Sentosa Golf Club Magazine (January - February 2023)

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CAPTAIN’S MESSAGE

Dear Fellow Members,

Happy New Year to you and your families! Many of you may already know that I am serving my final term as Captain and I will be passing on the torch at the end of March.

I joined as a Member just over two decades ago, 2001 to be exact. What a journey it has been. Words alone cannot describe the pride and honour of having known each and every one of you and to have served you these past 6 years as Captain.

I am truly proud and grateful, to have been part of the excellent Greens and General Committees over the past 12 years: to experience first-hand the dedication, commitment, passion of our SGC staff team and fellow members who freely give of their counsel and time in the management of golfing and social activities; and ultimately enjoy the many global achievements that have borne fruit, because of your hard work and passion.

I would like to thank each of the Lady Captains, Helen, Lyn and Gloria and members of the Greens Committee past and present for your friendship, contributions and enthusiasm, making these past years an enjoyable and collaborative experience. There could have been no better team to act for Sentosa Golf Club and to represent the expectations and the feedback of you, our Members.

One of the main goals of the Greens Committee and Captain has been to serve as an enabler and conduit of feedback between Management and Members, regardless of your nationality and groups. Sentosa Golf Club’s success today has been possible because of this teamwork and positive Club culture. I would like to thank all Members for helping foster this special bond and camaraderie. Please continue to remind one another to keep our very unique culture going.

May I also take this opportunity to thank Chairman Bob Tan and former President Low Teo Ping for first introducing and entrusting me to lead our Club, as well as our past Club leaders including Moses Lee and Ronny Tan for their support.

I am delighted that Darryl Wee has accepted his new role as Vice Captain of the Club. Darryl is a familiar face to most of us. He is a true golf enthusiast and brings a wealth of experience to the table in our leadership renewal process. We look forward to Darryl’s service, interaction

with Members and contributions. I know that he will do an excellent job.

2023 will be one of the most eventful years for SGC, with the greatest talents in professional golf completing at our Club as LIV Golf breaks new ground in Singapore and the HSBC Women’s World Championship staging their 15th anniversary event. Please continue to give our staff and your Committee strong support and encouragement.

It has been my privilege to steer the good ship at Sentosa Golf Club. I have enjoyed 6 very memorable years as your Captain.

Wishing each and every one of you good health and golf throughout 2023.

Khoo Captain

A NOTE FROM OUR PRESIDENT

Dear Members,

I am pleased to introduce Darryl Wee as ViceCaptain of Sentosa Golf Club with effect from 1 January 2023. He will assist Captain Vernon Khoo and take over as Captain following the end of Vernon’s term at the end of March.

I look forward to Darryl’s contributions and counsel as we continue to implement our golf course improvements, development programmes and find ways to further establish the premier positioning of Sentosa Golf Club as one of the best clubs in the world.

Thank you for your support during the transition and may I also take this opportunity to wish you and your family an auspicious Lunar New Year ahead.

Andrew M Lim President

Vernon

SGC Captain Vernon Khoo

EARLY CLOSURE ON CHINESE NEW YEAR EVE

Saturday, 21 January 2023

The Club’s golfing and dining facilities will close at 6pm on Saturday, 21 January 2023. This allows our staff to return home to join their families for their customary reunion dinner celebrations. Members may wish to take note of the following changes in our operating hours: Golf: Last tee off at 2.00pm; No 9-hole evening golf F&B: Last order at 5.30pm; Closes at 6pm We apologise for any inconvenience and thank you for your kind understanding. The Club will remain open during the Chinese New Year holidays. We

wish you and your family a happy and prosperous Year of the Rabbit ahead!

GM’S MESSAGE

Dear Members,

As I reflect back on 2022, we can all be very proud of another extraordinary year for Sentosa Golf Club. But to a few of us, the Club has been operating at an extremely high level over the past decade and our accomplishments are starting to feel typical or simply accepted as what the Club's annual achievement should look like.

When benchmarking our accomplishments around the world, Sentosa Golf Club appears as one of the industry’s world leaders.

