The COVID-19 pandemic may have forced the golf industry to abruptly hit the pause button, but many are braced and ready for the better days that are, hopefully, not too far away. We spoke to Tom Hutton, CEO & Founder of Tee Time Saver ‒ the official booking partner for Asian Tour Destinations ‒ who is a young entrepreneur with no doubts about where his company is heading.

Asian Tour Destinations is home to a growing number of the region’s elite and premier golfing venues, but it also boasts some key partners who are playing an important role in its emerging ecosystem.

This is certainly the case when it comes to Tee Time Saver, who are not only the exclusive network’s official booking partner, but also have the ‘Tech Sector’ well and truly covered for the group.

“We want to use technology to advance golf in Asia across all areas,” says Tom Hutton ‒ CEO & Founder of Tee Timer Saver.

“One of the key reasons we launched Tee Time Saver, was to help bridge the technological gap that exists in this part of the world. Having worked in the golf industry in Southeast Asia for many years, it was obvious that most of the major innovation was happening in the US and Europe, and taking a long time to find its way here, if at all. There has been, and still is, a huge opportunity to help innovate the golf industry in our region, across a plethora of areas.”

Searching For Innovation

Hutton worked for the Acushnet Company and their Titleist brand before launching Tee Time Saver in Singapore in 2018. They are now based in Bangkok, Thailand.

The company’s user-friendly online portal ‒ which allows visitors to search hundreds of golf clubs across the region in order to book tee times and packages ‒ is his sole focus at present and it’s a piece of tech that he is developing into a comprehensive search engine like no other in this part of the world.

Tee Time Saver’s website is becoming a popular goto portal for golfers, while their App is nearing completion.

“The model is little bit akin to Trivago, essentially,” says the Englishman.

“Basically, what we do is bring in tee time pricing from multiple booking partners and golf courses, via either API (Application Programming Interface) connection or through our Partner Portal, and allow golfers to search and book the best options in one place.”

He feels the booking process is a big part of golf which has been done the same way in Asia for many years ‒ in terms of making a phone call or sending text or WhatsApp message.

And while their website has been doing very well, they also have an app in development stage, which is due to be launched very soon.

He adds: “We started with the tee time booking process, but we believe there are many opportunities to branch into other areas.”

Different types of golf can be booked online through the site: a tee time, a stay and play package, a day trip package that involves transportation, golf tours for multiple days, and golf villa packages.

Trouble Off The Tee

Hutton is quick to admit that the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has been the biggest challenge his business has faced so far.

Tom Hutton, CEO & Founder of Tee Time Saver, is beginning to make his mark in the tech space of golf in Asia.

“We had a relatively good year when we started in 2018, and in 2019 we were cruising along, we had a lot of golf tours set up for 2020, but then boom COVID hits, and everything is cancelled, everything stops,” he says.

Other hurdles to overcome include the fact that booking tee times online is in its infancy in Asia and will take time for people to get used to. Also, golfers in Asia tend to be older and therefore less likely to book online or use an app.

“But the demographic of golfers in Asia is changing. It is much less an old person’s sport and more of a younger person’s game. All of these things have posed challenges, but we are very confident of overcoming all of them.”

Streamlining Through Tech

Motivation comes in the form of the feedback he gets from customers, golf clubs and agents, especially when they have sold a Tour and clients have had a great experience with their technology.

“We feel we are in a unique position as this space grows. We will make improvements to Tee Time Saver which will include an events section, and an Improve section which will be for golf lessons, golf simulator bookings and driving range bookings.”

He also has impressive B2B plans which will see them use their portal to try and add a lot more features to support and help the relationship between golf clubs and booking agents.

Kota Permai Golf & Country Club in Malaysia (above) and Thailand’s Black Mountain Golf Club (main picture) are among the hundreds of golf clubs in the region where golfers can book a tee time through Tee Time Saver. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

“The key belief to everything we are doing is to use tech to advance golf in Asia. So, whether it is on the consumer or partner side, and the B2B relationships they have, there are a lot of opportunities in this part of the world to streamline through tech. Our goal is to continue to innovate through technology, and help make life easier for both golfers and golf businesses in Asia.”

Please visit Tee Time Saver here: https://teetimesaver.com/

The award-winning Angkor Golf Resort ‒ which sits at the doorstep of the famous Angkor Wat Temple in Siem Reap, Cambodia ‒ is the latest high-profile golfing venue to become part of Asian Tour Destinations.

The popular resort, which boasts a Sir Nick Faldo-designed 18-hole layout, becomes the ninth golf club to join Asian Tour Destinations ‒ which was launched in 2020 to set up an affiliate network of premier golfing properties in the region that have direct ties with the Asian Tour.

“We are truly proud to be part of the Asian Tour Destinations program,” said David Baron, General Manager, Angkor Golf Resort.

“We are fully aware that the platform is going from strength to strength, and it allows us to align ourselves with some of the region’s leading venues. We look forward to utilizing the platform, enhancing our brand, and welcoming new golfers to our fairways.”

Opened in 2008, Angkor Golf Resort, has a proven track record for hosting tournaments including the 2012 Handa Faldo Cambodian Classic ‒ the Asian Tour event won by American David Lipsky.

The Resort is also the host venue for the Ladies European Tour Qualifying School in Asia, as well as the Faldo Series Asia Cambodian Qualifier, the Angkor Amateur Open and the Angkor Fourball championship.

