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AsiaOne
07-07-2025
- Business
- AsiaOne
4 golf courses to close by 2035, leaving Singapore with 12 courses , Singapore News
SINGAPORE — Four golf courses will close permanently by 2035, leaving Singapore with 12 courses in the coming years. The Ministry of Law (MinLaw), which oversees land policy and administration, said on July 7 that the leases or tenancies of Mandai Executive Golf Course, Warren Golf and Country Club, Orchid Country Club and Tanah Merah Country Club's Garden Course will not be renewed, as their land is needed for future plans. This continues recent moves to reclaim golf course land for other uses. For instance, the Marina Bay Golf Course was closed in June 2024, and its site will be partially occupied by the upcoming Bay East Garden, which is currently being developed. The leases of two other courses — Singapore Island Country Club's (SICC) 18-hole Bukit Course and Keppel Club's 18-hole Sime Course — will expire on Dec 31, 2030. Thereafter, the two courses will be reallocated for public use, with at least one public 18-hole course. MinLaw said a portion of the site occupied by the Bukit and Sime courses — which are next to each other — may be allocated to the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) for its members, given Orchid Country Club's impending lease expiry. NTUC currently operates Orchid Country Club through NTUC Club. The ministry added that how the land will be parcelled and allocated is being studied. It did not say how long the lease for the site would be beyond 2030. The first of the four courses to close is the public nine-hole Mandai Executive Golf Course, which is on a tenancy that runs until Dec 31, 2026. Its land will be used by the Ministry of Education (MOE) to develop an Outdoor Adventure Learning Centre. MOE has previously said this will be one of three new campsites to be built by 2032. Another two courses will close in 2030, and their sites have been zoned for residential use, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority's Draft Master Plan 2025. They are the 18-hole Warren Golf and Country Club in Choa Chu Kang, which has a lease that expires on Oct 31, 2030, and the 27-hole Orchid Country Club in Yishun, which has a lease that expires on Dec 31, 2030. Finally, Tanah Merah Country Club's Garden Course will close after its lease expires on Dec 31, 2035. "Given its proximity to Changi Airport, the land is being studied for uses that have synergies with the airport to support economic growth," MinLaw said, adding that more details on the site's future use will be announced closer to 2035. Following the closures, Singapore is set to have 12 remaining golf courses after 2035, including the existing Bukit and Sime courses. Of these, two will have their leases expire in 2030 and will be offered renewals until Dec 31, 2040 — the 18-hole course in Kranji under the National Service Resort and Country Club and Sentosa Golf Club's 18-hole Serapong Course. Another seven are on leases that expire in December 2040. They are: SICC's 18-hole Island Course and 27-hole New Course, Changi Golf Club's nine-hole course, Laguna National Golf Resort Club's two 18-hole courses, Seletar Country Club's 18-hole course, the 18-hole course at National Service Resort and Country Club (Changi), Sentosa Golf Club's 18-hole Tanjong Course and Tanah Merah Country Club's 18-hole Tampines Course. The Government will review whether to renew these leases beyond 2040 in the future. The last course, at Sembawang Country Club, has 18 holes and is operated by the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) under a licence agreement. The course sits on state land allocated to Mindef. MinLaw said in deciding on whether to renew the leases of golf courses, it considered competing land demands such as housing, economic activities, transport infrastructure and essential services. "The demand for land for national uses will become more acute in Singapore, and this will impact the amount of land available for golfing over time," the ministry said. "The Government will balance the access to golfing facilities by private golf club members and the general public so that there can be golf courses catering to different segments of the golfing community." The ministry noted that golf course leases are for a fixed term, with a publicly known end date, to allow course operators and golf club members to make informed decisions. "This also ensures that land occupied by golf courses can be returned to the state and redeveloped for more pressing national needs in a timely manner," MinLaw said. The ministry also said the Singapore Golf Association and the National Service Resort and Country Club will set up a second centre of excellence to provide more training opportunities for Singapore's national team and promote golf among youth. It added that the centre will provide dedicated weekly slots for the golf association to facilitate national and youth team training and expose athletes to different types of golf courses. This complements existing weekly trainings conducted by the golf association in other clubs, MinLaw said. The new centre adds to an existing centre of excellence at Keppel Club's Sime Course, which develops youth golfers, the ministry said. [[nid:719898]] This article was first published in The Straits Times . Permission required for reproduction.