We are one of the few Clubs in the world running two televised events annually. There are a couple of clubs that stage one event annually or one event every few years, but rarely do you see a club staging and running multiple televised events a year, something we have been doing for a decade.

On review, it becomes apparent that our operation is nothing close to normal or just business-as-usual, as it may appear to many of us who have become accustomed to the day-to-day life around the Club. We simply make it look easy, and that is a tribute to the organisational culture and structure of the team we have built.

Some notable highlights of 2022 are below for your collective review.

MEMBERSHIP

• Delivered annual golf occupancy of 92 percent

• We saw the value of our Ordinary Local Memberships rise above $500k and over $1m for Foreign Memberships

RANKINGS

• Golf Digest - Best in Singapore - for the 10th year in a row

• Golf Digest - The World's Greatest Courses - Ranked No.55

• Platinum Clubs of the World - Ranked No.78

• Asian Golf Awards - Best in Singapore

• Asian Golf Awards - Best Championship Course in Asia

• World Golf Awards - The World's Most Eco-Friendly Course - for three years in a row

• World Golf Awards - Asia's Best Golf Course, The Serapong

• Travel and Tourism Awards 2023 - Best Golf Experience

• Singapore Business Awards 2023 - Golf Club of the Year

• Member of the Asian Top 100 Awards

SUSTAINABILITY

• Achieved Certification with GEO

• Became a carbon neutral facility - we believe we are the first golf club in the world to achieve this

• We are also working closely with a key member of the University of Oslo on carbon sequestration calculations

OTHER SIGNIFICANT HIGHLIGHTS

• We established a new partnership with Toro becoming the first Club in Asia to develop a global partnership that allows us to reinvest in our equipment fleet, but more importantly, bring a new level of excellence to the Club and Asia in terms of training elevated professionalism and exposure for us

• Hosted the successful Sentosa 50th Jubilee Charity Golf game, raising a Singapore club record of nearly $4m in donations for charity

Finally, we are now able to highlight that the Club completed negotiations to secure one of the most exciting golf events ever staged in Singapore with a $25m prize purse. LIV Golf Singapore and the upcoming HSBC Women’s World Championship will continue to enhance the Club’s profile and bring Singapore to the world, driving tourism with exciting features such as entertainment and concerts that will bring Sentosa Golf Club and Island Partners closer through shared work-related activities.

Our sights are foremost focussed on delivering another successful HSBC Women’s World Championship in March. 2023 marks a significant milestone - the 15th anniversary edition of this event; and its 10th edition to be staged at Sentosa. We eagerly anticipate the 2023 edition to create more special memories, like Paula Creamer’s and Michelle West-Wie’s winners, for the ladies game.

In closing, we thank all of you for your support enabling the SGC team to work at another higher level to deliver a world class golf club.

Respectfully,

Andrew Johnston General Manager / Director of Agronomy and Resident Golf Course Architect Experience

• Global Excellence Awards 2022 - Most Welcoming Golf Club

GM Andrew Johnston

SINGAPORE

8-11.

CAPTAIN'S MESSAGE

SGC Captain, Vernon Khoo, extends his heartfelt appreciation to Members and looks ahead to what will be another momentous for the Club in 2023...

GM'S MESSAGE

General Manager, Andrew Johnston, outlines his latest thoughts and updates from the Club…

GENERAL GOLF AND MEMBER NEWS

Discover all the latest news from the Club such as our latest award wins and the best events for Members to sign up for next year…

12-14.

SENTOSA SET FOR SPECTACULAR SEASON

The biggest events are heading back to Sentosa Golf Club in 2023 including LIV Golf Singapore and the HSBC Women’s World Championship…

GUEST COLUMN –DOM BOULET

LIV Golf On-Course Reporter, Dom Boulet, talks us through why LIV Golf Singapore will be the country’s biggest golf event ever…

18-20.

GAME ON –CARBON NEUTRALITY

Learn more about how Sentosa Golf Club has become the world’s first carbon neutral golf club…

22-23.