“We welcome Angkor Golf Resort on board, and we are especially pleased to see them join as our first Cambodian venue,” said Ken Kudo, Associate Director, Partnerships, Asian Tour.

“We look forward to working with them and further developing our relationship. They represent one of the top-tier of golfing properties in Asia and are a perfect fit for Asian Tour Destinations.”

Among the many awards the Resort have won are the: 2016/17 Best Course in Cambodia, World Golf Awards; 2015 IAGTO Excellence Award; 2012 Best Golf Course in Cambodia, Golf Digest US; and 2011-16 The Rolex World Top 1000 Golf Courses.

David Lipsky of the United States holds the trophy of the Handa Faldo Cambodian Classic at Angkor Golf Resort on March 17, 2012 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. (Photo by Asian Tour/Asian Tour via Getty Images)

Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore were the first to join Asian Tour Destination and were later joined by Black Mountain Golf Club in Hua Hin, Thailand; Classic Golf & Country Club in New Delhi, India; Kota Permai Golf & Country Club and Horizon Hills Golf & Country Club, both in Malaysia; Laguna Golf Lăng Cô, Vietnam; and Japan’s Sapporo Country Club and The North Country Golf Club.

Asian Tour Destinations will be adding other prominent venues from the Asia-Pacific region to its portfolio in the near future.

Situated on Vietnam’s ‘golf coast’ in Hue, just north of Da Nang, the magnificent Laguna Golf Lăng Cô is patiently waiting for the coronavirus pandemic to clear so it can resume normal business. In June we spoke to Adam Calver, Director of Golf, Laguna Golf Lăng Cô, to get the latest news from the Asian Tour Destinations venue.

In general, how are things at the moment at Laguna Golf Lăng Cô? What level are you operating at?

For the month of May we were closed as a precaution to what was a fourth wave in Vietnam. Our region [Hue] right now has no confirmed cases but we are trying to minimise gatherings as a precaution. But before that we were achieving good numbers in terms of rounds of golf just from the domestic market. So, we were seeing some pretty strong growth domestically until the recent slowdown with provincial travel.

Actually, it was the same last year when we were doing well in number of rounds, but they brought in some social distancing measures which slowed it down. We feel by next month we will be back up seeing some strong numbers again. Last year we were only closed for about three weeks the whole year. This year some of the hot spots in the country are a little closer to us so we have been closed for about a month to minimise travellers.

The pandemic has proved that if you don’t have a strong domestic market, you won’t survive in times of crisis. Most of the city courses in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh have had a stong year with high domestic golf demand.

There have been some positives with the pandemic, allowing people to reset and refresh and rebuild. What have been the positives for you?

We took a negative situation and turned it into a positive opportunity to improve the conditioning of the course and review our service standards, and we have done some fairly aggressive renovations. We are finishing our event lawn between the 18^th green and the clubhouse to allow for lager event gala dinners.  We opened up our 19^th Hole which we built last year, and we have a couple new tee boxes we enlarged ‒ made them a little more event friendly as well and we added a new tee to the driving range and three new target greens for our training camps.

Summarise the negatives, but no need to dwell on them.

For us and indeed all the courses on the Vietnam ‘golf coast’ in the Hue, Da Nang and Hoi An area we were seeing phenomenal growth coming into the pandemic; there was a new course opening almost every year in a two-hour radius of Danang International airport, so there was a lot of international hype. There was a lot of interest in the region but as the pandemic closed in we lost about 80% of our golf market. What is fortunate is that we did see a big rebound domestically. The good thing for us was that two of the newest courses opened up in the pandemic, so we think there will be a very strong rebound from the international market with a high demand to come and see the two new courses. The two courses are Hoiana Shores Golf Club and BRG Group opened up their second 18-hole layout which was designed by the Nicklaus group. So, we now have seven courses within a two-hour radius of Da Nang Airport and five of the courses are ranked in Vietnam’s top seven courses, which gives us the country’s most outstanding cluster of golf courses.

Were you the first course built there?

No, we were the third. The first was the Montgomerie Links, then the Greg Norman course at BRG, then Laguna Golf Lăng Cô with Sir Nick Faldo, and then the Luke Donald layout at Ba Na Hills. We opened late 2012 with a grand opening early 2013. I have been with the club  four and half years and we upgraded the course in 2017 – 2019 and we were elevated to a Sir Nick Faldo Signature Design status in 2019 as a result. Sir Nick has been hands on with all our enhancements and he hosts his Faldo Series Asia Grand Final each year at our Resort.

Bring us up-to-date on all the facilities that Laguna Golf Lăng Cô has, and indeed anything new being planned.

Here at Laguna Golf Lăng Cô the 18-hole Sir Nick Faldo signature course is the centre piece of the larger integrated destination resort Laguna Lăng Cô. So, Laguna Lăng Cô is part of the Banyan Tree Group’s brand structure that includes multiple hotels, private residences, restaurants, sporting facilities, spas and golf – all stretched out along a 3km beach surrounded by tropical coast mountains.

So at our property we have  Banyan Tree residence property which are two and three bedroom private villas with infinity pools  along the hill tops overlooking the ocean on the far north side of the property. And then below that is the Banyan Tree hotel with private beach villas and lagoon villas as well as the Banyan Tree Spa, and right beside that is the Angsana Hotel which is a larger hotel structure with its own Angsana Spa and Ballroom and a  wider variety of rooms categories – what’s really unique to the Angsana property is that  the ocean facing hotel rooms have their own private plunge pools with the Sky Pool rooms having roof top ocean view private pools.

