Seletar Buzz Sep/Oct 2021 by Seletar Country Club

SEP/OCT 2021

r f e e s b t o t k ACK!

B IS

WIN PRIZES IN OUR HALLOWEEN HUNT! See page 20 for details

101 Seletar Club Road Singapore 798273

OUR MANAGEMENT

HIGHLIGHTS

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Goh Yong Cheng General Manager 6486 0888 gmo@seletarclub.com.sg Chan Lee Hock Deputy General Manager 6486 0806 gmo@seletarclub.com.sg Facilities Titus Thu Assistant Manager, Facilities 6486 0814 titus.thu@seletarclub.com.sg

CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE Meet our new Chairman, Kelvin Chia

Finance Tan Soh Yuen Manager, Finance 6486 0890 sohyuen.tan@seletarclub.com.sg

TAKING IT ONE NOTCH HIGHER Meet the new members of the Management Committee

SELETAR JUNIOR JUSTIN KUK WINS HIS THIRD NRG AT CHANGI Re-live the moments with Justin Kuk

SAFETY WHEN GOLFING

Suist Lim Manager, Accounting 6486 0891 suist.lim@seletarclub.com.sg Food & Beverage Peter Boon Head, Food & Beverage 6486 0844 peter.boon@seletarclub.com.sg

Reminders on blind holes in Seletar and safety practices

KIDS CRAFT AND BAKING WORKSHOPS Let the little Masterchefs and Engineers shine!

Golfing Sharmayne Chee Manager, Golfing 6486 0817 sharmayne.chee@seletarclub.com.sg

OKTOBERFEST GRUB AND BEER PROMO Dig in and bottoms up!

Christine Chung Course Superintendent 6481 1486 christine.chung@seletarclub.com.sg

INDULGE IN THE BEST WHISKY OF THE WORD And more to up your spirits!

Housekeeping Loong Chow Jin Manager, Housekeeping Security & Facilities 6486 0855 chowjin.loong@seletarclub.com.sg Human Resource Sherina Lee Manager, Human Resource 6486 0898 sherina.lee@seletarclub.com.sg

18 DESIGN & PUBLISHING VaCAIN LLP www.vacaindesign.com.sg EDITORIAL TEAM Roslinda A. R.

For corporate governance matters: B whistleblowing@seletarclub.com.sg

For feedback, suggestions and comments:

B feedback@seletarclub.com.sg

*Graphics used are for illustration purposes and are not actual depiction of the actual facilities or offerings. Seletar Buzz is a publication of Seletar Country Club. Opinions of contributors do not necessarily reﬂect those of the Club. While articles and correspondence are welcome, the Club reserves the right to edit or decline to publish. Materials sent in by email are at the sender’s risk. The Club does not accept liability for loss or damage. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the Club.

I.T. & Data Protection Officer Krishnasamy Thanikasalam Manager, I.T. 6486 0810 thanika.krishna@seletarclub.com.sg Marketing & Communications Roslinda Binte Abdul Rahman Manager, Marketing & Communications 6486 0886 roslinda.ar@seletarclub.com.sg Sports & Social Nur Hazimah Binte Abdul Halim Manager, Sports & Social 6486 0880 hazimah.ah@seletarclub.com.sg

HIGHLIGHTS

Dear Members, Thank you for giving my fellow Management Committee members and I your mandate at the recent elections. To my fellow Management Committee members who were elected with me, welcome on board. It will be an interesting period for us as the new Management Committee endeavours to make changes to some of the way things work and reshape the Club and make it a better place than it already is for our fellow members. Some changes may be uncomfortable in the beginning, but I hope you will bear with us and give us your support. A special feature on the new Management Committee and our plans have been put together on page 4 of this magazine. You can see that the Management Committee has been reorganised and restructured with an aim to

