‘It’s disappointing’: Singapore closes public golf course to make way for homes

Other sports grounds making way for homes include the island’s Singapore Turf Club track, which is scheduled to hold its final race in October, ending more than 180 years of horse racing in the city state.

The club’s former venue in a wealthy central area was also reclaimed by authorities last year to build a new housing neighbourhood. Singapore’s only Olympic-sized ice rink closed last year to make way for condos, leaving hockey players and figure skaters with no place to go.

“Golf was never a factor to be in Singapore,” said Mohit Sagar, an expatriate from India who works for a content platform. Despite that, the golfer who has been playing in the city state for 16 years expressed regret at the closure of the Marina Bay site. “You can play golf in Singapore, but you won’t get this backdrop ever again.”

Marina Bay has been the flagship public course since it opened in 2006, the only 18-hole track accessible to everyone. The Phil Jacobs-designed course won numerous awards, with a signature par-three island hole and a rare, par-six hole that challenged experts and duffers alike. It offered night golf, giving players relief from the year-round tropical heat. The government announced in 2014 that it would not be renewing the club’s lease when it expired in 2024.

Golfers flocked to the course during the pandemic, when much of the city state was shut down. They could enjoy a round, followed by spicy char kway teow noodles and espresso martinis while taking in the skyline from its elevated open-air restaurant.

Golfers played up to 10,000 rounds a month at the peak, up from 7,800 pre-Covid. Demand was so great that players had to log on to the website at midnight to snag a tee-time when new slots became available.

“It’s obviously disappointing, but unsurprising because ever since I arrived, I’d known it would be closing,” said Tom Hawker, an expatriate who has lived in Singapore for over a decade. The 44-year-old business consultant was getting a last game of golf on Saturday at the course which he frequented once a week during the pandemic.

With Marina Bay now closed and the nine-hole Champions public course shut in December, Singapore’s last fully public course is at Mandai, a mostly par-three 9-hole site in the north that was due to close at the end of 2024. It was granted a two-year reprieve after the government deemed that it’s “important for the public to have continued access to the sport.”

Another club that was relocated in 2022 to make way for housing, Keppel Club, now operates a hybrid 18-hole course at Sime, with 60 per cent of playing times reserved for the public.

While foreigners can join the private clubs, a limited supply of memberships will drive up prices, said Singolf owner Lee Lee Langdale.

“It’s well-known in Singapore that land, especially golf courses, will be taken by the government to build other facilities in demand,” said Langdale, who doesn’t think this will make Singapore any less attractive for foreigners. “Most expats don’t have much time to play golf anyway.”

Many of those who do want to continue playing are choosing to go overseas for a game, she said.

“The easy option is to go away,” said Hawker, the British expat, whose visits to Marina Bay Golf Course dwindled to once a month lately as he opted to play more rounds abroad. “I’m nowhere near justifying the cost of a private club.”