And along the golf course we have the Laguna Park golf residences which are two and three bedroom town homes along the 18^th hole, and they are also about 200 metres from the beach and a mix of private pools and gardens.

So, we have a unique property here which is why we have spent a lot of time in the last four years upgrading areas and growing our capacity as our events keep getting bigger and bigger. Since all rooms, villas outlets and the ballroom  are within walking distance to the club house it has been a great venue to host numerous  tournaments and events.

Despite the current volatility are you able sell property?

Our current offerings for phase one of the Laguna Park units (they are all three-story town homes) are all sold out. And just before the pandemic we launched phase two of the Banyan Tree residences ‒ which is our elite ultra-luxury offerings ‒ and we have sold a dozen of them. We put things on hold for a little while just to see how things played out last year and then we started to reactivate that programme in Q1 this year as we are seeing a high demand for city dwellers seeking private luxury villas and our product is the perfect sanctuary especially if you’re an avid golfer.

Where are your buyers from?

It is a little bit of a mix. Just before COVID they were from  throughout Southeast Asia, then for the last 12 to 18 months it has predominantly been domestic  investors. We have seen that if you are going to be locked down our resort is a phenomenal place to spend a couple of weeks or months, so we have seen some long-stay guests and now with more people working remotely I am sure we will see more multi-month stays.  Even at the beginning of COVID some of our Korean golfers stayed for two to three months

How many golfing properties does Banyan Tree have?

Banyan Tree group is a global hospitality brand. They have expanded into various real estate developments associated with their different brands. They have three golf courses under their direct ownership and management which would be the three Laguna properties: the Laguna Golf Lăng Cô here in Vietnam; their first property Laguna Phuket in Thailand; and Laguna Bintan in Indonesia.

And they do have a number of  hotel properties like the Banyan Tree property in Mayakoba in Mexico, which has a Greg Norman designed course as part of the larger resort. Even in Seoul their city hotel has a golf academy attached to it.

You are known for hosting the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final. It has been a great success. What was the rationale behind staging it?

With Sir Nick Faldo being our designer, over the years he has come back to Laguna Golf Lăng Cô quite often; I think he has been here almost every year since the course was built ‒ that’s quite exceptional for a golf course designer.

He had been hosting the series in China for about 11 years, and it was brought up that he loved the Laguna Golf Lăng Cô course, and as the course was maturing we moved the tournament here the first year I was here in 2017 as a trial year.

Then we discussed putting more resources behind the event, and some marketing focused on the players, and the last four years it has been phenomenal seeing the growth of the series. We have managed to have Nick here for a week every year hosting the Asia Final. Because of COVID we will have to push the two Faldo Series Asia Grand Finals, 2020 and 2021, to later this year ‒ we will host them back-to-back and then we will be back on track for 2022.

The tournament is really an investment in the future of the game. We see a great value in helping provide an avenue for up-and-coming golfers especially across Asia and having Sir Nick come and host it himself is truly phenomenal and a testament to his commitment to grow golf globally. He hosts a clinic every night throughout the event where he gives short and long game lessons and all the players show up, as well as  our members, and hotel guests, and he just puts on these private clinics. We had to put some lights in there some evenings because he went on so long with an enthusiastic audience answering questions and giving some one-on-one lessons to players.

In December last year, you became part of Asian Tour Destinations. What are you hoping to achieve through this relationship?

We have had a good relationship with the Asian Tour overs the years with the support through the Faldo Series and helping to grow the game at amateur and junior level. So, now as we start to step up and look to the future we want to help create opportunities and provide venues for Asian Tour professional events which we think also benefits tourism and exposure for the region. So we are pretty excited about the partnership and we are looking forward to things opening up to start discussions on bigger and better events.

We have had a few proposals going through various levels of tourism to host an Asian Tour event and different sponsorship enquiries but everything has been a start stop process because of COVID. But we feel we are getting to the end of the tunnel so we can move forward with more events for Vietnam as we seek to showcase the quality of the courses in our region. We want to leverage the power of golf  to make Vietnam famous. There are an estimated 70,000 golfers in Vietnam and with a population of 95 million it is not unfathomable to think of a million golfers coming out of Vietnam in the next decade and we hope to see a number of them becoming tour players.

Adam Calver, Director of Golf, Laguna Golf Lăng Cô

Sentosa Golf Club (SGC), home to the Asian Tour and a member of Asian Tour Destinations, recently announced its commitment to become the world’s first ever carbon neutral golf club by 2022. We spoke to Andy Johnston, the Club’s General Manager and Director of Agronomy, about this high-profile commitment.

Andy, what made the Club want to take on this carbon neutral project?

We recognize how important it is to address the issues of global warming including the more critical element of climate change. We can see the changing landscape in the planet’s ecosystems and feel climate change should be on the top of everyone’s annual master planning efforts for long- and short-term agenda.

We recognize we often lead the conversions in golf in South East Asia and perhaps on a larger worldwide platform with the attention we seem to attract with our work. We notice that we are making a difference after nearly a decade of responsible business practices which are adding up to an intelligent global sustainability programme. There is no playbook for addressing climate change, but there is one thing we can clearly see that needs to be addressed, and that is a more aggressive wider participation in the reduction of carbon.

