Dear fellow golfers,
Shortly after I took office on 30 June 2022, my Executive Board and I set out a mission to build on the strong foundation laid under my predecessor Ross Tan’s leadership, and identified the following three pillars which we will focus on for our four-year term:
- Developing the golf ecosystem
- Accelerating and ensuring high-performance
- Strengthening SGA’s financial position
My 100th day since I was elected as President of Singapore Golf Association (SGA) has recently elapsed. We have seen promising progress in the golf landscape in Singapore and here are some key updates.
Pillar 1: Developing the golf ecosystem
Our vision is for SGA to play a leadership role in strengthening the golf ecosystem from the ground up. This will be achieved by SGA taking the lead in these two areas:
1) Stakeholders’ engagement and Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG)
SGA will continue to foster and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders in the golf industry including our members, sponsors, donors, academies, equipment companies, as well as regional and international golf federations.
Investiture Ceremony
An example of a stakeholder engagement initiative was the Investiture Ceremony held on 22 August 2022. This ceremony was organised by SGA alongside the Singapore Ladies’ Golf Association (SLGA) and the Singapore Senior Golfers’ Society (SSGS). Graced by Guest-of-Honour Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community & Youth and Second Minister for Law, a total of more than 70 attendees were officially inducted as office holders of the three significant organisations in the local golf ecosystem. All three organisations will strive to work collaboratively towards a common objective – to grow the game of golf in Singapore.
SGA Sustainability Project
Another initiative that is ongoing is SGA’s sustainability project. SGA has partnered with the R&A and GEO foundation to launch an island-wide sustainability project where golf clubs in Singapore have been entering data into GEO’s OnCourse system. GEO is currently in the process of analysing the data and will provide each club with initial club sustainability recommendations and development of initial action plans.
R&A Rules School
SGA intends to engage our members and develop their capabilities. An example is when we recently extended complimentary invitations to representatives of both full and associate members to attend R&A Rules Schools organised by SGA. This initiative enables key staff and committee members from clubs to be equipped with the knowledge to effectively manage events at their respective clubs.
New Affiliates
SGA will be welcoming the following two affiliate members who are committed to furthering the interest of the sport of golf in Singapore:
1) Golf Referees Association of Singapore (GRAS)
With a total of 79 members, GRAS complements SGA’s efforts in furthering the development of golf by setting and establishing standards and policies relating to the professional development of golf referees and the conduct of golf tournaments.
2) Olympique Gaulois
Founded in 1991, Olympique Gaulois Singapore is today the largest and most iconic French Club in Singapore with over 200 registered members from all nationalities distributed over 5 main sports (Football, Golf, Padel Tennis, Pentanque, Tennis). Olympique Gaulois actively promotes the game of golf by organising weekly golf sessions across various courses and driving ranges in Singapore.
SGA Ambassador Program
We have also embarked on an ambassador program where key opinion leaders of various backgrounds will champion SGA’s mission to promote and develop the game of golf in Singapore.
The ambassadors, who have been identified and will be announced soon, will support SGA’s ongoing efforts to showcase the multi-faceted value of golf and ultimately introduce it to the wider community.
Collaboration with indoor golf facilities
SGA has observed the recent increase in the number of indoor golf facilities. Equipped with the technology, indoor facilities provide a convenient alternative form of golf which golfers of all skill levels – from beginners to elite golfers – can enjoy and benefit from.
We recognise indoor facilities as an opportunity to grow the number of golfers in Singapore and have reached out to the operators of indoor golf facilities to discuss potential collaboration opportunities to promote e-golfing.
2) Community engagement and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
SGA will expand our Get Golfing! program and continue building on our existing relationship with NTUC Club, People’s Association, as well as collaborate with other stakeholders such as indoor golf simulators to further promote the game of golf in Singapore.
CSR is another area where SGA aims to develop to highlight golf’s ability as a force for good. Held in conjunction with the National Day, SGA organised an inaugural two-day event named “Golf Celebrates National Day” from 4-5 August 2022. This island-wide ground up activation was held with a strong purpose of continuing to reach out to a mass audience and to increase the accessibility of the game of golf.
