Special Places - Sentosa Golf Club

A huge field of 204 players will contest the 48th playing of the Barclays Singapore Open at Sentosa Golf Club on Sentosa island in the city-state of Singapore where the winner will walk away with US$I million in Asia's richest national Open championship. The golfers will compete on both the Serapong and Tanjong courses during the first two days, and after the halfway cut the Serapong will host the weekend rounds.

Sentosa Golf Club's Tanjong course predates its more illustrious sister layout, the Serapong, by 10 years, having opened for play in 1972. Originally designed by respected Englishman Frank Pennink who also laid out top Portuguese course Vilamoura, the Tanjong underwent a major remodelling by Max Wexler and Chris Pitman in 1993 that included the building of a spectacular new clubhouse. Wexler and Pitman took full advantage of the natural beauty of the terrain, creating a unique and immensely popular course in a picturesque setting where the overall impression is one of rolling fairways, freshwater lakes and towering trees in a layout that demands accuracy rather than length.

The Ronald Fream designed Serapong opened for play in 1982, and twenty-five years later the layout underwent a major upgrade of both course design and greens technology. The refurbishment included lengthening the yardage to 6,675 metres, re-contouring, enlarging and speeding up the greens, and reconfiguring water hazards and bunker complexes. Additionally, SubAir systems were incorporated into the newly planted Tiffeagle greens, and the fairways were changed to Zoysia grass. That same year, 2007, the Serapong was awarded "Number 1 Championship Course in Asia" by Asian Golf Monthly, and the layout still retains its position among the top few in the region. With its trademark mounds and undulating terrain, huge lakes with stone-lined walls and the stunning scenery of Singapore harbour and the South China Sea as a backdrop, this lush course is spectacular to play and to look at. The loop of holes from 4 to 7 that skirt the sea and the harbour capture the essence of the Serapong golfing experience, and although two are reachable par 5's for the braver long hitters, surviving without dropping a shot is no mean feat.

The Sentosa Golf Club is an oasis of tranquillity in the Lion-City of Singapore, and the Serapong and Tanjong courses offer a sensational double-bill that is hard to beat.

Golfweather Editorial