FIRST WORDS

better align the Management Committee to more finely focus on our goals. For instance, Marketing & Communications sub-committee has now been restructured as a new Member Relations & Communications sub-committee, with Marketing as a standalone sub-committee. My aim is to more aggressively market our facilities and to better communicate our plans and activities to members. Many changes have also been implemented with the Captain’s Update in our regular weekly electronic direct mail (EDM) that reaches you every Sunday morning. Similarly, we hope to bring you more updates from the other MC members and chairpersons of various sub-committees through the EDM in time. I am mindful, however, of the COVID-19 constraints. As we move towards living with the virus as an endemic and not pandemic, we can expect more restrictions to be lifted and life returning closer to what it was in the pre-COVID days. We look forward to

the days when our club shall, like before, be overflowing with fun and activities and music fills our Tavern once again. However, we will still need to always be cautious and bear in mind that the risks of infection and a superspreader event is always there. We have thus far kept up and abided well with the strict safe management measures and the Club has never had to close due to a breach or a positive case being present in our premises. So let us keep up the positive spirit, social distancing, and safe management habits to enable the Club to remain open as a safe place for us to enjoy. We must enjoy ourselves responsibly within the safe management measures and allow the staff to do their jobs in keeping the Club safe. COVID-19 has also significantly hampered our efforts to retain and hire staff. I therefore urge members to keep up your encouragement for the club staff. We are facing a labour crunch – as is the rest of Singapore – with

border restrictions. Our staff, especially the frontliners, are stretched very thin. Mistakes and shortcomings can happen and when they do, I hope you will be kind and give our strained staff your understanding and encouragement while we work to help the staff cope and improve in the trying circumstances. Finally, as we work towards ramping up the Club’s vibrancy through events and activities, we hope you will participate in the many activities being conducted online and faceto-face for our members – find out about them and join in with your family and friends and make the Club a fun-filed enjoyable place, a cherished venue where we can all interact and relax in. Warmest regards,

KELVIN KS CHIA Chairman

FIRST WORDS

Taking It One Notch Higher On 1 August, members welcomed a new elected Management Committee (MC) for the term 2021/2023. With a two-third change in its committee make-up, who are these men and women at the top and what can members expect from the new leadership? Read on as Seletar Buzz (SB) sleuths a little to find out what makes them tick and click!

INITIALS: SB – Seletar Buzz • KC – Chairman Kelvin Chia • FL – Vice-Chairman Francis Lee • KK – KK Leow, Hon. Secretary • ML – Maureen Lee, Hon. Treasurer • HJH – Ho Juan Heng, Captain • MC Members: BL – Bobby Lim; HT – Henry Teh; VY – Victor Yew; WA – Wendy Ang.

SB:

A quick chat with our new MC members showcases a common vision: wanting to preserve the harmony, friendliness and warmth of Seletar Country Club while encouraging greater transparency in communication with members, with hopes of elevating the Club towards a higher level of prestige and service excellence. What triggers this?

KC:

It is a natural progression. Like many other golf clubs in Singapore, for a myriad of reasons, Seletar too has seen better days. The previous management committees all laboured under very tight constraints and had to overcome many difficult hurdles to Continuing a tradition of excellence: looking forward to more years of premier keep the Club in good golfing in a cherished, friendly family environment shape. Thanks to their unstinting efforts, we were able to preserve the charm and appeal of Seletar through trying times. During the tenure of Chairman Cheah Kim Teck and his team, the time came for the Club to face head-on issues like lease renewal, financial top-ups, and conversion of the Club to a full members’ club. With the lease renewed, the full potential of our club was unveiled. Thanks to the former MC team who worked hard to chart the future of our Club – the first and perhaps most challenging being the re-design and renovation of the golf course with all its constraints – today we have a course that is the envy of many and a further 19 years to enjoy the Club.

CLUB NEWS

Since we have successfully completed the two most important ‘hardware’ issues of the Club, it is time to shift our focus to its ‘soul’.

FL:

Yes. Our vision is to ‘up’ the game for Seletar Country Club. We aim to transform Seletar Country Club to a higher level in terms of service, facilities, governance, and transparency. It would be great if, by the end of these two years, Seletar is unofficially rated as the best members’ club in Singapore – which aligns with our mission statement: to be a friendly, family club of choice in Singapore. Our predecessors have set the path for us – we are building on their good work and carrying on the journey.

KK:

It is a broad vision that we have – one echoed by members; to see the Club move forward stage by stage to be a premier club. We may not be able to deliver it in two years, but by setting our goals and aligning our processes in that direction, we can move towards it step by step. As many of us are serving in the MC for the first time, we are very enthusiastic about what we do, and hope to work with members to reach a common goal. One thing that we all desire is to retain the family-oriented vision of the Club, as too our warm and friendly culture; this really differentiates us and we want to fashion our service levels to one that is not only excellent, but also makes you feel welcome and at home.