Many of us have been talking about climate change and carbon elevation, giving the conversation attention, however we now feel it is time to do something about it. The community of golf has many great leaders, role models, heroes in sport and business and we believe it is time for us as leaders to create a healthy community for our planet.

How does the Club plan to reach its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2022?

We have developed an in-depth carbon footprint audit. The carbon footprint identifies how we are contributing to carbon release in the atmosphere, and we intend to use the study and the audit to define stronger control in the reduction of our outputs.

The Club has recently purchased two bio-digesters that will remove problematic methane inputs from food and horticultural waste in the landfill by breaking down the products onsite into a compost fertilizer that will be re-used on our two championship golf courses.

Currently any carbon that we do not reduce, we have made a commitment to purchase certified carbon offsets through regional Forestry or Blue Carbon projects to balance our outputs while we work to naturally become carbon neutral or better.

How is the Club able to work out how much more CO2 is needed to be saved to achieve its target?

As mentioned earlier, the Club has recently undertaken its first CO2 audit that has revealed where we currently sit in terms of our carbon footprint. These carbon footprint analytics mathematically allow us to review our operations and the overall impact they are causing to the environment. This study delivers the evidence in three stages.

The Club has implemented several sustainable initiatives on-site since 2018 through its two campaigns, #KeepitGreen and GAME ON. Are there any further initiatives that are planned soon to help lower the Club’s carbon footprint?

Our new Bio digesters will come online later this year. They are estimated to help reduce our food and horticultural waste considerably with up to 40kg of food waste generated each day and one tonne of horticultural waste produced each month to be ground down into fertilizer. This will help to reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills; one of the world’s biggest causes for methane leakage.

We are also currently making a study into a floating solar farm, as well as changing our brown energy to green energy. The Club has also recently developed a partnership with adidas Golf for our new staff uniforms. Our golfing and F&B teams will be supplied with the new adidas Golf PRIMEGREEN polos that are made with yarn developed out of 100% recycled ocean plastics. We are hoping in the next few months to expand our partnership with adidas Golf to bring about greater awareness for their campaign to end ocean plastic waste once and for all.

In August 2020, SGC became the first golf club in the world to join the UN Sports for Climate Action initiative. Is the Club’s commitment aligned with the initiative in any way?

The UN is the world leader in this area. We are still learning from the UN and the delegates involved and will continue to review the information and the resources provided to help improve our overall position. They have a high-profile team who expect signatories of the UN Sports for Climate Action initiative to deliver on proposed goals and show ways in which they are constantly looking to reduce their carbon footprint. We are currently working to participate with them on many levels and will share these in due course once it is possible to do so.

Are there any specific companies that the Club is working with to help achieve its carbon neutral target?

Since forming a partnership last year with international sustainable golf non-profit, GEO Foundation, we have been working closely alongside them to help monitor our carbon output and discover new ways to gather and report our results.

It is our intention to become a GEO Certified® venue and be able to use our partnership to help pioneer new innovative practices that can be shared with other golf clubs around the world to help influence them to begin their own journey to becoming carbon neutral.

What advice would you give to other golf clubs around the world that are thinking of becoming carbon neutral?

All I would say is start by building a detailed plan that recognises your different carbon outputs, as it is important to understand what levels you are working at before you begin.  Once you have reached this point, it is crucial that everyone within the business is committed to working the plan and making sure no stone is left unturned in the club’s pursuit to reduce its overall carbon footprint and move forward in its journey to becoming carbon neutral.

The time to act is now, we can no longer wait for tomorrow, or let others step up to the plate first. Without considerable action, the world, and its ecosystems that we rely on to live will reach the point of no return. However, if we act fast and unite as an industry, golf can play a considerable role in helping to turn the tide on climate change. It is not game over, It’s GAME ON.

How does the Club plan on helping Sentosa Island achieve its goal of becoming a carbon-neutral destination by 2030?

Sentosa Island has recently this year taken on the commitment to become a carbon neutral destination by 2030. They have employed a new Director of Sustainability and developed a sustainability division that are looking into how the entire precinct can work towards becoming carbon neutral.

They are working extremely hard to develop a robust all-encompassing island wide programme. It is a massive undertaking, and we are really honored to be a part of it. We will continue to play our part and hopefully be able to showcase to other businesses on the island the ways in which they can begin to lower their carbon footprint and contribute towards the island achieving its overall goal of carbon neutrality.

Sentosa Golf Club, regarded as one of the world’s most sustainable sporting venues, has announced a commitment to become the world’s first ever carbon neutral golf club by 2022.

The announcement comes during Sentosa Golf Club’s hosting of the HSBC Women’s World Championship, dubbed ‘Asia’s Major’, where 69 of the world’s best players are set to battle it out on The Tanjong.

Contributions from golf rounds over the next 12 months will be set aside to support the purchase of certified carbon offsets through regional Forestry or Blue Carbon projects, that will sequester atmospheric carbon while defending against deforestation and fostering conservation of forests, mangroves and reefs.

Sentosa Golf Club is also aiming to join the United Nations’ Race to Zero (carbon emissions) campaign following its pledge to neutralise the Club’s carbon footprint by 2022.

