And then there will be none.
Public golf course Mandai Executive Golf Course at Upper Seletar Reservoir will close down once its tenancy expires on Dec. 31, 2024.
It will mark the end of its three-decade run after it was opened in 1993.
It is currently the second-last public golf course in operation in Singapore.
The move to shutter the public golf course has been reported by CNA as a shock to many who did not expect it to be closed.
Its impending closure follows a slew of golf courses and ranges in Singapore that have closed over the past few years, such as the cessation of Toa Payoh Golf Range, which closed in 2018 for residential use.
Only 2 public golf courses left
Mandai Executive Golf Course will also likely be the last remaining public course standing by the time it shutters at end-2024.
Champions Public Golf Course in Bukit Timah had already shut down on Dec. 26, 2023, according to a closure notice on its website.
Marina Bay Golf Course will be closing down soon on June 30, 2024, due to “imminent land lease expiry”, according to its website.
Mandai Executive Golf Course sees about 100,000 patrons a year, of which about 40 to 50 per cent are juniors, CNA reported.
Golf courses are known to take up precious real estate in land-scarce Singapore.
At one point, three public and 14 private golf courses operating at the same time in Singapore took up 1,500ha of land.
Alternative: Private golf courses
Private golf courses, which can be found at country clubs, is either partly open to non-members or require hefty membership fees.
An example is Keppel Club, which is a private club with a golf course.
CNA reported in December 2023 that Singaporeans and permanent residents then already had to fork out S$500,000 to become a member of Sentosa Golf Club.
Locals had to pay S$300,000 for a Singapore Island Country Club membership at the end of December 2022.
Both country clubs house golf courses.
Outdoor adventure learning centre to be built on golf course
A new outdoor adventure learning centre is set to be developed on the site the Mandai Executive Golf Course currently occupies.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is consolidating eight outdoor adventure education sites to four locations for all schools to conduct upper primary and lower secondary cohort camps there.
The four sites include the existing MOE outdoor adventure learning centre at Dairy Farm, in Bukit Timah, as well as two new centres to be built in Mandai and Sembawang.
MOE said 100,000 students participating in cohort camps and uniformed group programmes can be accommodated each year, from 2032.
Top photos via Google Maps