Top 15 Golf Courses of Singapore 2017
We revise our Singapore national rankings
Singapore has come a long way since it was founded by Stamford Raffles as an East India Company trading post almost two hundred years ago. Indeed, since gaining independence in 1963, it’s become one of the most enterprising countries in the world, with an economy that’s developed rapidly into one of the four Asian Tigers, along with Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong.
In common with those other three countries, golf in Singapore is positively thriving, though there are only around thirty clubs in the national golf association to serve a population of more than five and a half million people who are packed into an area of only 719 square kilometres, making it the third most densely populated nation in the world, just ahead of Hong Kong.
We’ve been monitoring the golfing progress of Singapore since we established our inaugural Top 10 chart for the country in 2009, expanding it to a Top 15 when it was first revised. It’s now one of the most stable ranking lists that we publish so don’t be surprised by the fact that that there are no new entries in this version but there is one notable upward move that’s worthy of closer examination.
The New Tanjong course at Sentosa Golf Club has long played second fiddle to the Serapong course at the same location but that might be about to change, thanks to an extensive, year-long renovation project which has resulted in the layout leaping five places up our new listings to number 4. Andrew Johnston, the club’s Director of Agronomy, and his associate Matt Swanson have given the course a complete makeover, resulting in what is now, to all intents and purposes, a brand-new course.
Fresh from its multi-million-dollar facelift, the New Tanjong layout is scheduled to host the 10th edition of the prestigious Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in 2018, an event organized by the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation, entitling the winner and runner-up to play in the following Masters at Augusta National and to gain entry to that season’s International Final Qualifying for the Open.
It’s also heavily rumoured that the HSBC Women’s Championship (regarded as an “Asian Major” for women professionals) and currently played on the Serapong course, will be moved to the New Tanjong layout as soon as 2017, assuming tournament organizer IMG and title sponsor HSBC agree to have Sentosa Golf Club switch the venue from one course to the other.
The top three positions in the updated Singapore Top 15 chart remain the same as last time, which means the New course at Singapore Island Country Club is at number 3, the Garden course at Tanah Merah Country Club is in the runner-up spot at number 2, and the aforementioned Serapong course at Sentosa Golf Club retains the number 1 slot that it acquired when we last re-ranked the table.
It may be a little out of the limelight right now with the focus on all the new developments at its older sibling, but the Serapong course is not the national number 1 for nothing. Upgraded in 2007 at a reputed cost of 12 million US dollars, this Ron Fream-designed layout maintains its status as host venue for the Singapore Open, which will be held here for the ninth time in 2017, with three-time champion Adam Scott, Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia all competing.
There are only two other climbers in the new national listings: The Lake course at Raffles Country Club, a Robert Trent Jones Jnr track that was upgraded at the start of the new millennium by Nelson & Haworth, nudges up one place to number 10 and the public layout at Marina Bay, which features a par six hole at its 651-metre 4th hole, moves up two places to number 11.
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To view further details of the Top 15 Golf Courses of Singaporeclick the link.
We always like to know what you think of our newly re-ranked national listings so if you want to contact us with any criticisms or suggestions in relation to our revised Singapore Top 15 then please use the “Respond to this article” link at the top or at the bottom of this page to give us your thoughts.
Jim McCann
Editor
Top 100 Golf Courses