This latest goal builds on the Club’s various carbon mitigation measures over the past few years, including achieving Singapore’s Green Mark (Platinum) certification through enhancing the energy efficiency of its clubhouse, the first in the region to introduce lithium battery golf carts and increasing the efficiency of its irrigation system by deploying some 1,200 water saving sprinklers across the golf courses.

The Club has already undertaken the important first step of establishing its carbon footprint against the Green House Gas Protocol, in conjunction with Sentosa Development Corporation’s (SDC) island-wide carbon profiling efforts and GEO Foundation, the international non-profit dedicated entirely to inspiring, supporting, and recognising sustainable golf.

Moving ahead, the Club will further realise its carbon neutral goal by stepping up its efforts to pursue solutions that will make club operations and grounds maintenance more carbon efficient, including golf equipment and maintenance fleet electrification initiatives and renewable energy sources.

Sentosa Golf Club’s commitment is aligned with SDC’s goals towards sustainability. SDC announced in March 2021 that Sentosa Island would be transformed into a carbon neutral destination by 2030 as a key goal in its sustainability plan, bringing on board some 200 businesses within Sentosa to work towards the collective aspiration of island carbon neutrality.

Having become the first golf club in the world to join the United Nation’s Sports for Climate Action Initiative last year, Andrew Johnston, General Manager / Director of Agronomy and Resident Golf Course Designer at Sentosa Golf Club, commented on the latest pledge saying: “We are excited to set the aspiration to become the first golf club in the world to go carbon neutral. Since joining the United Nation’s Sports for Climate Action initiative in 2020 it has been our goal to become carbon neutral and hopefully inspire others around the world to follow suit.

“The Club is also proud to be aligned with Sentosa Island’s recent commitment to become a carbon neutral destination by 2030 and we are looking forward to working closely with SDC and other businesses on the Island to achieve this goal. Our vision is to deliver a world-class facility of exceptional quality, and our commitment to carbon neutrality will safeguard the Club’s long-term future and allow us to be a model for sustainability in golf worldwide.”

Thien Kwee Eng, Chief Executive Officer at Sentosa Development Corporation, added “Sentosa Development Corporation is excited by Sentosa Golf Club’s commitment to become the world’s first carbon neutral golf club. Golf can act as a catalyst in the fight against climate change and it is great to see one of Singapore’s premier golf clubs leading the way in reducing carbon emissions. The Club’s sustainability agenda is closely linked to that of the Island’s, and we are looking forward to working alongside the Club as we progress towards achieving Sentosa’s goal to be carbon neutral by 2030.”

This announcement is the latest in a long list of sustainable initiatives and commitments made by Sentosa Golf Club since the launch of its newest environmental campaign, GAME ON, at the 2020 SMBC Singapore Open. The campaign is designed to help educate and illustrate to the wider golfing community how important modern sustainable practices are for the betterment of the environment, acting as inspiration for golf clubs around the world to make changes to reduce their own carbon footprint.

Sentosa Golf Club intends to continue developing its sustainable initiatives in 2021 by installing two food and horticultural waste digesters to limit carbon emissions by grinding down waste on-site and reusing it as fertiliser on its two championship courses.

The Club also continues to explore alternative energy solutions such as solar, as well as other sustainable food produce options, whilst its collaboration with GEO Foundation aims to pioneer new innovative practices and report credible results to share with other golfing organisations around the world.

Ends.

Asian Tour Destinations has welcomed two new partners to the fold with Golfasian and the Wall Street Journal+ (WSJ+) becoming part of the exclusive network of golf clubs, with direct ties to the Asian Tour.

Golfasian is the leading golf tour operator in Southeast Asia, while WSJ+ a premium membership program exclusively for subscribers of The Wall Street Journal.

They join at a time when Asian Tour Destinations currently boasts eight venues, representing the top-tier of golf clubs in Asia.

Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore was the first to join and they were soon followed by Black Mountain Golf Club in Hua Hin, Thailand; Classic Golf & Country Club in New Delhi, India; and Kota Permai Golf & Country Club in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Last year, Horizon Hills Golf & Country Club in Malaysia, Laguna Golf Lăng Cô in Vietnam, and Sapporo Country Club plus The North Country Golf Club, both in Japan, became part of the programme.

Cho Minn Thant, Commissioner and CEO of the Asian Tour, said: “The Asian Tour Destinations network continues to gain momentum and so this is an opportune time for Golfasian and Wall Street Journal+ to join. We are delighted they have chosen to partner with our Asian Tour Destinations programme and we look forward to working with them collaboratively.

“The concept of Asian Tour Destinations is to help build the ideal ecosystem for the golf course industry and related sectors in the region, so we feel Golfasian and Wall Street Journal+ are a perfect fit.”

“Golfasian is thrilled to join Asian Tour Destinations as we pride ourselves on working with the best golfing venues in Asia, while this partnership will allow us to further raise awareness of our brand alongside exploring future opportunities with the Asian Tour,” said Mark Siegel, Managing Director, Golfasian Co. Ltd.

“Our business is based on delivering a personalised golfing journey combined with exploring the culture of the countries visited, and our management has over 49 years’ experience in the golfing, travel, and hospitality segments, so this is an exciting opportunity that will add an extra dimension to our level of commitment and service.”

