Open Season

If there is one silver lining in the current pandemic, it is that the golf industry is seeing unprecedented popularity. With tee times diffi cult to get, the opening of several high-profi le golf courses around the world off ers some light at the end of the tunnel.

BY Ju KuanG tan

YOU WAIT ANXIOUSLY in front of your computer. When the time comes, you click the link frantically. The website opens and…. all the tee times are booked.

Sound familiar?

If it is, you’re not alone. Millions of golfers around the world are witnessing a problem that, to them at least, is just as debilitating as the coronavirus infection – the shortage of tee times for their golf games.

Golf courses from Zhejiang to Zanzibar have seen historically high number of rounds played over the last year. Usage has gone through the roof. Whether the reason is a restriction in business travel or a workfrom-home situation that off ers more fl exible free time, people are hitting the courses, clamouring for a chance to enjoy the great outdoors in a game that is naturally socially distanced.

Things are looking up, though. Europe is witnessing a slight resurgence in leisure travel as vaccination levels ramp up. And while there are still upticks in infection in Asia and Australasia, the increasing vaccination rates point to better times ahead.

It is probably premature to expect golf travellers to start booking trips right now but there is no harm looking cautiously forward to the near future. The great thing is that almost everywhere you look, there are new courses either opening or are in the works, which only indicates that the golf course development industry is humming along very nicely, thank you very much.

GOLF LIKE AN EGYPTIAN

SOME OF THE newest golf courses to open are in the most unlikely of countries. Madinaty Golf Club in Egypt is one that opened its doors smack in the middle of the pandemic. Managed by Troon Golf, the Robert Trent Jones Jr layout was deemed good enough to host the 2020 Egyptian Amateur Open.

“When we had a clear launch date for the club in mind, we really wanted an aggressive target for the opening year and holding the national open was that goal,” said Josh North, General Manager at Madinaty. “The tournament was extremely successful and being the fi rst and only club in Cairo to over seed roughs and tees, it gave players a very unique experience for golf in Egypt.”

To date, Egypt has chalked up about 290,000 cases of Covid-19, with over

troon international-managed Madinaty Golf Club. The 9th hole is pictured here.

16,000 deaths. For a country of over 100 million people, one could argue that they’ve had it under control, especially considering that case counts were under 400 per day this summer.

Still, Madinaty leaves nothing to chance and have Covid19 precautions in place as dictated by the government. Nevertheless, the opening of this highend course, together with a premier club development only serves to promote the status of the game here.

“Madinaty Golf Club is an excellent addition to the already successful golfi ng destination that Egypt has become,” North adds. “Adding a quality Troon-managed venue like Madinaty will only enhance the reputation of golf in Egypt further.”

GOLF, OF COURSE, needs no introduction in Thailand, and in particular, the holiday island of Phuket. The destination’s Phuket Sandbox travel initiative has attempted to rekindle inbound travel without the need of quarantine. The jury is still out on whether this has worked, but there is another reason to tempt travellers to make plans for a visit.

No expense was spared in bringing Aquella to market. In an environment where top-end clubs and courses proliferate, it’ll take something special to stand out. Simon Mees, General Manager

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of Aquella Golf & Country Club feels the development has what it takes.

“Several things will set us apart rather,” Mees says. “We will be focusing on providing the absolute fi nest playing conditions for our members and guests combined with setting new standards in service through a team of attentive and well-trained associates. We will also be one of the few clubs in Thailand off ering golf carts fi tted with the latest in Visage GPS technology to enhance the player experience combined with our team of professionally trained caddies. Guests will also enjoy our cashless environment as they focus more on enjoying their time with as they use our guest passport system, which allows them to assign any fees they incur to one simple payment at the end of their day.”

The master planned development, a joint venture between Pacifi c Century Premium Developments Limited, the Paradise Group (an affi liated entity of the Lan Kwai. Fong Group), and their Thai partners, will off er residents and visitors alike unrivalled luxury in an environment that is in harmony with nature focusing on well-being and tranquillity situated on property with a 2.5km beach front.

Located 40 minutes by car north of Phuket International Airport, Aquella hopes to entice both visitors as well as those looking to join as members. “We will off er a full range of membership options for those looking to be part of the Aquella family,” adds Mees. “We will provide solutions for all membership requirements from individual and family golf memberships to corporate options. Our corporate options are very unique, which we are sure will create great interest for corporate hospitality. Memberships will be available over a number of subscription periods such as one, fi ve, 10 and 30-year terms with a range of benefi ts featuring unrestricted golfi ng access, member specifi c golfi ng and social events, gym and spa privileges and member-only discounts on club services.”

A NEW NATIONAL TREASURE

CZECH REPUBLIC may have a more mature and notable reputation as a golf destination, but, like Egypt, is still off the radar for most travelling golfers. This looks likely to change.

In August 2020, the fi nal touches to Kyle Phillips’ 18-hole championship course at PGA National Czech Republic Oaks Prague were completed, and the course opened to great aplomb.

“Since the beginning in 2006, we cooperated closely with the planners on the master planning for the property,” provides Phillips whose notable list of designs include Kingsbarns, both courses at Verdura Resort in Italy, and a remodel of Morfontaine, the number one course in France.

“It was vital that the golf course be fully integrated with the residential and recreation facilities and planning constraints. We studied more than two dozen concepts during the planning process to agree on the fi nal layout of the golf course. Overall, it took four years to build the entire PGA National Czech Republic golf course.”

The American course architect may be known as one of the best designers in the world when it comes to specialising in creating environmentally sustainable courses that use the lay of the land rather than moving mountains of earth, but his ability to look at a project as more than the sum of their parts adds to the PGA National Czech Republic attraction.