Malay Mail
07-07-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Tee time's up: Singapore to retire four golf courses for national needs by 2035
SINGAPORE, July 7 — Four golf courses across Singapore will permanently close by 2035 as the country's government presses ahead with plans to optimise land use for housing, infrastructure and economic development. The Ministry of Law (MinLaw) announced today that the leases or tenancies of Mandai Executive Golf Course, Warren Golf & Country Club, Orchid Country Club and Tanah Merah Country Club's Garden course will not be renewed, The Straits Times reported today. This follows the recent closure of Marina Bay Golf Course in June 2024, which will make way for the upcoming Bay East Garden. MinLaw added that decisions on lease renewals are based on Singapore's growing land needs. Mandai Executive, a public nine-hole course, will be the first to go when its tenancy ends on December 31, 2026. Its land will be used by the Ministry of Education to build an Outdoor Adventure Learning Centre — one of three new campsites planned by 2032. Warren and Orchid Country Club will follow in 2030 when their leases expire. Both sites have been earmarked for residential use under the Urban Redevelopment Authority's Draft Master Plan 2025. The final closure will be Tanah Merah Country Club's Garden course, when its lease ends on December 31, 2035. MinLaw said its location near Changi Airport makes it suitable for future uses that support economic growth. The leases for SICC's Bukit course and Keppel Club's Sime course will also expire on December 31, 2030. Their land will be divided between a new 18-hole public course operator and the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), which currently runs Orchid Country Club. Details on how the land will be split and future lease terms are still under study. Following the closures, 12 golf courses are expected to remain, including the Bukit and Sime courses. Two of them — NSRCC's Kranji course and Sentosa Golf Club's Serapong course — will have leases extended to December 31, 2040. Seven more courses already have leases that run till 2040: SICC's Island and New courses Changi Golf Club Laguna National's two 18-hole courses Seletar Country Club NSRCC Changi Sentosa Golf Club's Tanjong course Sembawang Country Club, operated by the Ministry of Defence, sits on state land under a licensing agreement with Mindef. To support local talent, MinLaw said a second Centre of Excellence will be launched by the Singapore Golf Association (SGA) and NSRCC to expand training opportunities for the national and youth teams. It will complement the existing centre at Keppel's Sime course.
CNA
07-07-2025
- Business
- CNA
No lease renewal for six golf courses; two sites to be turned into public golf course
SINGAPORE: Six golf courses will not have their leases renewed when they expire over the next 10 years, as the land will be set aside for other uses such as housing. The Mandai Executive Golf Course, which was previously granted a two-year extension, will shut by the end of 2026. Four golf courses - Warren Golf & Country Club, Orchid Country Club, Keppel Club's Sime course and Singapore Island Country Club's Bukit course - have leases expiring in 2030. The lease for Tanah Merah Country Club's Garden course will expire in 2035. Announcing this on Monday (Jul 7), the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) also said lease renewals until 2040 were offered for two courses: Sentosa Golf Club's Serapong course and National Service Resort & Country Club's Kranji course. Their leases had been set to expire in 2030. There are currently 16 golf courses in Singapore, and the leases of the remaining eight courses are subject to future review. "The leases of these golf courses are for a fixed term, with an end date that is publicly known, to allow both the operators and members of the golf clubs to make informed decisions," the ministry said. "This also ensures that land occupied by golf courses can be returned to the state and redeveloped for more pressing national needs in a timely manner." LAND USES The land currently occupied by Keppel Club's Sime course and Singapore Island Country Club's Bukit course will become a dedicated 18-hole public golf course after their leases expire on Dec 31, 2030. Part of that site is also being considered for use by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) for its members, taking into account that the lease for NTUC's Orchid Country Club will not be renewed, said MinLaw. Homes will be built on the land freed up by Orchid Country Club's course in Yishun and Warren Golf & Country Club's course in Choa Chu Kang when their leases expire on Dec 31, 2030 and Oct 31, 2030, respectively. These sites were earmarked for residential use in the Urban Redevelopment Authority's Draft Master Plan 2025. Authorities did not provide the media with more details, such as whether the land will be used for public or private homes. The Ministry of Education previously announced that Mandai Executive Golf Course, currently Singapore's only fully public golf course, will become an outdoor adventure learning centre after its tenancy ends on Dec 31, 2026. As for the site of Tanah Merah Country Club's Garden course, future use of the land is under study. 'Given its proximity to Changi Airport, the land is being studied for uses that have synergies with the airport to support economic growth,' MinLaw said in a press release. Singapore is 'a small city-state with limited land', said MinLaw, adding that the government takes a long-term approach to land use planning, including ensuring sufficient land for critical national needs such as housing, transport infrastructure and essential services. 'The demand for land for national uses will become more acute in Singapore, and this will impact the amount of land available for golfing over time,' said MinLaw. 