In particular, Golfasian will be able to provide unique travel package offers to experience Asian Tour Destinations venue members, benefit from promotional opportunities across all of the Asian Tour Destinations multi-media platforms, explore cross-promotional opportunities with current and future Asian Tour Destinations partners and in the future explore the potential for building golf and travel packages around the Asian Tour schedule, once circumstances permit.

WSJ+ has had a long-established relationship with the Asian Tour as an “Official Media Partner” and sees the transition of the affiliation to Asian Tour Destinations as a natural evolution for the partnership and an amplified benefit to WSJ+ members.

“This is another great opportunity for WSJ+ and our members to enjoy a range of unique benefits by working with the Asian Tour Destinations platform and in particular many of the world-class golfing venues across the Asian region,” said Charles Ho, Marketing Manager WSJ+.

“WSJ+ members will receive access to unique offers, and we will also gain exposure across the Asian Tour Destinations platform.”

Asian Tour Destinations was set up to provide an affiliate membership programme between the associated venues and the Asian Tour which will help grow the industry in the region.

Being a part of the Asian Tour Destinations network means that each venue is certified Tour calibre and operates a comprehensive range of facilities and services to their members and guests under tournament-ready conditions all-year round.

Among the core benefits, Asian Tour members are able to play and practice at each venue, allowing for the members at each club to enjoy direct engagement with the region’s best golfers.

Ends.

Sentosa Golf Club, home of the Asian Tour, is widely respected as one of the world’s greatest golf clubs with two pristine conditioned golf courses, showcasing breath-taking views of the Singapore Straits and metropolitan Singapore.

Since reopening in December, the Club’s world-class championship course, The Serapong, has attracted positive headlines from across the globe. As the host venue for the SMBC Singapore Open, The Serapong is one of the world’s best golf courses, having been named ‘Singapore’s Best Golf Course’ for the third consecutive year at the World Golf Awards in 2020, as well as being ranked 59^th in Golf Digest’s ‘Top 100 World’s Greatest Golf Courses 2020-21’.

The man tasked with taking one of golf’s most iconic courses and making it even better, right in the midst of a global pandemic, was the Club’s own General Manager and Director of Agronomy, Andrew Johnston. With three months having passed since the course reopened, we sat down with him to discuss how The Serapong is shaping up and what we can expect from this prestigious course in the future….

Picture by Paul Lakatos/Lagardere Sports.

Since The Serapong reopened at the end of last year, what has the feedback been like?

The feedback so far from our members and guests regarding the renovations has been extremely positive. Our aim was always to provide them with the best possible playing experience, whilst also setting the course up to deliver an exciting challenge for golfers of all abilities.

Our members and guests have become used to experiencing the highest standards of playing conditions 365 days of the year on The Serapong, which is what we pride ourselves on, and this was definitely something we factored in during the renovations. We are continuously looking to improve the quality of the experience at Sentosa Golf Club and hope that the positive feedback from everyone who has played The Serapong continues to circulate.

Each and everyone of the fairways on The Serapong has been rejuvenated.

Because of COVID-19, we know all the staff at the club had to help out with the renovations. What was that experience like? You must be very proud.

With the renovations on The Serapong commencing just as Singapore was about to go into the ‘Circuit Breaker’, there were many challenges faced. The Club had to be nimble and remain aligned with the changing restrictions throughout the pandemic. The rules of operation were fast changing in the early stages from wearing masks, testing protocols and limited staff allowed on site, to quarantining and working from home.

So, a major challenge that we faced during the renovations was attempting to keep up with the tight construction deadlines, while still meeting all the Safe Management Measures (SMM) in Singapore. We were also only allowed a certain number of staff on-site at the Club on any given day. Our contractor had 150 labourers and operators involved with the project, but just 25 days before the works started 140 of them were quarantined for over four months, meaning our staff had to step in and support and go the extra mile to get the job done.

I am very proud of everyone associated with the Club and the role they played throughout the entirety of the renovations. Despite facing a number of difficult circumstances, we all take great pride in how the renovations have turned out.

We have managed to take one of the world’s top 100 golf courses and make it even better than before, as well as future-proofing it for many years to come.  However, we would not have been able to complete such a project without the help of all our staff. It took a huge amount of effort and dedication from everyone associated with SGC, whatever department they worked in, including front of house staff, F&B staff, committee members, and many more, to get the renovations over the line.

Their motivation to make The Serapong even better never changed and a ‘win-at-all-costs’ mentality meant our staff continued to strive for the same levels of perfection that would normally have been expected of them on a day-to-day basis prior to lockdown. All whilst adhering to and meeting the SMM required of them.

The Serapong’s iconic 5th hole has seen extensive renovations to its bunkers.

When Sentosa hosts its next tournament on The Serapong, how do you think the players will feel about the changes? Is the course even harder?

We believe the players would say the newly renovated Serapong still provides a fair, but challenging test. The Serapong has always offered one of the most formidable challenges in Asia and by changing small aspects of the layout, golfers are now required to think hard about their strategy and find new ways of overcoming the obstacles they face during their round.

One of the showstopping features added to the course is the new bunkering that has given The Serapong a fresh new look with creative serrated edging. They look deeper, larger, and truly capture a golfer’s imagination when they are lining up their next shot.

Another fundamental change to the course layout involves the works undertaken on the 6^th hole. We have realigned the tee complexes and moved them to the right of the cart path, therefore changing the visual alignment of the hole and making golfers look further down towards the water on the right at the edge of the rock wall.