INSTRUCTION

SGC’s newest sponsored professional, Nicklaus Chiam, provides his best tips to improve your consistency in 2023…

18 HOLES WITH…

2010 Champion Golfer of the Year, Louis Oosthuizen, sits down with us to discuss his fond memories of playing at Sentosa Golf Club and on The Serapong…

GENERAL GOLF NEWS

KIM TOPS ORDER OF MERIT

Sihwan Kim wrapped up the Asian Tour Order of Merit title on his 34th birthday. The American claimed his maiden professional victory at the International Series Thailand last February before following that with a second win at the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Stableford Challenge, also in Thailand.

There was a dip in form before a third place at the International Series Egypt saw him regain the top spot and a host of challengers were unable to capture the season-ending Indonesian Masters to overhaul him.

SINGAPORE WOMEN’S OPEN BREAKS NEW GROUND

South Korea's Ji Young Park captured the inaugural Hana Financial Group Singapore Women’s Open in a rain-shortened event at the Tanah Merah Country Club. Park finished one stroke ahead of a trio of players while Koh Sock Hwee (above), Sentosa Golf Club's sponsored professional and the highest-ranked Singaporean on the world rankings, had rounds of 68-72 to tie for 28th before the rain intervened.

Fellow Singaporean Shannon Tan emerged as the leading amateur after a brilliant 67 on the second day put her in a tie for 53rd.

OMAN PART OF 2023

INTERNATIONAL SERIES

The Asian Tour has announced that there will be 10 International Series events held next season, each with a minimum prize purse of $2m, and Oman will be part of the new-look calendar.

The International Series Oman will take place at Al Mouj Golf in Muscat from 9-12 February as the tour moves from seven of the upper-tiered events to double figures. The International Series, a partnership between the Tour and LIV Golf, was launched in 2022 to boost the game in Asia, the Middle East and beyond.

PORSCHE JOINS KEY INITIATIVE

German sports car manufacturer Porsche has joined the UN Global Compact as part of the world’s biggest and most important initiative for sustainable and responsible corporate governance.

Launched in 2000, the UN Global Compact now has more than 15,000 companies and 3,000 non-business signatories based in over 160 countries. It is a call to companies to align their operations and strategies with 10 universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption.

Porsche has the ambition to make its value chain net carbon-neutral in 2030, including a net carbon-neutral use phase for future BEV models.

Lo Leong Hay

WE MEET NEW MEMBER… MARWA ALKHUZIEM

Name Marwa Alkhuziem

Occupation

Managing Director of Aramco Asia Singapore. Why did you become a member at SGC?

Sentosa Golf Club is known as one of the most prestigious clubs in SEA and it is also a great place to network.

Favourite thing to do in Singapore?

If I have to choose one besides golfing, it would be water activities such as kayaking, paddling, hopping between islands or just relaxing at Tanjong beach.

Favourite thing about Golf? It is a game that I can enjoy while relaxing and enjoying the nature.

Greatest Achievement in Life?

Heading up an international office for the most valuable company in the world.

Chew Shee Koon Malcolm

Hironori Inoue

How Tron

Kang Singi

Max How Sau Hua

TERM MEMBER

Mr Alok Oberoi

Mr Charles Taylor Meyer

Mr Colin Patrick De Souza

Mr Hideaki Tanaka

Mr Johan Peter Haakansson

Mr Kazunori Kasai

Mr Lim Jung Gang

Mr Masato Aikawa

Mr Minoru Yamashita

Mr Naozumi Nagamitsu

Rajeev Veeravalli Kannan

Marwa Mohammed M Alkhuziem

MEMBER NEWS

HSBC WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RETURNS

This prestigious event returns to Sentosa Golf Club in March (2nd5th), and once again we look forward to welcoming the world’s best players for what promises to be another fantastic tournament. Last year, South Korea’s Jin Young Ko finished in style with five birdies in the final six holes to clinch the title. The 2023 tournament will be played on The Tanjong in what will be the 15th edition of the event.

UPCOMING MEMBER EVENTS

There’s a lot to look forward to at the Club this year, and many of you will already have noted these events in your diary. If not, here’s what we have coming up:

Ang Pow Game (28 Jan)

Medal of Medals (18 Feb)

HSBC Women’s World Championship (2-5 Mar)

LIV Golf (28-30 Apr)

Finally, The Royal Golf Club, Tokyo, Japan, and Paragon Cup, Wentworth, United Kingdom, in May and June, respectively, will be open to all members with more details to follow.

