Four of the best golf clubs to play in Singapore, a year-round golfing haven

23/03/2024 17:02

For year-round consistency, few locations can match Singapore when it comes to delivering a terrific golfing experience.

Unlike in many locations, you can play golf in Singapore 12 months of the year.

And here are four golf clubs or resorts that sport at least two great courses.

Laguna National

Laguna National’s two courses were built on 310 acres of former government property once controlled by the Singapore Tourist Board.

In the early 1990s, billionaire Peter Kwee and a group of other investors stepped in to develop the property into the excellent golfing complex it is today.

Classic course

This stadium course, dubbed “Asia’s Toughest Test,” has around 250 bunkers, a number of “waste bunker canyons,” and “generous greens that frequently feature three or more tiers.”

The Classic course, also known as “The Remarkable One,” is claimed to be made up of eighteen holes that are “reminiscent of,” “similar to,” or “not unlike” some of the most famous holes in British and American golf.

Masters course

The Masters Course at Laguna National Golf & Country Club in Singapore is an entirely modern American-style course, despite sporadic attempts to incorporate some Scottish mounding.

The geography is defined by four enormous lakes, which affect play on twelve of the courses’ holes. There is more of an obvious and present risk in some locations, particularly the 11th, 12th, and 17th, while other threats are more in the background.

The Masters Course hosts the Singapore Classic on the DP World Tour.

Singapore Island

Singapore Island Club is proud of its role in taking golf to all the people of their region with progressive values.

Established when another club moved onto the location of the Singapore Island club and starting with a humble 9-hole course, the facility now sports four excellent layouts the best of which are the Bukit and Island layouts.

Bukit course

Part of the original Bukit Golf Club before an amalgamation with the Island Club, this course has undergone significant changes over its life span.

A beautiful parkland course laid out alongside the MacRitchie Reservoir, the Bukit has held its fair share of Singapore Opens.

Island course

At the Singapore Island Country Club, the Island course is the shortest 18-hole layout, spanning little under 6,000 metres from the back tees.

The course, which is routed through mature trees on a rather mountainous terrain, is nonetheless authentic to its original design even though Peter Thomson subsequently made changes to Peter Robinson’s initial layout.

Tanah Merah

The Tanah Merah golf complex, situated between Changi Airport and the two Laguna National courses to the west of Singapore’s city centre, has two of the best layouts in the nation.

The Tanah Merah courses were constructed in the early 1980s on reclaimed ground by designer Max Wexler. The Garden layout was the first to be used, and the Tampines followed a few years later.

Garden course

With its palm trees, bougainvillaeas, and tropical hardwoods, the Garden Course at Tanah Merah Country Club feels like a huge tropical garden—even though it’s right next to the extremely busy Changi Airport. It is worth mentioning that the course’s conditioning is among the best in Singapore.

Here, artificial water is a part of the course’s plan and impacts player strategy.

Tampines course

Over a million dollars was spent on each hole during the Tampines’ construction, requiring the movement of a sizable amount of soil to create the lakes and delicate undulations.

The Tampines course boasts an ingenious feature: three additional holes that can be added to enable maintenance work without the course needing to be shut. Many clubs would undoubtedly want to be able to make use of this kind of design.

Sentosa

Sentosa is blessed with a prime position and breathtaking vistas, having played home to the 2005 revival of the Singapore Open.

Situated on the city-facing side of Sentosa Island, this development utilises both existing and reclaimed ground to optimise its strategic location.

New Tanjong course

Even though the Tanjong isn’t as well-known as its sister, it is unquestionably one of the most influential layouts to come out of designer Frank Pennink’s sketchbook in 1974.

After being remodelled in 2016 and renamed “New Tanjong,” the Tanjong course is unquestionably an appropriate representation of golf in Singapore for the present day, having been improved by Max Wexler and Chris Pitman.

Serapong course

Ronald Fream developed and finished the Serapong course, in 1982. More recently, he came back to finish the makeover.

Fream said: “The future land for the Serapong course was primarily seawater when I first visited by ferry and small motor launch in early 1978. The Tanjong course had been on Sentosa Island for some years. The club management, led by Mr Dennis Lee, wanted more golf to accommodate growing Singapore wealth. The challenge was to find a place for an 18-hole championship course, that would be decidedly contrasting in appearance and play from Tanjong.”

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