Also, a large new waste bunker has been added, as well as 60 palm trees, which means players will have to change their strategy if they opt to hit away from the water and avoid the sand, as their line into the green will now be affected. We have also added a new false front to the 6^th green, named ‘The Dragon’s Tongue’, that requires golfers to add a touch of precision to their game in order to walk away with at least a well-earned par.

The 14th hole at The Serapong

The Serapong receives rave reviews from players every year. In your view what makes the course so special?

The Serapong has always been special because it provides breath-taking views wherever you are on the course. This is especially true for ‘The Dragon’s Tail’ (holes 4-7) and the personality of the course has only been enhanced by the renovations.

We realigned the tee complex on the 4^th hole and by doing so have opened up the visual alignment of how the serpentine shoreline and walls lie in front of a player’s vision and now takes them on a continuous journey all the way up to the green, therefore adding to The Serapong’s storyline. This small adjustment enhances the coastal theme and plays a big part over the next four holes in how the course, and Sentosa’s story, plays out.

The 5^th Hole continues to showcase spectacular views of metropolitan Singapore, whilst Hole 6 now aligns with the shore, offering views of Pulau Brani and delivering a reoccurring visual experience. It is not every day that players will be able to experience such an incredible setting and I always think players find this stretch pretty unique. The Serapong is a one-of-a-kind journey that is proud to welcome golfers from around the world to take on its challenge.

In layman’s terms, which were the bits of clever technology used for the renovations?

Good question! Throughout the renovations there were a number of specific pieces of technology used to help enhance the course. All the tee boxes were re-lasered to reinstate a tabletop flat finish and return them to their original size, as well as updating the grass to allow them to be maintained at super low mowing height of 3mm.

The greens were also improved through a drill-and-fill process that saw machines inject a pre-made sand mix solution into them in order to rebuild and enhance the soil structure condition. With an enhanced air ratio, it will see the putting surfaces stand the test of time and the tropical climate in Singapore for the next decade.

Last question. Which is your favourite Singapore Open and why?

Well, I certainly have quite a few and there are so many great memories over the years. One of my fondest is watching Angel Cabrera down 18 in the final round. He hit a booming drive with a bit of fade off the water (his caddie thought it was going in the water, but Angel knew it had cleared). Then hit a 6-iron from 200 metres out, pin high, for an easy two putt birdie and to close the tournament out by one from Vijay Singh. A 6-iron from that distance these days might not seem that much, but back then it was something special from that range. That week in 2007 had everything. Angel played majestic golf all week, including a 63 in the second round and we have to also remember his driver head came off during his first round and he still managed to shoot level par!

I will also never forget Adam Scott’s three-peat. There’s just something about Singapore and Sentosa Golf Club that just clicked with Adam. He’s given us a lot of great memories here too.

SENTOSA, SINGAPORE – SEPTEMBER 11: Adam Scott of Australia poses with the Trophy after he won it by 13 under par 271 during the Final Round of the Singapore Open at the Sentosa Golf Club on September 11, 2005 in Sentosa, Singapore. (Photo by Stanley Chou/Getty Images)

*The Sentosa Golf Club is part of the Asian Tour Destinations, an exclusive network of world-class golfing properties around the region that offer a comprehensive range of facilities and services to club members and guests, as well as to Asian Tour players and officials. 

Myanmar’s Kyi Hla Han and Zaw Moe, past winners of Singapore’s National Open, enjoyed the privilege of playing the newly-renovated Serapong course at Sentosa Golf Club last week and as expected, they were full of praise for the famous layout.

Han, a former Asian Tour number one and winner of the Singapore Open in 1994, and Moe – the 1997 Singapore Open champion – were invited by the club to play the course during its soft opening.

They were joined in their group by Cho Minn Thant, Commissioner & Chief Executive Officer of the Asian Tour, and Australian Unho Park – a 20-year veteran of the Tour, who is now a key part of its’ administrative team.

From left: Zaw Moe, Unho Park, Cho Minn Thant and Kyi Hla Han.

The Serapong, voted by the players on the Asian Tour as the ‘Best Golf Course on Tour’ last year, had been closed since March as it underwent extensive renovations.

The soft opening was held on Friday and saw all the members of staff who worked on the course get to play it for the first time before the official opening on Saturday.

Changes have been made to the bunkers – which now have creative, artistic serrated edges – fairways, and tee boxes.

“The renovations are great!” said Han, a former Commissioner of the Asian Tour.

“The fairways and greens are fantastic, and the bunkers are also excellent. There was a course I was working on in Mandalay, in Myanmar, which has classic bunkers with rough edges which give the course a more classic look. So the changes to the bunkers here at Sentosa are similar – I think it is a wonderful design element, and something that appeals to me as a course designer, the more classic, older look.

“The Serapong has always stood up so well to the players in the Singapore Open – the scores are not too low. It is a tough course from the back tees. It is playing too long for me now! I need to play a shorter course.”

Zaw was equally impressed.

“The course looks fantastic. The fairways are really good, they have just one type of grass, as opposed to different types,” said Zaw, who played with great success on both the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour Organization.

“For me the course looks the same but it is the condition that is really noticeable. The course looks neat and extremely well presented as always. And of course you can really see the new shaping around the bunkers – very distinctive.”

The Asian Tour is headquartered at Sentosa Golf Club, so Cho was also delighted to have the chance to play the course.