CHINESE NEW YEAR ANG POW

The Club and all the staff would like to thank everyone for their generous contributions to the Chinese New Year Ang Pow. Giving red packets is an annual Chinese tradition and at Sentosa Golf Club, it is also given as a gesture of appreciation to employees and staff who have rendered excellent service to members throughout the year. The contributions were divided among the staff. Thank you once again.

CHRISTMAS LIGHT-UP

On 16th November, we welcomed new members to the Club as part of our Members Intro Night, that was followed shortly afterwards by our annual Christmas Light-Up. The centrepiece tree in the main lobby has been decorated with ornaments made from recycled materials such as beer cans and wine corks by our talented staff.

Scan the QR code to view the Christmas Light-Up images. Link expires 28 Feb 2023.

It was an honour to receive two headline accolades at the annual World Golf Awards ceremony in Abu Dhabi. We were delighted to be named the ‘World’s Best Eco-Friendly Golf Facility’ for the third consecutive year. What an honour it was, too, to be named as ‘Asia’s Best Golf Course’, a new and special award unveiled for the first time this year. The world-class Serapong has attracted many plaudits over the years, and also holds the title for ‘Best Championship Course in AsiaPacific’ and ‘Best Golf Course in Singapore’, both recently acquired in the latest edition of the Asian Golf Awards in Vietnam.

SENTOSA SET FOR SPECTACULAR SEASON

Ahost of the game's greatest talents will descend upon Sentosa at the end of April next year as LIV Golf breaks new ground in Singapore. The 48-strong field will play for what will be the biggest prize purse in the history of golf in Singapore and there will be a handful of players who have already tasted success at Sentosa.

The full 2023 LIV schedule has not yet been announced but what we do know is that Sentosa will play host to the new professional circuit on 28 April, a week after it visits

The Grange in Adelaide. Also on the calendar for 2023 is El Camaleon in Mexico, while LIV Golf Spain will consist of a visit to Valderrama at the end of June. From next year it will be known as the LIV Golf League with 14 events on the schedule, each with a set 48-man field consisting of 12 four-man teams.

That roster is yet to be confirmed but two former Singapore Open Champions, both at Sentosa, will be part of the field in April. Sergio Garcia, the Fireballs GC captain for LIV's inaugural season, won over The Serapong in January 2018. The

Spaniard wrapped up a five-shot victory after playing 27 bogey-free holes on the Sunday after some previous weather interruptions. A 66 gave the then reigning Masters Champion a one-shot lead and a bright start to his final round meant that he could par his last 10 holes for a 68 and a very comfortable and impressive win.

"I played nicely but it wasn't easy," said Garcia. "There were some very challenging holes, but I played very well and then was just steady on the back nine. It was a great week overall. You still need to hit a lot of

good shots to do well here, and I was able to do that."

The other previous winner who will return to The Serapong is Ian Poulter. The Englishman's victory came in November 2009 and paved the way to qualifying for the following year's Ryder Cup team at Celtic Manor. Poulter blew the field away in the first two rounds, with efforts of 66-64 to open up a five-shot advantage, and he would eventually edge home by a single stroke over China's Liang Wen-Chong.

Coming back from a break of six weeks Poulter, who was part of the

Majesticks quartet in 2022, frittered away a number of shots but a birdie at the 13th helped to seal his first win on the then European Tour for three years.

Otherwise we will likely see Lee Westwood, runner-up to Adam Scott when Sentosa first played host to the Singapore Open in 2005, and Louis Oosthuizen who lost a gripping three-hole play-off against Matteo Manassero in 2012 when the young Italian rolled in a 10-foot eagle putt.

Sentosa has been the stage for many dramatic finishes and LIV Golf's CEO and Commissioner Greg Norman was excited about the prospect of adding another chapter in the books of Singapore's leading club.

