SINGAPORE – At midnight on June 13, Terence Lim and his friends sat in front of their laptops, frantically trying to secure a tee time at the Marina Bay Golf Course (MBGC).
Within seconds, all the available slots on June 28 were snapped up and thankfully, Lim was among the lucky ones. Like many social golfers, he wanted to get a “farewell round” in before Singapore’s only 18-hole public course shuttered after June 30 owing to its expired land lease.
Lim, 32, who works in sales, picked up golf in 2018 at Mandai Executive Golf Course – a nine-hole public course – with the same group of friends. They do not own private country club memberships and were regular patrons at MBGC.
He told The Sunday Times: “There was some worry and anxiety that we couldn’t get our slot for a farewell round. Probably after the 18 holes we will cry and tear a bit. This is the last time we will be here after many years so it’s bittersweet memories.
“We have to save up a bit more (for a country club membership). It’s pretty tough for all of us and especially foreigners.”
MBGC was running at full capacity after the Covid-19 pandemic and in the lead up to its closure, about 8,000 golfers were teeing off monthly, ST understands.
Since its opening in November 2006, the public course – which was operated by NCI Golf, a subsidiary of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) – had more than 1.3 million players on its greens and dispensed over 419 million driving range golf balls.
In 2014, the Government said that its lease would not be renewed after ending in July 2024. Its closure means Mandai, which recently had its lease renewed till 2026, is the only remaining fully public golf course in Singapore
Like Lim, many other golfers expressed sadness as they reminisced about their time spent on the course over the last 18 years.