THE SERAPONG VISUAL FEAST

While appearances will always be spectacular, they can also be deceptive. We take a closer look at the recent renovations.

To try and epitomise the brilliance of the recent renovations on The Serapong, then the iconic 6th hole is a great place to start. Once upon a time this was a drivable par 4 which, because of the design and access of the green, failed to tempt the pros looking for a two-putt birdie to go for it. Now it remains a shortish par 4 but it has been transformed into something else. With the back tees combined into one, moved to the right and expanded, it now uses the coastline as its boundary. Plenty will catch your eye-line down the left, but the water right will always dominate your thinking. The hole is framed by the big waste bunker left, and this also allows for cart-path access, while 60 palm trees have been added which mean that, if you do hit away from the water and avoid the sand, then your line into the green is going to be affected.

But the real beauty is how it fits in and adds to the overall coastal story on the front nine. The 4th runs down the shoreline of the lagoon and with a realigned tee here at the par 5, now sitting next to the wall adjacent to the lagoon, it opens up the visual alignment of the how the serpentine shoreline and walls spread out in front of you and this runs all the way to the green. The 5th then features one of the most iconic backdrops in the game with the Central Business District sitting in the near distance before the 6th with the adjacent views of Pulau Brani island.

In among all the impressive renovations of The Serapong – the new bunkering, re-turfed fairways, new drainage and levelling of all tee boxes – it is the senses that are most stirred with this run of holes.

The Serapong Hole 6

Up ahead at the 6th green the mounding on the right side in the final fairway bunkers has been lowered and the palm trees removed to open up a new false front to the green – the grass for that front is from the old 3rd green from The Tanjong. So now, from the fairway, the 7th fairway opens up and the dramatic shoreline theme continues.

As for the false front this has been nicknamed ‘The Dragon’s Tongue’ to fit in with the ‘Dragon’s Tooth’ rock that sticks out of the greenside bunker.

Ahead to the par-3 8th there are more visual illusions with a new bunker appearing to be nestled just in front of the green when in fact there is another 20 metres before the putting surface. So the bunker should not be in play for the strong players, but it does allow some space to get at a tricky front pin. If anything gives a course a real facelift it is the bunkers, and these have been a runaway success. Previously they had become contaminated, so each had been given new liners and new white sand, but it is the visual appearance and feel that is the clever part here. In reality nothing has changed, but the new serrated edges expose more of the face which make them feel larger and deeper – the serrating edging technique goes back all the way to the likes of Dr Alister MacKenzie.

Less obvious on the eye are the drainage improvements, but they have already improved matters substantially following the record downpours last January. A good example comes at the 12th which is now nearly one metre higher than the old fairway. By doing this it has allowed the hydraulics to be installed to get the water out of the hole. Previously this fairway was too low which meant that any surface water was impossible to remove as the fairway was only inches higher than the water level in the lake reservoirs.

The tee box on The Serapong's 4th hole has been realigned to create a greater visual, with it now running adjacent to the lagoon Myth of The Serapong Rough

Finally, let’s bust a Serapong myth… the height of the rough? For some the thinking is that the rough is grown up for the SMBC Singapore Open. Well, here’s your answer. The rough hasn’t been grown for either a men’s or women’s professional event for the last eight years and it has been maintained for the past decade at the same ‘height of cut’ of 57mm. This is the same as The Tanjong, but the perception is that it feels longer on The Serapong. This is simply because of the lack of golf carts running on the rough on Serapong and, by not having them so far, it allows the rough to stand up and not get beaten down by the traffic. All of which explains why, when a big tournament is on the horizon, the carts are pulled off the rough. This height tallies with other championship courses around the world and will remain the case to guarantee the needed definition between the rough and the fairway. And, like all things on The Serapong, adds to the overall visual treat.