“LIV Golf is committed to expanding the game of golf and aims to inspire the next generation of golfers across the globe. As one of the world’s best golf clubs, Sentosa Golf Club is the perfect setting to do just this as it has a long-standing history of hosting high-profile events. Its worldclass championship course, The Serapong, is famous for delivering historical moments that live long in the memory and we can’t wait to tee off next season and create a new legacy for the game of golf in Singapore.”

Otherwise there will be a bundle of Major Champions, some of whom will be paying their first visit to the island and the likes of current Open Champion Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Phil Mickelson, Henrik Stenson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Graeme McDowell, Charl Schwartzel and Bubba Watson could all tee it up in the three-round spectacle.

Sentosa's General Manager and Director of Agronomy Andrew Johnston was quick to highlight the exciting news, saying: "To be officially announced as a LIV Golf venue is exciting for everyone associated with Sentosa Golf Club. We are proud to have the opportunity to welcome 48 of the world’s best players to battle it out across The Serapong. We cannot wait to host the event and showcase to millions of people why Sentosa Golf Club is renowned for being one of the world’s best golf clubs."

Prior to LIV's inaugural visit to Singapore comes the HSBC Women’s World Championship which will take place from 2-5 March and will be the fourth tournament on the 2023 calendar.

The event has been decorated with drama over its 15-year history and, of the previous 14 winners, 12 are

Atthaya Thitikul tees off on The Tanjong's 2nd hole in 2022

Henrik Stenson is excited to once again play The Serapong

Photo Credits: LIV Golf / IMG

Major Champions which adds further credibility to the tournament that has been dubbed 'Asia's Major'. Current World No.5 Jim Young Ko will defend her title having edged out a stellar leaderboard.

Ko's closing round of 66 gave her a two-shot win and continued an incredible run of golf which saw her claim her sixth win in her last 10 LPGA Tour starts and marked her 15th consecutive round in the 60s and her 30th consecutive round under par, both of which were records.

Maybe even more impressive was the fact that it was Ko’s first start of 2022. She had last played in mid-November before spending the off-season tinkering with her backswing and working on her putting.

“It was a big achievement for me to win the HSBC Women’s World Championship last year as it had been a goal of mine with so many great players having won it over the years. I am excited to return to Singapore to defend my title, but I am even more excited to hear that we will have fans back with us in 2023," explained Ko who birdied five of her last six holes.

"We have all really missed having fans out there supporting us on The Tanjong as they make the atmosphere so special. Singapore is a favourite destination of all the players, and I can’t wait to return and enjoy all the beautiful sights, the amazing food and definitely all the wonderful fans!”

South Korea's In Gee Chun

Barclays Singapore Open Champion Ian Poulter

SMBC Singapore Open Champion Sergio Garcia

Dom Boulet

It was fantastic to see Sentosa revealed as part of the LIV Golf schedule for 2023 and there isn't a venue that is more perfectly suited for a LIV event. The Serapong is incredibly challenging, and I've noticed that a lot of LIV courses are very challenging courses. It's always in immaculate shape, Andy Johnston and his team have run many big events there and they'll adapt well to the scale of a LIV event as they've got the infrastructure.

And it's picturesque too with the holes running along the water, you’ve got the big driving range where we're going to have the 54 Club, and then there's the huge area surrounding the 18th green.

I've covered all the LIV Golf events and I have to say that the atmosphere is incredible. The crowds are huge, and, in Chicago, it was 20,000 on the Sunday! I just love the concept. I was a bit sceptical at first, obviously with the shotgun starts, but I love that now I get it.

From a TV window perspective it works and everyone's playing in the same conditions. And I really enjoy the team concept and the players have bought into it. Dustin Johnson and Talor Gooch were battling it out in Boston on the final day, and they actually got together and started looking at the team leaderboard and encouraged one another. It's something that's different in golf and that's great. Globally, it's been very well received. Obviously, there's a bit

of negativity more so in America but, if you look at the comments globally, people have really bought into LIV.

On the ground, it's a different experience. When you’re there half an hour before they tee off the guys are focused and practising but there's a few thousand people standing behind the driving range watching and then the music starts playing and it's just a really cool vibe, relaxed, but there's an intensity about it, too. And it's appealing to different and younger audiences. My son is a big sports fan, not necessarily golf, but he knows what's going on with LIV Golf. He knows the names of the teams and when it becomes a little bit more recognisable, then it will really generate even more buzz. It offers new concepts, different formats and a team element so I think it's brilliant for the game of golf.