'The government will balance the access to golfing facilities by private golf club members and the general public so that there can be golf courses catering to different segments of the golfing community.' PUBLIC ACCESS TO GOLF With the expiry of Mandai Executive Golf Course's tenancy on Dec 31, 2026, there will be no dedicated public golf course in Singapore between 2027 and 2030. Located along Upper Seletar Reservoir, Mandai Executive Golf Course's nine-hole course opened in 1993. MinLaw said that in addition to the future dedicated 18-hole public course, the government will continue to ensure public access to golf facilities in the long term. A new centre of excellence will be set up by the National Service Resort & Country Club in partnership with the Singapore Golf Association, in order to give the national team more training opportunities and promote golf among youths. This will provide dedicated weekly slots for the Singapore Golf Association to facilitate national and youth team training, to expose athletes to different types of golf courses, said MinLaw. This centre of excellence will join the existing one at Keppel Club's Sime course, which is run as a hybrid public-private golf course. Dr Su Chun Wei, chief of the High Performance Sport Institute, said Sport Singapore (SportSG) works closely with the Singapore Golf Association to develop the sport of golf and support elite golfers. Efforts focus on identifying and developing promising junior golfers and organising tournaments hosted across various golf courses and clubs in Singapore. 'SportSG also supports our promising and elite golfers through our spexPotential and spexScholarship programme, including Ryan Ang, Hiroshi Tai, Aloysa Atienza, James Leow and Shannon Tan,' said Dr Su. The non-renewal of leases will bring an end to some of Singapore's most storied golf courses. Singapore Island Country Club's 18-hole Bukit course, which opened in 1924, celebrated its centennial last year. It was home to the Rolex Masters, at least 28 editions of the Singapore Open and the inaugural Singapore Masters in 2001. It stands in close proximity to Keppel Club's Sime course. Keppel Club, established in 1904 and one of Singapore's oldest, relocated its 18-hole course from Bukit Chermin to Sime Road in 2022. Warren Golf & Country Club was founded in 1962 by Brigadier Derek Warren, commander of the British Army's 18th Signal Regiment. He negotiated to ensure the retention of the course after British forces moved out of Singapore in 1970. Opened in 1984, Tanah Merah Country Club's 18-hole Garden course hosted the early editions of the HSBC Women's Championship, which is now played at the Sentosa Golf Club.
Business Times
07-05-2025
- Sport
- Business Times
How an oil trader from Singapore ended up being a caddie for top English golfer Justin Rose
[SINGAPORE] It was a sleepless night for Ivan Wang as he tossed and turned on his hotel bed, wondering about his date with history the next day. It was the eve of the US Masters golf tournament in Augusta, and Wang – an oil trader from Singapore – was handed the dream job of being the caddie for top English golfer Justin Rose at the Par-3 contest at the famed Augusta National Golf Club in the US state of Georgia. The tournament – one of the four men's Major championships in professional golf – took place during the week of Apr 7, which was eventually won by Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy. Even before daybreak that Wednesday (Apr 9), Wang – a member of Tanah Merah Country Club in Singapore, where he plays regularly – was already awake and raring to go. After breakfast, he rode to the course in style, inside a limousine with a friend and colleague from England, who was the one responsible for arranging the caddie role in the first place. Once they reached the venue, Wang walked past huge crowds to the Players' Room where he met up with Rose, who subsequently finished runner-up to McIlroy after a play-off. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 2 pm Lifestyle Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself. Sign Up Sign Up Said Wang of his encounter with the 44-year-old Rose: 'He was so down-to-earth. After we shook hands, I donned the white caddie uniform and was about to carry Rose's half-set to the first hole. 'Suddenly, he stopped me and told me to carry his full set, as he wanted me to have the real Masters experience of being a caddie. It was sweet of him to do this, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.' Wang noted that while there were formalities and rules in the Par-3 nine-hole contest, everyone was there to have fun on the course, with some players even bringing along their wives and children. 'On the last hole, the caddie is slated to hit the tee-shot. But alas, I sent my shot into water, as I was just short on the 102-metre hole with Rose's 52-degree wedge,' said Wang. The 40-year-old Wang, born in China's Shanxi province, studied Russian literature at Beijing Foreign Studies University and worked in Hong Kong before coming to Singapore in 2020. The 13.9-handicapper picked up the oil trade business on the job and currently works for Gunvor Singapore, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gunvor Group, a large independent commodities trading house headquartered in Geneva. He travels frequently because of work and also goes on the occasional golf trip with friends. But ticking off this trip to Augusta from his bucket list was the 'most amazing' one so far for the father-of-three who now plays once or twice a week at Tanah Merah Country Club. His phone now has hundreds of photos and videos of him and Rose on the Augusta course that's famous for its azaleas, dogwoods and pine needles. Next on Wang's bucket list: To go back to Augusta one day and play a full round of golf on that very course.