ML: True. We are all here to do our very best to improve the Club for the benefit of our members; provide transparency on matters close to the heart of our members; improve the image of our club so as to enhance the value of our membership; and ultimately, make the Club one we are proud to belong to. Essentially, I believe every committee aims to provide better transparency to all members; and respect them as equal stakeholders of a progressive and well-run member-centric club.

bers to ambience for mem Creating the right and friends ily fam th wi e and enjoy their tim

dine

CLUB NEWS

HJH: This was something we had talked and shared about from the onset of the committee’s term. Our common goal was to get members on board with the changes in the Club by keeping our communications channels open. The first step we took was to share the on-goings with members expediently through the weekly club emails; to discuss all feedback and have a transparent approach to decision making within the committees. VY:

Keeping ourselves relevant and catering to current needs with new handicap parking lots

I agree that we are all fortunate to be working on good foundations laid by previous committees. And we intend to continue practising the good code of governance and accountability set by our predecessors towards the improvement of our facilities and enhancing the Club’s environment for members.

KC: I stood for election with a vision to maximise the potential of Seletar, and to re imagine the Club. To give members a club that has not just a well acclaimed golf course but high service standards, a nice ambience, and amenities befitting a premium golf club. I am fortunate to have a team that shares in this vision, is devoted, and is already hard at work to realise it. We are acutely aware of the challenges that lay ahead and are committed to giving our best for the Club. WA: For many of us members, whether serving in a committee or not, we spend many hours at the Club golfing and dining, with friends and family. The Club is our refuge and second home. I too want to see the Club prosper and am very happy to be part of the team actively building our Seletar Country Club as a vibrant and ‘Number 1” club.

BL:

I agree with Wendy. Serving on the committee aside, whether we are here to gym, dine, golf or just relax with our families, all members share the same goal and vision of wanting to belong to a club with a high prestige level, high service quality standards and improved facilities for members’ enjoyment. This is my first time serving on the MC, and I am happy with the harmony and camaraderie within the MC team, who all share the same vision and objectives of wanting to continue the good work done by the previous management committees.

HT:

It is easy to see that all of us share a common goal. This is my first time serving in the MC too. I have spent much time at the Club, both golfing and socialising; and am very drawn to the Chairman’s vision of attending to the ‘soul’ of the Club now that the hardware is already in place. The good intentions of the MC when implementing new policies and rules may sometimes be missed in our day-to-day operations, which inadvertently has resulted in some mistrust towards the club leadership. One of our aims is to bridge this gap and set a path where we can openly engage and connect with members so that information of significance is effectively shared; where we can proactively reach out to members to build stronger relations and improve satisfaction levels. In a nutshell, our team wishes to be more member-centric, take a strong interest in the opinions and views of members, and strive to articulate the policies and rules of the club while providing the resources to listen to members.

CLUB NEWS

KC:

Yes, for a start I have restructured some of the sub-committees and created new ones so we can attend to immediate plans more finely. As you may have read, Captain has been hard at work reviewing the various golfing aspects and needs; and has rolled out portions of a larger broad-spectrum plan to enhance the overall golfing experience. Our team had several walkabouts in the Club and studied prospects of how we may better utilise the existing spaces and what other uses they may be better put to. We hope to introduce alternative dining experiences and, in this regard, have had many restauranteurs specialising in different cuisines express interest in setting up shop in our club. Wendy and her team will be planning many activities to revive the club’s vibrancy within the constraints of the COVID-19 environment, for both golfing and non-golfing members. We have also engaged professional service-trainers to train all our staff so that service standards can be raised significantly, and members can experience a premium standard of reception and service.

As we embark on a route to aggressively market Seletar to external establishments, improve service quality and revamp the Seletar image, we can expect many changes – some of which may be initially uncomfortable to adapt to. I have spent about ten years in the MC and in that time, have seen how inevitably every decision would be welcome by some members and resisted by others. It was always a balancing act with the MC trying to decide with a tilt in the favour of the majority.

But oftentimes, members may be unaware of this balancing act and the reasons why a decision was finally taken in a certain manner. We have to be mindful of how members may perceive these and to diligently take in members’ feedback. It is with this in mind that I have split the Marketing & Communications Sub-Committee and formed a standalone Marketing SubCommittee and a new Member Relations and Communications Sub-Committee.