“The Serapong has always been one of the highest acclaimed courses on the Asian Tour. They [Sentosa] have really outdone themselves in what they have done to the course over the last nine months,” said Cho.

“The condition of the golf course is excellent. They have made the bunkers a bit trickier, the sand is great, the fairways are looking immaculate, and the greens are rolling great so there’s not much more we can ask for.

“There is no real one thing that stands out. I feel it’s one of those courses that doesn’t have a signature hole because the whole golf course is memorable, and the finer details have been done really well.

“It is remarkable for the members to give up their golf course during this pandemic period where a lot of people were actually playing golf, it’s incredible they could have the patience and the foresight to do that. It is going to pay dividends in the long run.”

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Sentosa Golf Club has today officially reopened its world-class state-of-the-art championship course, The Serapong, after it underwent an extensive renovation in March to maintain its immaculate conditioning and playing standards.

The renovations are headlined by a new bunkering style with creative, artistic serrated edges to enhance The Serapong’s character and overall strategy, whilst elevating the course to a new level on the world stage. The club used 6,000 tonnes of new sand during the renovations to reinstate consistency, texture and tournament ready compaction for improved playability.

Modifications have also helped to enhance and preserve the personality of many of The Serapong’s iconic holes, including the signature 5^th hole, which overlooks metropolitan Singapore and its bustling port.

The Serapong’s iconic 5th hole has seen extensive renovations to its bunkers.

Masterminded by Andrew Johnston, the club’s General Manager, Director of Agronomy and resident Golf Course Designer, The Serapong has been closed since March and, alongside the new bunkering, a number of other key course upgrades were implemented during that time.

These included the re-grassing of fairways, rejuvenating them with minor grading adjustments and improved drainage strategies, as well as modifying the greens soil profile by introducing new carbon technology to boost soil chemistry and profile structure.

Enhancements to the greens are set to make The Serapong’s putting surfaces even better, which is hard to believe given the wide acclaim they already receive from its members, guests and visiting Tour Professionals.

Finally, the renovations also paid close attention to the re-levelling of all tee boxes, reinstating them with the historic tabletop flat finish The Serapong is renowned for. It will enable the club to continue to maintain the tees at a super low mowing height of 3mm, improving the quality of the playing experience for members and guests.

The 14th hole on The Serapong.

Speaking ahead of The Serapong’s reopening, which is a soft launch ahead of a grand reopening next March, Andrew Johnston said: “The last time The Serapong was renovated was nearly 14 years ago and since then the course has grown to become one of the world’s best, picking up multiple accolades in the process. Despite the challenges presented by the worldwide pandemic, we have found a way to pull the Sentosa family together within the safe working restrictions to complete the works. This has been a very exciting project that was well overdue, and we are confident the changes implemented will only enhance the golfing experience for our members and guests.

“Being located in a sub-tropical climate means the golf course ages faster than an ordinary one, and these renovations are crucial to maintaining the quality of the playing surfaces, as well as the conditions and high-standards that we pride ourselves on here at Sentosa, 365 days of the year.”

Dominic Wall – Director – Asia-Pacific at The R&A, commented: “The newly renovated Serapong looks great, and continues to showcase why Sentosa Golf Club is one of the world’s leading golfing venues. It is fantastic to see that, throughout the entire process of the renovations, the project continued to align with the club’s ground-breaking sustainability agenda. With our Asia-Pacific headquarters located at the club, we look forward to seeing Sentosa’s members and guests back out on the fairways taking on The Serapong’s unique challenge.”

Cho Minn Thant, Commissioner & Chief Executive Officer at The Asian Tour, added: “The renovations undertaken on The Serapong by the team at Sentosa have been nothing short of breath-taking. The renovations have enabled The Serapong to retain its unique personality and characteristics that made it one of the world’s top golf courses, as well as the best golf course in Singapore. With the course now reopening to members, we are looking forward to welcoming back Asia’s best players next year to battle it out at the SMBC Singapore Open.”

The Serapong was originally designed by the world-famous golf course design firm Golf Plan and Ronald Fream, opening in 1982. The course was further renovated in 2006 by the Bates Golf Design Group, who were led at the time by their VP of Design and Construction, Andrew Johnston, and whose designs have seen the course’s trademark contours, extended stone-lined lakes and breath-taking Singapore harbour backdrop become renowned across the world.

It was recently voted ‘Singapore’s Best Golf Course’ for the second year in a row at the World Golf Awards back in October and finds itself regularly listed as one of the world’s greatest golf courses.

SINGAPORE- Jazz Janewattanananond of Thailand pictured with the winner’s trophy on Sunday January 19, 2019 after the final round of the SMBC Singapore Open at the Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore. The USD$ 1 Million event is co- sanctioned with the Asian Tour and Japan Tour. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Lagardére Sports.

The Serapong has played host to the Singapore Open since 2005 (initially Barclays Singapore Open, then SMBC Singapore Open from 2015), welcoming some of the world’s finest players such as 2005, 2006 and 2010 winner Adam Scott, 2018 winner Sergio Garcia and rising Asian star Jazz Janewattananond, who captured the title in 2019.

The 2020 edition was one of the most memorable in history with all three of Rio’s 2016 Olympic medalists, Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson and Matt Kuchar in attendance. Kuchar eventually took the title finishing on 18 under par to beat Justin Rose by three.

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