New S’pore app matches keen golfers with spare tee times

SINGAPORE — A Singapore company has created a mobile phone application that will enable golfers to easily search and book unused and unsold tee times on weekdays at various golf courses all over Asia.

Green Golf launched its free app — also called Green Golf — yesterday at a media event, and declared its aim to offer 15,000 available rounds of golf in all parts of South-east Asia each month by the end of next year.

According to Simon Wood, its director of marketing, it takes a minute to book a tee time with Green Golf. Adult users pay between S$10 and S$30 to make a booking using a Visa credit card, while child and teen golfers between the age of eight and 16 can play for free.

“Golf clubs are reporting unused tee times while golfers are finding it difficult to get on to the greens due to costly club memberships and green fees,” said Wood yesterday.

“Green Golf was created with the intention to bridge this gap, and to grow and develop golf in Asia.”

According to research by Green Golf, the total value of unused tee times in South-east Asia for the year 2015 was more than US$940 million (S$1.3 billion), based on its projection.

Wood said this is because most golf courses in the region belong to country clubs. It means that one has to be a member of a country club to get to play the game.

In Singapore, golf-club memberships range from S$5,000 to more than S$200,000.

“In the US, Australia and Europe, there are a lot of public golf courses that you can play at whenever you want. But in Asia, it is a real issue,” he said. “There are high costs in getting club memberships, especially in Singapore, and there is a real inertia in playing the game.

“To book a game, I have to call up the concierge, and sometimes I’m unable to get them to check if the tee time is available. Invariably, by the time I get confirmation, my friend might have already booked a meeting at that time.”

He says that the Green Golf app will eliminate this lag time by instantly showing all available tee-time slots.

Green Golf currently has four country clubs on board. Unfortunately, they are not in Singapore.

The four are the Palm Resort, Ponderosa and Impian Emas Golf & Country clubs in Johor, and the Tering Bay Golf & Country Club in Batam.

Wood says there are plans for the app to partner golf courses in Kuala Lumpur, Manila and Ho Chi Minh City this year.

And, as for Singapore, Wood said “early conversations” have begun with three golf clubs.

ADELENE WONG