8 minute read
SERAPONG RENOVATIONS
REFRESHING TIMES
We talk to world-class shaper Steven Page on his recent experience of helping to renovate The Serapong, the jewel in Singapore’s golfing crown.
It is a world-class course without any doubt. It is such a good test of golf. You can’t afford to lose focus “ for a second, trust me on that!
And boy do you need to putt well – those are some of the purest greens
I have ever played.”
Matt Kuchar was naturally taken with
The Serapong following his threeshot win in this year’s Singapore
Open over Justin Rose. Now, when the world’s best return for the 2021 renewal, they will be met with a course that has now been given a refresh on all fronts and, while there has been no change to the layout, strategy and footprint, the upgrade has been as detailed as it has been thought out.
The last time The Serapong underwent any major renovations was back in 2006. Now, under the guidance of the club’s General
Manager, Director of Agronomy and resident designer Andrew Johnston, no stone (or green, bunker, fairway
A view of The Serapong’s newly renovated 6th green and bunkers
and tee box) has been left unturned.
The reason behind all this major refresh was simple – golf courses in the tropics age faster than others in less temperate climates. As a general rule of thumb this ageing process is nearly twice as fast. Since the last major changes were carried out, technology has also made positive progress combined with the club’s ever-willing endeavour for excellence, it’s time to take The Serapong to an even higher level. As the course aged it had become inundated with unwanted foreign grasses and so the refresh was well needed – In many warm season golf destinations like South Florida a renovation of our scale would generally happen once a decade. To sum up, the fairways had become infested with weeds and grasses weeds, so the grass has been replaced with a fresh, clean layer of Zoysia Matrella. The build-up of organic matter over a decade has also impacted the soils ability to drain creating an unwanted retention of moisture in the soil, and the replacement of the grass and removal of the organics will improve the draining infrastructure and will enhance the percolation rates during our intense downpours. The tees had become uneven due to divots and general wear and tear, all of which is to be expected over time, and they have been both relasered to reinstate a tabletop finish and returned to their original size, and the grass updated with platinum
paspalum, which will allow them to be maintained at the same mowing height as the greens, 3mm. The bunkers had become contaminated with silt and each bunker has been given new liners and new white sand introduced to provide a more consistent test, there have been a few surprises with the addition of some new bunkers and some old ones re-nosed.
And there was even room for further improvements on the award-winning greens with a drill-and-fill process which sees machines injecting pre-made sand mix solution, to rebuild and enhance the soil structure condition over the next decade. The water to air ratio will be enriched and, what that means to the members, is that we will see putting surfaces that will stand the test of time and the climate for the next decade.
Master Shaper
Helping to bring the vision to life along with Johnston was Steven Page. The American is a third-generation shaper with his grandfather, father and brothers also in the business and he is fast approaching his 50th different project having now been putting a designer’s dream into reality for 30 years. A small part of his CV reads Memorial, Muirfield Village – the course that Jack built, Tanah Merah Country Club, Costa Palmas Club and many others. When asked what made him want to take on The Serapong renovations Page said: “I love to go into an existing golf course and give it a facelift. You have to be careful to enhance the features and, with this project, I wanted to make it striking as well as keeping it as a great course and retaining its X factor and, equally importantly, making it exciting for the members to play.” And Page reveals a simple mantra that sits underneath all of his works of art.
“I have my dad’s voice in my head, telling me ‘Take a step back and admire your work. Take pride in your work and never sacrifice quality’”. Needless to say you couldn’t have picked a trickier year to carry out such extensive work but, with the help of the Sentosa staff, the job has now been completed and the course, ranked 59th on Golf Digest’s ‘World’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses’, is ready to thrill and test the tour pros and members alike.
Hole 6
The 6th has seen some changes over the years. In one renovation it was laid out as a drivable par 4 but it was too challenging, the green access was too small and the Redan shape of it too high so no professional would go for the green. Then, with a new tee, it brought a new lease of life, bringing the water more into play. Now we can expect more changes and it is the short par 4 that particularly grabbed Page’s imagination and attention. “The 6th is my favourite hole and Andy’s design had really brought it to life. This took about three weeks to shape which was longer than the other holes, but it was well worth it. The transformation itself is exciting. We’ve reshaped the tees, combining the back tees into one and the space has been expanded. Both the white and ladies’ tee have moved on to what was the buggy path near the water.
“Waste bunkers have also been planted and it is now a true ocean hole where you play along the sea and members will be able to drive through the waste bunkers and access the fairway.
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The 18th hole of The Serapong pictured during the renovations
A view of The Serapong’s 6th hole from behind the tee box
Finally, we’ve eliminated three bunkers and added a false front to the green. As an art student, I look at things differently and with a balance. I want it to take your breath away.” Page will return to the States in November with a sensational job done, new friends made and yet another impressive addition to his outstanding CV. “I’ll miss the people here in Sentosa, from Andy Johnston, the superintendents Rodney McKeown and Tai Wae Meng and everyone else who I’ve worked with and built up a friendship. They are like a family to me. I’d be more than happy to come back on any future projects if Andy wants me back. He is by far the best man I’ve ever worked for in 30 years. He’s a detail-oriented designer and top-tier professional. “But what makes Andy truly remarkable is that he truly cares about his people who work for him and he cares about the quality of the club and the experience it creates for the members. He has a big heart and an open mind. I would work for him anytime, anywhere.”
No stone was left unturned during the renovations
Steven Page
FROM GASTRONOMY TO AGRONOMY
The R&A’s Golf Sustainability Fund grant has already been put to good use as Sentosa becomes the first club in Asia to install two digesters to grind down both food and horticultural waste and then reuse it as fertiliser on the course.
It is estimated that 40kg of food waste is generated every day along with one tonne of horticultural waste every month and, through the groundbreaking two-stage process, the club estimate that we will save up to 30 per cent on monthly waste disposal over a year. The first part of the process will involve a food waste bio-digester processing and grinding down waste from the three food outlets on site. Then, when the microbes are added to the waste, it is ready for use as organic fertiliser on the two courses. The second stage will introduce a heavy duty woodchipper and bio-digester shredder to grind an estimated tonne of horticulture waste per month. As things stand the club doesn’t apply compost on the course but it is hoped that a suitable byproduct can be put together and used to improve the course. One interesting component is that it may help with the retention of moisture on the fairways which would reduce the need for irrigation. The club’s initiative will also help with the research and development of byproduct fertilisers that can be used on primary roughs and fairways and shared with other golf clubs in Asia and around the world. The club’s green agenda first came to light with its #KeepItGreen campaign in January 2018 and, at the start of this year, it unveiled GAME ON which is designed to bring together the global golf community in addressing climate change concerns. Earlier this year Sentosa was named as the world’s first golf club to sign the UN’s Sports for Climate Action Initiative, joining the likes of the New York Yankees and Wimbledon Tennis.