Next year we're talking about 25-30 world-class players who are going to converge into one tournament in Singapore. They love their golf in Singapore and I think the reaction will be enormous.

Former Asian Tour player & LIV Golf Reporter

It was fantastic to see Sentosa revealed as part of the LIV Golf schedule for 2023 and there isn't a venue that is more perfectly suited for a LIV event.

Photo Credit: Chepe Beltranena

Marinade of Pork

Roast

from

on a

roast for

4 Remove the pork from the oven. Dab marinade all over, then turn. Baste then roast for a further 30 minutes

Remove the pork from the oven. Brush with marinade again, then turn, before brushing the other side with marinade and roasting for a further 20 minutes. If charring too quickly, cover with foil

Baste again on the surface then bake for a further 10 minutes until caramelized and sticky

Meat should be tender but not falling apart, like with pulled pork. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing

with rice or noodles

Wanton Noodles is used in this recipe, and we roast it daily)

GAME ON!

It was back at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in April 2021 that we announced our commitment to become the world’s first ever carbon neutral golf club by 2022 – an ambitious target, but one that we were determined to achieve. A little over a year-anda-half later, and it gives us great pleasure to announce that we have delivered on this promise. This is an incredible milestone for the golf club, as well as the industry as a whole.

As part of our sustainability commitment, and to complement ongoing carbon abatement efforts, the Club has offset 5,000 tonnes

of CO2, the annual equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions from 12.4m miles driven by an average petrol-powered car and CO2 emissions from 630 homes’ energy usage.

On achieving the carbon neutrality goal, General Manager and Director of Agronomy, Andrew Johnston highlighted the importance of this landmark moment. “We believe that Sentosa Golf Club is the world’s first carbon neutral golf club and are extremely proud of this achievement. Ever since we began to share the importance of our sustainability journey back in 2018, we have always been focused

on becoming an industry leader and inspiring others to follow suit by implementing eco-friendly initiatives to help reduce our overall carbon footprint. Hopefully this is just the beginning and more clubs around the world will commit to becoming carbon neutral in the near future.”

Restoring Forestry

Since April last year, the Club set aside $1 from every round of golf to purchase high quality carbon credits from Shell which includes the Katingan Mentaya Project (Indonesia) and Cordillera Azul National Park (Peru).

The Cordillera Azul National Park

Sentosa Becomes World’s First Carbon Neutral Golf Club

Asian Tour players launch the Club's GAME ON campaign at the 2020 SMBC Singapore Open

project helps restore degraded forestry, preventing 25.2 million tonnes of carbon being released into the atmosphere to date, whilst the Katingan Mentaya Project protects more than 150,000 hectares of peat swamp forest, generating 7.5 million carbon credits on average each year; its impact is equivalent to removing two million cars off the road each year.

A number of other projects and partnerships have played a crucial role in helping us to compensate our carbon footprint, including joining the UN Sports for Climate Action Race to Zero initiative, all under the umbrella of our sustainability campaign, GAME ON. In joining the initiative, with the likes of the New York Yankees, All England Tennis Club, and La Liga, we committed to implementing the Paris Agreement, and established a number of key principles to help promote sustainability and reduce climate pollution.

Other initiatives, pioneered after over a decade of work, include a state-ofthe-art irrigation system and agronomy equipment that creates efficiencies and minimises product wastage seen by over fertilisation and watering, as well the introduction of an all-electric golf cart fleet powered with lithium batteries,

“Hopefully this is just the beginning and more clubs around the world will commit to becoming carbon neutral in the near future.”

The Cordillera Azul National Park helps to restore degraded forestry, preventing 2.5 million tonnes of carbon being released into the atmosphere

The Katingan Mentaya Project in Indonesia protects more than 150,000 hectares of peat swamp forest and many species of wildlife

car charging stations and waste digesters, which grind down food and horticultural waste to reuse as fertiliser on the golf course. The Club was also the first in Asia to introduce carbon products in the form of Biochar into our agronomy programme to help remove more carbon from the atmosphere.

