcing the extension.

GOLF GAINING MOMENTUM AMONG YOUTHS 

Varsity clubs tell TODAY that they have seen a rise in membership and participation in their events in recent years.

For instance, NUS Golf's fortnightly open range sessions now draw between 100 and 120 beginner golfers per session, more than double the number a year or two ago.

These sessions usually involve players practising their swings, working on their form, and interacting with other players. 

It's a similar picture at Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

“Over the past few years, our numbers have been growing. Currently, we are about 251 members strong,” said Mr Zac Tan, 24, who is the head of press and publicity of NTU Golf Club. 

This is up from about 100 in 2020.

Mr Joshua Ho, general manager of the Singapore Golf Association, said it has seen an “overwhelming response” to its youth events.

He noted that junior golf tournaments for children under 12 can draw at least 100 participants. 

In response to TODAY's queries, the Ministry of Education said golf is currently offered as a co-curricular activity at nine schools: One primary school, six secondary schools, and two junior colleges.

Golf coaches attribute the heightened interest for golf among youths to the social distancing rules during Covid-19, as it was the only sport allowed in groups at the time.

“It was one of the sports that was actually approved during the safe-distancing rules during the Covid-19 period as youths could go out and mingle (in a permitted group size of five),” said Mr Dalston Koh, 33, the head coach at Sggolfcoach.

Agreeing, Mr Bobby Poh, operations and sales manager of Poh Bros Golf Management, which runs the Mandai golf course, said that the pandemic gave people, especially youths, “an opportunity to explore more alternative activities”. 

While there is an impression that golf is a rather costly endeavour, Mr Koh says this is not always the case. 

"No, it's not expensive to start (playing golf)," said Mr Koh. "It's not expensive to learn, but it's expensive to sustain." 

He said a full set of second-hand golf clubs on online marketplace Carousell would cost less than S$200.

A brand new set of golf clubs typically costs upwards of S$800 and can go up to even tens of thousands of dollars.

New golfers would also have to get attire and accessories, which Mr Poh said can be quite inexpensive, especially on e-commerce platforms such as Shopee. 

Golf coaches noted that the most prohibitive cost to playing golf, unlike other sports, is the green fees as well as membership fees to join country clubs here that run into five- or even six-figure sums.

Most country clubs do allow members to sign in guests, who typically pay a green fee of S$150 to S$300 per round, depending on the day of the week.

Some clubs also allow public visitors to play subject to certain conditions, though the green fees for such visitors would usually be higher than those for members' guests. 

However, platforms such as My Golf Kaki (MGK) are especially helpful to make playing golf affordable and accessible, said Ms Hu, the NUS Golf president.

MGK is a club that offers affordable annual memberships to golfers as low as S$87 for those under 21 and S$216 for those under 55. 

These memberships allow golfers to access private and overseas golf courses, such as Orchid Country Club in Yishun, Warren Golf and Country Club in Chua Chu Kang, Sembawang Country Club, Changi Golf Club and Palm Springs Golf & Country Club in Batam.

Without an MGK membership, a one-time fee to play the 18-hole golf course at Orchid Country Club as a visitor would be S$250.70 on a weekday and S$359.70 on a weekend.

However, with an MGK membership, the price is S$109.31 on weekdays and S$180.16 on weekends.

“Since August 2023, MGK members between the ages of 15 and 35 have increased by 45 per cent,” said Mr Eric Lee, assistant director of Golf Development at NTUC Club, MGK.

“Young professionals, managers and executives and youths joining the workforce are picking up golf as they see the sport as a useful tool for networking and socialising.”

BRINGING THEIR A GAME 

While most youth golfers get a taste of their first swing from their parents, what keeps them playing is the strong social and mental aspects of the sport. 

Given that a standard 18-hole round of golf takes about four to five hours, a game gives Mr Ang, who has been playing since he was a child, plenty of time to socialise with friends. 

“We are not constantly hitting the ball throughout the session,” said Mr Ang, a computer science student with a second major in business at NTU. 

“We find time in between to catch up with each other and maybe help each other out with our technique,” said Mr Ang, who is also president of NTU Golf Club.

“I feel that the idea of being able to play with friends and socialising is the main (draw) other than being able to constantly improve myself and see the results and effort that I've put in,” 

Agreeing with Mr Ang, Phillip the Pri 6 student said playing golf, especially in tournaments, allows him to make many new friends.

More than that, Phillip appreciates that golf is about strategy and training the mind. 

“Golf is very fun because you can make a bad shot but recover quickly with the next one,” he said. 

“Golf is a mental sport because you have to have confidence, but you cannot be too overconfident.” 

Besides trying to constantly get better at the sport, Ms Hu said what made her stay in golf was the community. She noted that initially, she did not have many friends to play with as it was still a “male-dominated sport”.

“When I joined NUS Golf, I had this constant group of people who invited me to games and everything, and it's much easier to stay with the sport,” said Ms Hu.

While youths agree that golf is not expensive to start, continuing and advancing in golf can be costly in Singapore. 

To mitigate this, Mr Tan suggested that private country clubs open their golf courses at discounted rates during off-peak timings.

Besides having more access to private golf courses, Ms Hu said public golf courses are vital in keeping golf accessible.

“I think we need somewhere for people to train, like Mandai (Golf Course), " said Ms Hu.

“At least one public course will be a lot more helpful because the difference one public course would make is really very big."