All clubs in Singapore participated in this event and golfers with no club memberships were given the opportunity to play a round of 18-holes at a discounted rate. Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Defence, graced the event as the Guest-of-Honour alongside sponsors, donors and beneficiaries. $50,000 was raised from this event and all proceeds were donated to the following five beneficiaries:
- APSN
- Asian Women Welfare Association
- Life Community Services
- Food from the Heart
- Clarity Singapore
SGA would also like to take this opportunity to thank all golf clubs for their participation and the following sponsors and donors for their generous contributions:
- Lexus
- Olam
- FTAG
- LHNGroup
- RHTLaw Asia
- Mitsubishi Electric
- Luxasia
SGA will also be setting up our CSR vehicle to maximise the positive impact for all participants, donors and beneficiaries.
Pillar 2: Accelerating and ensuring high-performance
SGA recognises the importance of developing talented young golfers and providing them with the support to achieve their golfing dreams. Earlier this year, Aloysa Atienza clinched the silver medal at the SEA Games held in Hanoi and James Leow was part of the victorious Team International at the Palmer Cup held in Switzerland. We will continue to build on these successes by enhancing the support for high-performance athletes to affirm Singapore as a top contender in the Asia-Pacific region
Apart from strengthening our high-performance program, we also aim to attract more elite level tournaments to Singapore. This will enable our athletes to be exposed to top-level competition and learn from the best players in the world.
World Amateur Team Championships (WATC)
On 29 August 2022, I attended the International Golf Federation’s Biennial Meeting at Le Golf National in Paris and I am pleased to report that SGA has been awarded the bid to host the 2025 World Amateur Team Championships (WATC). Held biennially, the prestigious WATC consists of two events – the Espirito Santo trophy (women) and the Eisenhower Trophy (men). First held in 1958, WATC include up to 72 countries competing in 72 holes of stroke play competition. Each country fields two or three players with the two lowest scores counting per round. SGA will work closely with Sport Singapore and the Singapore Tourism Board to deliver the best experience for all participants.
In addition, our men’s team consisting of James Leow, Hiroshi Tai and Ryan Ang recorded Singapore’s best ever finish at the 2022 Eisenhower trophy played in Paris. They finished in 21st position out of 71 countries and was the second-ranked Asian country behind Japan.
Asia Golf Leaders Forum (AGLF) & Simone-Asia Pacific Cup
SGA has joined as an Asia-Pacific Member of the Asia Golf Leaders Forum (AGLF). AGLF is a non-profit organization founded with the objective to unit golfers and golf associations in the Asia-Pacific region to take women’s golf in Asia to new heights. SGA will work closely with work with AGLF to create further opportunities for women’s golf.
An example is the Simone-Asia Pacific Cup held from 18-20 August 2022 at the Pondok Indah Golf Course in Jakarta. National amateur golfers Aloysa Atienza and Jaymie Ng represented Singapore at this event where they had the opportunity to compete in the same field as top professionals such as Lydia Ko and Hyo Joo Kim.
Hana Financial Group Singapore Women’s Open
In December 2022, an elite field will arrive in Singapore to compete at the inaugural Hana Financial Group Singapore Women’s Open held at Tanah Merah Country Club. This national women’s open will be sanctioned by SGA and the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA).
The abovementioned events will enable our top golfers to be exposed to elite competition, which we believe will elevate their level of play. SGA will continue to work with potential sponsors and international bodies like the R&A to bring more international golf events to Singapore.
Junior Inter-Club League
In order to produce top golfers, it is important for SGA to provide platforms for young talented junior golfers to develop their skills. SGA organises a range of junior tournaments from the Singapore Junior Golf Championship for elite juniors, to the SGA-Mandai Junior Golf Series for 6-12 year-olds held at Mandai Executive Golf Course every Wednesday.
One of SGA’s recent initiatives was the inaugural Junior Inter-Club League held from August to September 2022. This was a four-leg stableford series organised which featured junior golfers 14 years old or younger who proudly represented their clubs. The participating clubs were Keppel Club, National Service Resort & Country Club, Seletar Country Club, Singapore Island Country Club and Warren Golf & Country Club. SGA Future Squad members, aged 9-12 also had the opportunity to represent SGA in this event. Congratulations to Singapore Island Country Club who emerged victorious after finishing narrowly ahead of National Service Resort & Country Club.
The Junior Inter-Club League provides budding juniors with a platform not only to develop their skills in a competitive environment, but also to forge valuable friendships with fellow juniors along the way.
Asian Tour donation to SGA Junior Development
On 13 August 2022, the Asian Tour presented SGA with a US$25,000 donation during a presentation ceremony at the International Series Singapore held at Tanah Merah Country Club. Presented by Cho Minn Thant, CEO and Commissioner of Asian Tour to SGA President Tan Chong Huat, the Asian Tour reinforced its commitment to development of Golf.