These complement other oncourse efforts that saved over 300 different species of trees during the redevelopment of The Tanjong, and the introduction of stingless bee colonies on-site that thrive in an ecosystem alongside otters, peacocks, long-tail macaques and other migratory and native birds.

Our collaboration with international not-for-profit, GEO Foundation –founded to advocate, support and reward sustainability in and through golf – has also been crucial. It saw the integration of GEO’s industryleading OnCourse programme and GEO Certified label with Sentosa’s ‘green-culture’, and led to the club achieving GEO Certified status for our preservation of the environment and ongoing development of sustainable initiatives.

It’s Still ‘Game On’

Although we have achieved this particular target – for which everyone should be extremely proud – there is still a lot of work to be done. No one is losing sight of the bigger picture, and we are committed to helping Sentosa Island reach its key objective.

We look forward to another year of innovation, and sharing with you our plans on how we intend to further grow our sustainability credentials.

“No one is losing sight of the bigger picture, and we are committed to helping Sentosa Island reach its key objective.”

Sentosa Golf Club is one

of the world's most

sustainable golf clubs

WORLD CUP GLORY FOR SINGAPORE CHEFS

Never mind the FIFA World Cup. For some of the world’s best chefs, the only competition that mattered in November was the prestigious Villeroy & Boch Culinary World Cup 2022 in Luxembourg, where two gold medals went Singapore’s way. The gold medals were from the Chef’s Table category and the newly introduced Best National Showpiece award with their sugar and chocolate sculpture inspired by Gardens by the Bay.

Overall, Singapore came in fourth out of 15 teams, with the Swiss team taking the top spot. The Singapore National Culinary Team was led by team manager Kong Kok Kiang, Executive Chef of Sentosa Golf Club, and team captain Koh Han Jie, Executive Chef of Ce Soir. Chef KK said: “We are incredibly proud of the team. They have shown focus, camaraderie and a fighting spirit that the Singapore National Culinary Team is known for.”

SENTOSA FUN PASS EXTENDED

We’d like to remind everyone that the FUN PASS has been extended until 31 March, 2023. Terms and conditions are as follows: (A) At Sentosa Express. Guests with Ez-Link Card, simply tap and enter for free. Guests without Ez-Link Card, approach Service Ambassadors for free entry. (B) At Sentosa Gantry. All vehicles with locally registered IU can simply drive through for free. All vehicles with non-locally registered IU can drive in by tapping or inserting your Autopass Card on the card reader at the booth to enter for free. No entry for motorcycle. Goods and services vehicles are allowed free entry on Mondays to Fridays (except Public Holidays) 8am-6pm. Admission charge of $10 is payable for any entry outside of this timing unless accompanied with a valid service order or delivery order.

DISCOVER ASIA’S UNIQUE PERFUMERY DESTINATION

‘Scentopia’, the latest tourist attraction at Siloso Beach and Asia’s only perfumery is now fully geared up to welcome travellers from the Indian subcontinent. This unique perfume making experiential destination is the new place that travellers from all over can look to for a refreshing experience.

“Scentopia has been conceptualized, and created to focus on Singapore’s unique floral heritage, and use the heritage to help travel enthusiasts in creating their signature perfumes, unique to their personality,” said company Director, Prachi Saini Garg.

Scentopia aims to educate its guests on the spectacular journey of Singapore’s floral heritage and its transition from a port city to a place for botanical exploration through fun and a host of interactive activities.

HOLE MORE PUTTS

In this month’s issue, Sentosa Golf Club’s new sponsored professional, Nicklaus Chiam, shares his top putting drills to help you transform your game on the greens in 2023.

We’d like to extend a warm welcome to Nicklaus Chiam, who joins us here at the Club as the new sponsored professional. Nicklaus, 27, majored in international business at Washington State, where, in his senior year, he appeared in five of seven tournaments for the Cougars, and led the team in scoring average at 72.80. He has recently returned to Singapore from the United States to focus on the Japan and Asian Tour Qualifying School.

