Now Everyone Can Play Affordable Golf!
15 July 2021 – Never mind if you're not a country club member! NTUC Club, the Singapore Golf Association (SGA), and the Singapore Professional Golfers’ Association (SPGA) are collaborating to make it possible for everyone to enjoy affordable golfing easily. The three parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today to promote golf, and make the sport affordable and accessible to all workers.
With this MOU, the parties hope to make golf an inclusive sport by jointly lowering the barriers of entry and enhancing its mass appeal. The golfing experience will be enhanced with a focus on golf for leisure rather than for competition. As a start, they will embark on joint community engagement activities to offer affordable golfing trials and experiences.
The collaboration will leverage on the current golf assets owned by NTUC Club. This includes Orchid Country Club and Marina Bay Golf Course which together have over 270 driving range bays. Leveraging on SGA and SPGA’s golf professionals and expertise in running the curriculum programme, learning golf will be made easy and accessible.
The three-year agreement was signed by Mr Lim Eng Lee, CEO of NTUC Club; Mr Ross Tan, President of SGA; and Mr Madasamy Murugiah, President of SPGA, at the picturesque Orchid Country Club.
U Golf Academy
NTUC Club will set up a U Golf Academy at Orchid Country Club to promote golfing, with classes expected to be open for enrolment in the third quarter of 2021. To make golf lessons more accessible, there will also be satellite training centres and golf outreach events island-wide. Golf ambassadors from SGA and SPGA will engage participants at these events. SGA-endorsed lesson curriculum will also be introduced to those who are keen to embark on their golfing journey.
This MOU aims to grow the golfing community and reach out to 50,000 workers in three years. For a start, NTUC members and their families will first be introduced to this fun and inclusive sport through the extensive union network.
Mr Lim Eng Lee, CEO of NTUC Club, shared, “We believe in providing affordable recreational experiences of choice to all. Golf has often been seen as an expensive and exclusive sport. With this MOU, we hope to make golf more inclusive and accessible to a wider base of participants through the collaborative induction programmes and golf lessons. Most importantly, learning and playing golf should be affordable, easy, simple and fun.”
“The game of golf is changing with the times and now, there are more opportunities, such as digital interfaces for new golfers to learn and enjoy this sport. We hope to expand our community of golfers and dispel the view of golf as an expensive sport for older people. With this MOU, SGA will also involve our national players and young professionals as golf ambassadors to engage and motivate the new golfers,” said Mr Ross Tan, President of SGA.
Mr Raymond Chin, General Secretary of the Union of Security Employees welcomed this collaboration, “With this MOU signing, my union members are able to pick up golf more easily, especially those younger members as they now have an opportunity to understand and engage in this sport.”
U Golf Academy’s curriculum will focus on basic golfing training, with a roadmap for new golfers to gradually progress to an intermediate and advanced level.
When the Academy trainees are ready to attain a handicap, they will be encouraged to sign up for Orchid Country Club or my golf kaki membership. The Academy also serves as one of the satellite centres for the MOE SP programme, which is one of Sport SG’s “Sports for All” pillars.
Mr Madasamy Murugiah, President of SPGA said, “Eventually, we hope to make golf a popular lifestyle and recreational choice for more people, and not just a sport for golf professionals. We aim to grow the golfing community through technology and new innovations. For example, we can bring golf simulators to outreach events so that office workers can get to play golf during lunch breaks.”
Besides bringing golf closer to workplaces, schools, and community spaces through outreach events, the parties will curate golf content to engage audiences on the digital front. U Golf Academy’s programmes and golf classes have been extended to the youth and are gradually gaining popularity.
“I really enjoyed the golf clinic in April. I used to think that golf was a slower sport for older people, but I realised that it is actually a very fun game! Initially, I couldn’t even hit the ball, but after learning the basic techniques, I’m getting the hang of it. I also made some new friends in the class, and look forward to attending the next session,” said Mr Raihan Rosli, 25, sales retail associate and nEbO member.
Interested to enroll in U Golf Academy? Register your interest today at https://UGolf.sg/academy/!