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Online Citizen
07-07-2025
- Business
- Online Citizen
Four golf courses to close by 2035 as Singapore reclaims land for housing and national needs
Singapore will see four of its golf courses permanently closed by 2035, reducing the total number of courses from 16 to 12. This decision, announced by the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) on 7 July 2025, underscores Singapore's continuous effort to balance recreational spaces with pressing national land needs. The affected courses include Mandai Executive Golf Course, Warren Golf & Country Club, Orchid Country Club, and Tanah Merah Country Club's Garden course. According to MinLaw, their leases or tenancies will not be renewed as the land is required for future developments. Mandai Executive Golf Course, a public 9-hole course, will be the first to close when its tenancy expires on 31 December 2026. The land will be repurposed by the Ministry of Education (MOE) for an Outdoor Adventure Learning Centre, one of three new campsites planned to be completed by 2032. In 2030, two more closures will follow: Warren Golf & Country Club in Choa Chu Kang and Orchid Country Club in Yishun. Their land has been zoned for residential use in the Urban Redevelopment Authority's Draft Master Plan 2025. Warren's lease ends on 31 October 2030, while Orchid's lease concludes on 31 December 2030. Finally, Tanah Merah Country Club's Garden course will close after its lease expires on 31 December 2035. MinLaw stated that due to its proximity to Changi Airport, the site is being studied for uses that could support airport-related economic growth. Further details will be shared nearer to 2035. These closures follow similar land reallocations, such as the closure of Marina Bay Golf Course in June 2024, which is being partially transformed into the new Bay East Garden. By 2035, Singapore will retain 12 golf courses, including courses whose leases extend beyond 2040. Two courses — the 18-hole Kranji course under the National Service Resort & Country Club and Sentosa Golf Club's Serapong course — will have their leases renewed until 31 December 2040. Seven courses will have leases expiring in December 2040. They include Singapore Island Country Club's (SICC) Island and New courses, Changi Golf Club, Laguna National's two 18-hole courses, Seletar Country Club, National Service Resort & Country Club (Changi), and Sentosa Golf Club's Tanjong course. The last course at Sembawang Country Club, operated under a license by the Ministry of Defence, sits on state land and is not affected by current lease reviews. MinLaw emphasised that decisions on golf course leases consider competing land needs 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 stated. The Government also seeks to maintain a balance between access for private golf club members and the general public. To support golf development, MinLaw announced the establishment of a second Centre of Excellence for national and youth golfers. This centre will provide weekly training slots and complement the existing Centre at Keppel Club's Sime course.
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.
Straits Times
07-07-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Four golf courses to close by 2035, leaving Singapore with 12 courses
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox 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, on July 7 said 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 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 will be partially occupied by the upcoming Bay East Garden, which is currently being developed. The leases of another two courses – Singapore Island Country Club's (SICC) 18-hole Bukit course and Keppel Club's 18-hole Sime course – will also expire on Dec 31, 2030. Thereafter, the land occupied by these two courses will be split between an operator that will run an 18-hole public course and the National Trades Union Congress – which currently operates Orchid Country Club through NTUC Club – said MinLaw in a statement. How the land will be parcelled and allocated is being studied, the ministry added. It did not say how long the lease for these courses would be. The first of the four courses to close is the public 9-hole Mandai Executive Golf Course, which is on a tenancy that runs until Dec 31, 2026. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. 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Another two courses will close in 2030, and their sites have been zoned for residential use, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) Draft Master Plan 2025 . They are the 18-hole Warren Golf & Country Club in Choa Chu Kang, which has a lease that expires on Oct 31, 2030, as well as the 27-hole Orchid Country Club in Yishun, which has a lease that expires on Dec 31, 2030. Finally, Tanah Merah Country's 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,' said MinLaw, 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 have leases that are expiring in 2030 and will be offered renewals until Dec 31, 2040 – the 18-hole course in Kranji under the National Service Resort & 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 9-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 & 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 future. The last course at Sembawang Country Club has 18 holes and is operated by the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) under a license 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,' said the ministry. '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 leases of golf courses 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,' said MinLaw. The ministry said the Singapore Golf Association and the National Service Resort & 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, said MinLaw. The new centre adds to an existing Centre of Excellence at Keppel Club's Sime course which develops youth golfers, the ministry said.
