When the tenancy of Mandai Executive Golf Course at Upper Seletar Reservoir expires at the end of this year, it could mark the end of public golf courses in Singapore as we know it.

On Feb 23, the Ministry of Education announced that it will be consolidating its eight outdoor adventure education sites to just four, one of which will be occupying the site where the golf course is on currently.

This comes after a spate of golf club closures in recent years, including 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.

That means if you don’t have a private club membership, you’d need to head to an overseas golf course, try to book a slot at the private Keppel Club golf course, or ballot for tee time at the National Service Resort and Country Club (provided you’re an NSman).

Of course, you could also pony up five- to six-digit dollar sums to join a club here.

So, when the land hosting the Mandai course is returned to the Government on Dec 31, there will be no more public-only golf courses where anyone can simply pay a relatively small green fee of between S$32.70 and S$54.50 to tee off. 

In comparison, the nine-hole rates for Keppel Club are S$85.57 for weekdays and S$128.62 for weekends and public holidays. These exclude buggy fees.

NEEDS OF MAJORITY OUTWEIGH GOLFERS’ INTERESTS

Online commentators by and large felt that all golf courses are headed the way of the dinosaur — especially so in land-scarce Singapore. 

Golf courses and country clubs are “incredibly inefficient use of land benefitting only a small group of privileged people”, said one netizen. Another said golfing is a “selfish” way of utilising land that could go to public housing or amenities.

Ultimately, the needs of the larger society outweigh that of a sport that is seen as elitist and exclusive, several said.

Indeed, such views are exactly why Singapore has been gradually redeveloping its golf courses into “brownfield sites” over the past decade to be used for more communal purposes, as part of the Government’s evolving land use strategies.

For example, the relocation of Keppel Club to Lornie Road from its original location at Bukit Chermin paved the way for a new Greater Southern Waterfront estate. 

Is this a net benefit? By raw numbers, yes.

The 48ha site of the golf club will be turned into a new residential precinct there, potentially becoming home to 9,000 households. By comparison, Keppel Club was reported to have around 2,500 individual members as of 2020.

CAN WE NEVER AFFORD SPACE FOR RECREATION?

But while Keppel Club members will still have a chance to tee off at their new fairways and greens along Lornie Road, at least until their next lease expiry in 2030, golfers who frequent the Mandai course will have no such luck.

“Mandai was one of the places you could just turn up and pay to play,” lamented one netizen on Reddit, who also gave a breakdown of the costs of picking up the sport for the first time.

“It's expensive but not crazily more than many other sports or gym memberships,” they added.

Quoting golf coaches, CNA’s Feb 26 report also reflected the golfing fraternity’s loss of a “perfect place” for people to learn golf.

Because of the Mandai golf course’s unique position as the last refuge for beginner golfers, people were surprised it would be targeted by urban planning authorities.

To some golfers who just picked up the sport, the impending closure is not just about losing a hobby, but also the loss of a social outlet.

Some commentators also wondered if in the grander scheme of things, recreation will always be consigned to the back seat because Singapore’s land scarcity and housing needs are far more compelling arguments.

Some examples of sports and recreational spaces that have recently disappeared include the Singapore Turf Club as well as the Olympic-size ice-skating rink in JCube mall.

PUBLIC ACCESS TO SPORT CAN COME FROM EXISTING CLUBS

The fading away of golf courses from Singapore’s landscape is inevitable, given the evolving needs of all Singaporeans. 

Meanwhile, the demand for golf is also changing among youths here due to fewer available fairways, perhaps hinting at a chicken-or-egg situation.

A 2018 report by the Singapore Golf Association noted how future participation numbers will “heavily suffer” if the level of junior programmes or their access to golf facilities falls.

Amid these trends, why can’t we still find a way for golf to remain accessible and affordable to the public?

As some netizens pointed out, golf isn’t dead here — there are still several private country clubs and golf courses.

The issue is that golf is still coloured by a perception that it is a “rich man’s sport”. 

As one person put it, golf courses here have “done this to themselves” due to exclusivity. They noted how Hong Kong also boasts a similar number of golf courses, but most of them are open to the public for booking, unlike in Singapore.

In Australia, where land is aplenty, public access golf courses are also commonplace. Some of the best fairways in Australia belong to private clubs and are also open to the public, with private members sharing tee times with the public at affordable fees and subject to time availability.

Some private clubs here are doing so, as commentators have noted. 

Keppel Club’s Sime course reportedly allocates 40 per cent of tee times to members, and the remaining is open for public booking. At the privately owned Sembawang Country Club, non-members can also pay green fees to play golf, though club members get a substantial discount.

These are some possible arrangements that private golf clubs can consider, in accommodating the large pool of golfers who will soon have no public golf courses to turn to.

After all, if public needs come first when deciding how to allocate Singapore’s limited land, then golf clubs should rethink whether shutting out the public can remain par for the course in the long run.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

Ng Jun Sen is an editor at TODAY whose interests include economics, property, politics and technology.