“The opportunity was not only to create a worldclass golf experience, but also to revive and restore the old chateau, its surrounding landscape and forested areas,” claims Phillips. “Where there were only open farm fi elds, the golf course design has provided hundreds of thousands of square meters of new nature including bio corridors, native trees, shrubs, and grasses.

“PGA National Czech Republic golf course is centred around a 19th century Bohemian style chateau which was home of the family Von Schüttelsberg who resided in the chateau, originally built as a hunting lodge. When passing hole two, you can see that the course is carefully incorporated into the rich landscape of rolling hills and mature woodland.”

Oaks Prague is the only PGA National golf course in Czech Republic and, given that only one license is issued per country, will have a cache that no other course in the country can off er. Apart from meeting the association’s stringent demands, the brand also refl ects the meticulous execution of the development and course preparation that will also allow for the hosting of professional PGA competitions.

The course is managed by Troon Privé, which focuses on making private clubs relevant, healthy, and sustainable for the future. The combination of a reputable management team, a high-quality design, and the strict agronomic standards has led PGA National Czech Republic to be recognised as the Best Course in Europe at the 2020 World Golf Awards.

SINGAPORE SURPRISE

GOLF CLUB memberships are expectedly in demand in Singapore as well, with prices increasing noticeably during the pandemic. With the exception of one, all golf clubs in Singapore are private, allowing only members and their guests to play. The need for quarantine for anyone fl ying into the country – including citizens and residents returning from overseas – has made leisure and business travel all but extinct during the last 18 months.

Needless to say, tee times are at a premium currently in this small, island nation.

The bright side is that several golf courses that were under redevelopment or renovation have opened, and the landscape has been greatly enhanced by these new off erings.

One of these is the much awaited and heralded New Course at Singapore Island Country Club (SICC), arguably the country’s most prestigious golf establishment. The club has a history that dates back over a century, and is home to two clubhouse locations, three historic, 18-hole layouts originally designed by James Braid, and with the opening of the new Graham Marsh-design New Course, three additional nine-hole confi gurations named Millennium, Peirce, and Forest.

“Opened in 1965, the New Course was originally designed by well-known course architect Frank Pennink,” explains Cheang Sai Ming, Director of Marketing and Communications at SICC. “In 2002, fi ve-time British Open winner Peter Thomson redeveloped it to a sand-based course. However, the course featured severe elevation changes and many uphill approach shots which proved challenging for the general membership. The new New Course, which we have just opened to members on 31 July 2021, is designed by Graham Marsh Golf Design (GMGD) and entails signifi cant earthworks to reduce the severe elevation changes. Golfers of all levels can now enjoy the course.”

SICC had its work cut out for it when it embarked on the project. Not only did it have to contend with a membership base of over 8,000 – made up of a who’s who list from Singapore upper echelons in society, politics, and commerce – but it was also dealing with a land that abuts two reservoirs and nature reserve that is open to the public. And this is not to mention that the land on which the course resides is leased from the Singapore government who ultimately controls the tenure and future viability of the project.

“Being located next to the Central Catchment Nature Reserve in Singapore, the project had to comply with stringent irrigation guidelines and ensure minimal environmental impact on the fl ora and fauna in the area,” Cheang provides. “SICC is also required to ensure that we are selfsuffi cient in water, which means we have to construct an adequate and effi cient water management and rainwater harvesting system.

“To ensure the Club obtain approvals from the authorities effi ciently, the Club

singapore stunner Designed by Graham Marsh Design, the New Forest nine adds to the legend of Singapore Island Country Club.

assembled a team of highly qualifi ed consultants to work with the Golf Redevelopment Planning Committee to work out appropriate action plans. These included intensive environmental and biodiversity impact assessments to ensure that the redevelopment works would not aff ect the surrounding fl ora and fauna in the nature reserve, or impact the central water catchment reservoirs.”

Halfway through the project, the global pandemic added to the list of issues that had to be resolved. Construction was disrupted in April 2020, and the supply of workers - most consisting of labourers imported from other countries - and logistic chains were inevitably delayed.

“The New Course redevelopment construction works and grow-in were scheduled to take 18 to 21 months,” added Cheang. “Groundbreaking of the course started in February 2019 and the project was scheduled to be completed November 2020.

“The lockdown in Singapore in the fi rst half of 2020, and the prolonged worker shortage caused several months of delays to the construction works. The fi nal grassing was completed on all holes at the end of January 2021 and the course was handed over to the Club in May for fi nal turfgrass establishment and grooming. The opening the full 27 holes was delayed eight months to end July 2021.”

From the reactions of those who have played, the wait was well worth it. The 27 holes Graham Marsh and his team created not only off er challenging shot option for players, but also embrace that natural topography of the land. Numerous lengthy meetings with nature conservancy groups and authorities were held to ensure that the ecological balance of the property would not be compromised. The result is an example of what can be achieved when creativity marries necessity.

Bridges now cut across primary forest and wet areas, connecting holes without tampering with wildlife and vegetation. Thick undergrowth around the water edges were cleared to off er fi ne vistas of the reservoir. And the natural undulation of the land is now celebrated with holes that have great elevation changes, yet give every level of golfer a chance to score well. One of the strongest features of the Marsh design is the view off ered from every tee box. All the problems are prettily laid out in front of you, and if you get into trouble, you only have yourself to blame.

“Sitting in the forest surrounding Singapore’s Upper Peirce and Lower Peirce Reservoirs, the naturally undulating land which The New Course sits on is unlike any other in the country,” off ers Cheang. “On some holes you could feel like you are in Borneo rather than in the concrete jungle that is Singapore. If anything, the great thing about it is the atmosphere of seclusion and tranquillity when you play here.”