1 Strike drill

There’s often a big difference between the type of stroke a Tour professional makes on a consistent basis, compared to the one we typically see from a regular club player. I’m talking about the quality of the strike — which is one of the keys when it comes to holing more putts. I want to help you hit the ball out of the centre of the clubface on a more regular basis, which gives you a far better chance of starting the ball on line.

For this drill you need four tees; put two by the top and bottom of your putter head, and two more (a golf ball’s width) in front of the putter face on the line you intend to take. Even if you just spend 20 minutes once or twice a week putting with this setup, you’ll start to groove a more centred strike and see a greater share a putts drop out on the course.

2 Circle drill

For this next drill, you need eight tees. Position them three feet away in a circle around the hole, using the length of your putter as a guide. The idea is that you give yourself a range of different putts — left-toright ones, and right-to-left — so avoid picking a totally flat spot. I’ll aim to make five rounds (40 putts) without missing — so give that a go. Do that successfully, and then extend the length to four feet, and try to make three rounds (24 putts). Finally, place the tees five feet from the hole, with the aim to knock in eight putts in a row. If you miss one putt from 3/4/5 feet, restart the count only for that distance.

3 Lag drill

You can also use the circle drill and eight tees (three feet radius), for lag putting practice. Hit putts from 30-60 feet away from the hole (any direction you want), and aim to find that three-foot circle ten times in a row. The goal is to land 10 in a row from three different distances — so 33, 42, and 50 feet, for example. This drill will help you to appreciate the feel and power that’s required to putt the ball from certain distances.

4 Range drill

If you’ve not played much over the holiday period, you may well return to the course and find that your dispersion is all over the place — so here’s a drill to tighten up your game.

Choose two points. For example, the first point the red 100m stick, and the second point the white 150m stick. This is your gate, which you can widen as the club gets longer. For wedges, I suggest aiming to hit through the gate at least nine out of 10 times; seven to eight out of 10 for the irons; and six to seven out of 10 for the hybrid, woods and driver. If you don’t hit that number out of 10, then restart the count for that club.

18 Holes With…

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN

In the latest issue of 18 Holes With…we welcome 2010 Open Champion and two-time Singapore Open RunnerUp, Louis Oosthuizen, to discuss all things LIV Golf, Team Stingers, and why he is so excited to be returning to Sentosa for LIV Golf Singapore in April 2023…

How did you get into playing golf?

My brother started playing golf when I was 10 years old. That is how I got into the game.

Did you have an idol growing up?

Yes, Ernie Els was the person that I looked up to most.

What memories do you have of playing at Sentosa Golf Club?

I love playing there but losing in 2012 in a playoff was a hard pill to swallow.

How excited are you to return for a LIV Golf event?

I’m very excited to play at Sentosa again as it is one of my favourite golf courses.

What would it mean to win here after two runner-up finishes?

It would mean a lot to be able to win at a venue I really enjoying playing at.

Do you have a favourite hole on The Serapong?

There are so many good holes, so it is difficult to choose. I just like playing hard golf courses.

What has it been like to play in the LIV Golf Invitationals?

It is definitely a change from the normal events we are used to, but I have enjoyed every aspect of it so far.

In your opinion, who in LIV Golf is the most exciting to watch?

It is very exciting watching the whole team performance playing out on the Sunday. There isn’t a specific player that I watch out for the most.

How impressed were you with your team’s performance in 2022?

I think we did really well to finish 4th. Making the finals on the Sunday was a very satisfying feeling.

What are your goals for the upcoming 2023 season?

To definitely give a strong team performance again.

If you could pick a fourball from any players in the world, who would you choose? Team Stingers.

Who is the greatest golfer of all time? Difficult to go against history. Jack Nicklaus.

What is the greatest piece of advice you have ever received?

Work on your short game more than anything else.

What is your favourite club in the bag? 7 Wood.

Have you ever achieved a hole-in-one? Yes, I’ve had a bunch of them.

How would you describe Sentosa Golf Club in three words?

Proper.Golf.Course.

What is your favourite thing about Singapore?

It is very clean and organized.

If you weren’t a golfer, what other sport would you play? Tennis.

Photo Credit: LIV Golf