The International Series Singapore observed how the Junior Development is a central point for SGA. Four SGA Future Squad players – Nigel Seah, Dylan Chua, Anjanette Tan and Aamiya Koul – were treated to a clinic by four-time tour winner Shiv Kapur. Kapur pointed out that Singapore has brilliant facilities to expose juniors to the game of golf, and mentioned that there will be even greater pick-up among the youth as the Asian Tour and International Series flourish.
Centre of Excellence and Training Access
We are pleased to inform you that SGA will establish our centre of excellence at Keppel Club. This will comprise driving range bays availability, access to chipping and putting greens and the short course, agreed number of flights as well as a shared space for ad hoc meetings, briefings and swing analysis. This will be the testbed for our SGA Home of Golf Version 1.0. Sincere appreciation to Keppel Club for their strong support and we look forward to working closely with them to develop our future champions.
We are also indebted to Sentosa Golf Club and Singapore Island Country Club for agreeing to provide similar training access to SGA.
A signing ceremony among SGA, Keppel Club, Sentosa Golf Club and Singapore Island Country Club has been planned in Q4, 2022.
Pillar 3: Strengthening SGA’s financial position
Given the programs we are planning to execute, we expect an increase in expenditure including enhancing the bench-strength of the SGA Secretariat led by General Manager Joshua Ho. Hence, the last pillar is to improve SGA’s financial position to ensure sustainability of our existing and upcoming programs. We intend to achieve this through a two-prong approach:
1) Commercial
SGA will continue to develop and evolve our commercial potential, as well as build innovative and sustainable corporate partnerships. We have set up a sponsorships and commercial assets sub-committee which has refined our corporate partnership strategy.
We have also reached advanced stages and have in-principle sponsorship agreements with a few other notable corporate sponsors. We look forward to announcing these partnerships soon.
2) Diversification
Apart from commercial partnership, SGA will also build on our fundraising efforts to raise funds for our programs. As an Institution of Public Character (IPC), SGA is allowed to issue 2.5 times Tax Deductible Receipts for all individual and corporate donations for our high-performance and junior development programs. I am pleased to report that ONERHT has confirmed a three-year donation of $60,000 per year to support our programs.
SGA’s annual fundraising golf day is a key event on our calendar, and we strive to continue growing this event to ensure the best experience for all strong supporters of Singapore golf. We look forward to welcoming you at our next fundraising golf day in March 2023.
In addition, SGA is also exploring to support and appropriately commercialise golf development activities such as golf-related certifications and regional conferences. This will also affirm Singapore as a regional hub for golf-related education.
Sub-Committees’ 2022 – 2023 Programs
Kudos to our 11 sub-committees who have duly submitted their programs. My executive board and I have met to review the respective annual programs and are excited about the plans and the targeted outcomes. The months ahead will revolve around detailing the plans, execution and updating progress.
I am confident that SGA will achieve the following nine strategic goals under our three pillars when we adhere diligently and faithfully to these programs:
- Increase the number of golfers and the frequency of play by promoting inclusiveness and accessibility.
- Establish a thriving and engaged stakeholders fraternity by promoting stakeholders engagement and ESG leadership.
- Build golf’s reputation as a force for good by providing CSR leadership.
- Develop and establish a leading golf training & development infrastructure and framework for juniors, teenagers, amateurs to professionals to ensure golfing performance and excellence.
- Increase the appeal and profitability of SGA’s professional and amateur events by collaborating with leading regional and international bodies.
- Focus on Sponsorships and Commercial Assets, and diversification to enable SGA to strengthen its financial position.
- Increase the regional and international impact, influence and reputation of SGA.
- To develop the bench strength of the secretariat to enable SGA to fulfil its mission and vision, and achieve its strategic goals.
- Govern responsibly to ensure integrity, wellbeing, sustainable development, and enjoyment of golf.
We intend to achieve the abovementioned nine strategic goals by proactively engaging key stakeholders to understand their needs, as well as organise idea exchange sessions with other national golf associations. We will also synergise the sub-committee plans and execute them effectively.
Overall, it has been an exciting and fulfilling first 100 days. I look forward to continue working with my Executive Board colleagues, as well as the Governing Council, sub-committees and the secretariat team to take Singapore golf to greater heights.
Once again, thank you for your support and happy golfing!
Yours Sincerely,
President
Singapore Golf Association