An expiration date is on the horizon for several golf properties in land-scarce Singapore.
The city-state’s government doesn’t plan to renew the ground leases on Keppel Club and Marina Bay Golf Club, both of which will expire within a decade, and three other venues will need to give up some of their property (including one of the four 18-hole golf courses at Singapore Island Country Club) before their leases are renewed.
The government is taking the action to prepare for the future, as a housing shortage is looming in the former British settlement.
By reducing supply, the closings will increase the value (and price) of club memberships in Singapore, which currently has 14 private clubs and three public tracks.
While Singapore will lose part of its golf inventory in coming years, local golf leaders believe that the popularity of the game will remain undiminished. In fact, Channel News Asia reports that the Singapore Golf Association “is confident that interest will continue to grow among amateurs and that there will be capacity to meet demand.”
The number of golfers in the city-state has increased by 13 percent in recent years, according to the SGA, from 27,649 in 2009 to 35,785 in 2013.