Business Times
22-06-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Team Boss redouble efforts as they prepare for next year's BT Golf Corporate League
[SINGAPORE] Just days before the fifth and final leg of The Business Times Corporate Golf League in May, there was some speculation that former champions Team Boss would withdraw from next year's edition of the annual tournament. There was some panic among the event organisers, for the golfers from Team Boss have brought plenty of glamour and colour to the event over the years by recruiting star personalities and celebrities, all of whom have donned attire from the German luxury fashion house. But Hugo Boss managing director Steven Lam, who played a leading role in helping his team to win the team event at the final leg at Sentosa Golf Club, finally put those rumours to rest. 'We will enter not one, but two teams. We will choose line-ups for the competitive category and the social competition. In fact, with about eight months left for the 2026 event, we have already started preparing and have named the new captain and vice-captain,' said Lam. Stalwart Andre Huber will take over the captaincy from Marilyn Lum, with John Lim being the vice-captain. Lam was the highest scorer in his team with 38 points at the fifth leg at Sentosa's Serapong course on May 9. After all the scores were tallied, Team Boss finished just two points behind overall winners Orchid Country Club, and one adrift of second-placed Singapore Global Trust. 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 Team Boss held a recent gathering to celebrate their BT Golf League success at their office at Ngee Ann City, when Lam declared that his team would again be a force to be reckoned with. The Boss team, which once fielded Singapore's Olympic gold-medallist and swimming star Joseph Schooling, is also scouting around to field local celebrities and television personalities. Said Lam: 'Nearer to the start date, we will organise practice sessions. We are also planning for an overseas trip, probably to Thailand.' Twenty-strong Next year's BT Corporate Golf League will see two new teams take part for the first time, with United Overseas Bank and Seagull Marine already confirming their participation. This takes the total number of participants from 16 this year to 20 for the 2026 competition, which is also likely to retain the five-leg format on the best five courses in Singapore – Sentosa's Serapong, Singapore Island Country Club's New course, Tanah Merah's Tampines, Laguna National's Classic, and Orchid Country Club. The companies that have pledged their support are Team Boss (two teams), I-Kare, OCBC Bank, Olam Group, UOB, Seagull Marine, OneRHT, Paragon Reit, Takashimaya, Orchid Country Club, Cartimes, CLA Global TS, Gayatri Restaurant, Singapore Global Trust, Simply Golf, Singapore Golf Association, Mitsubishi Electric, SPH Media and Singapore Pools. Said organising committee chairman S Murali, who's also managing editor of The Straits Times: 'This event is fast gaining traction among many corporations in Singapore after the lull during the Covid-19 period. 'The main two-fold mission of the event – to provide an opportunity for golfers to network and companies to connect partnerships, as well as providing a platform for healthy competition – is proving to be the right approach for luring companies to take part.'
Business Times
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Business Times
After tightest of contests, Orchid Country Club are champions of BT Corporate Golf League
[SINGAPORE] IT was the tightest of finishes in the 14-year history of The Business Times Corporate Golf League presented by Singapore Pools tournament. The well-assembled team from Orchid Country Club edged out Singapore Global Trust (SGT) by just one point to clinch the overall championship at the end of the fifth and final leg held at Sentosa Golf Club on Friday (May 9). Orchid Country Club amassed a grand total of 527 points after the five legs, thanks to a brilliant 144 total from four players in the final round. SGT managed 141 as they lost their grip on the top spot that they had held for the first four rounds. Team Boss finished a further point behind in third place, after a fifth-leg score of 148 points. Singapore Golf Association league golfer Bryan Chen (course handicap 13) spearheaded the Orchid Country Club fightback with 38 points from an 11-over 83 on Sentosa Golf Club's tough Serapong course. Gavin De Luna (handicap 11, 37 points), Phillion Chen (handicap 9, 36 points) and Melvyn Tan (handicap 14, 33) added to the team's tally. 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 SGT's points came from Kenneth Oh (36), Jimmy Wong (36), Winson Oh (35) and Chen Xingtong (34). The golfers from Singapore Global Trust with BT Editor Chen Huifen (extreme right). SGT was the first runner-up, finishing just a point behind Orchid Country Club. PHOTO: SPH MEDIA On a hot and humid day, the scores were relatively high on a championship layout that had broken even many low handicappers because of the rough and bunker-littered holes. But there were some surprise scores too, such as the 148 total from Team Boss, in which Steven Lam (38 points), John Lim (37), Andre Huber (37) and Marilyn Lum (36) all contributed significantly with their impressive hauls. There were individual highlights aplenty, notably Team Gayatri's national player Troy Storm's six-under 66 buoyed by seven birdies and rued by just one bogey. However, his high-placed plus-5 course handicap accorded him 37 points in Gayatri's 138 total for the restaurant's fourth-place finish on 509 points among nine teams. The best individual finisher was SPH Media's Tim Pinnegar, a seasoned six-handicapper who shot a fantastic 70 for the maximum 40 points. This was the freelance golf writer's personal best score on Serapong – four shots better than his previous mark. The 62-year-old bagged four birdies – on the sixth, ninth, 11th and 14th holes – and suffered just two bogeys in a round where points came from all 18 holes. 'I played above myself, and got some remarkable shots. It was just my day,' he said. Orchid Country Club's general manager Melvyn Tan admitted that he was 'a little surprised' by his team's comeback victory, having been three points behind at the start of play. 'Anyway, our primary objective of taking part (in the Corporate Golf League) was not to win, but to enjoy the opportunity to connect and re-connect with the wider golfing community and friends. It was a rewarding experience for us,' he said. The best individual golfer in the social category was Mitsubishi Electric's Lim Han Ren (course handicap 7) with 39 points from a four-over 76. Lim also carried Mitsubishi to the team title, with Michael Ng, Allan Tan and Jonathan Yeo contributing to their total of 112 points from three scores. Performance Motors' Allen Gong claimed the longest-drive prize with a 290-metre shot. And in the lucky draw held during the dinner, SPH Media's Sreerangan Kurup won the bonus prize of a Franck Muller Damascus Steel watch.