The standalone Marketing Sub-Committee will be expected to focus on aggressively marketing Seletar whereas the Member Relations & Communications Sub-Committee will deal with the important task of keeping members informed of these developments.

In the months to come, I hope members will give us your support and bear with us where we should fall short. <SB>

Look out for more features from individual MC members on their sub-committee work in the coming issues of Seletar Buzz!

Like the Club, the Seletar Room too is poised for better days ahead

CLUB NEWS

KELVIN CHIA CHAIRMAN I am thankful to have a very good team with diverse backgrounds, with each being very experienced in their own areas of expertise. I have studied each of their portfolios very carefully and appointed them to head sub-committees where their expertise matches the requirements of the committee. Not only are they very capable people, but they are also committed and enthusiastic about the tasks ahead. FRANCIS LEE VICE-CHAIRMAN After reading up on the Vice-Chairman’s responsibilities as stated in the Club’s Constitution, Francis was inspired to serve in the MC to assist in leading the Club and championing social and environmental responsibilities. Tasked to helm the Disciplinary Sub-Committee, Francis aims to reduce the number of DC cases and instill a friendly and safe golfing environment for all through more awareness campaigns on the virtues of gracious, patience, and considerate golfing.

MAUREEN LEE HONORARY TREASURER

KK LEOW HONORARY SECRETARY Heading two sub-committees is no mean feat, but KK is game for it as he views it his contribution to ensure the posterity of a club he so loves; and it gives him a good overview of the Club’s challenges from both a member and staff standpoint. KK understands members’ frustrations and seek patience and understanding as the MC explore ways to address current gaps, including the manpower crunch faced by the Club.

CLUB NEWS

Besides crunching numbers, Maureen loves overseas golf holidays, mahjong and catching up on Netflx, friends and sports programmes on TV. Heading the Finance Sub-Committee covering aspects like investment and tender evaluation, Maureen hopes to enhance the value of the Club’s membership with new initiatives, identifying gaps in the Club’s financial situation and ensuring proper adherence to club rules and policies.

HO JUAN HENG CAPTAIN The main lead for the Club’s Members Portal booking system and weekly golf balloting process, Juan Heng has been serving the Club as Vice-Captain since 2016 and was part of the Golf Course Renovation Sub-Committee – offering continuity in the vision set for the golf course by the former management committee. Together with Chairman, he aims to reimagine and uplift the stature of Seletar Country Club to that as one of Singapore’s top courses, and potentially the top 100 in Asia.

BOBBY LIM F&B SUB-COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN “You only live once, so just do it and enjoy the ride (trek in this case!)” is Bobby Lim’s motto. Head of the F&B Sub-Committee with more than 30 years’ experience in the F&B industry, Bobby loves hiking and trekking. Little wonder as he seeks to elevate the Club’s dining experience with more variety and value, while addressing the issue of manpower shortage and increasing food plus materials cost. Bobby’s aim: to make the Club’s F&B outlets members’ preferred dining option.

HENRY TEH MEMBER RELATIONS & COMMUNICATIONS SUB-COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN Golf, hiking and the great outdoors move him; as well as reaching out to fellow members and ensuring a genuinely friendly, accepting and inclusive club culture amongst its members and the Club’s leaders. As Chairman of the new Member Relations and Communications SubCommittee, Henry has built his team to ensure maximum outreach to the different segments of the Club’s membership with representation amongst golfers, ladies, and social members. Henry says, “the increase in touch points will enable better communication and consequently improve our relationship with members”.

VICTOR YEW FACILITIES MANAGEMENT SUB-COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN With a strong team of committee members who are experts in their own building-related fields, Victor is happy to be chairing the Facilities Management Sub Committee for another term. Their focus remains on ensuring proactive management of the Club’s aging infrastructure while improving other areas to enhance members’ enjoyment of the Club. Areas the committee will be delving into further are the replacement of the lift at the main lobby, sports complex upgrading works, enhancement of our CCTV and carpark systems.

WENDY ANG SPORTS & SOCIAL SUB-COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN With more members being vaccinated and Singapore moving to an endemic stage, Wendy and her team are looking forward to reviving the Club with more activities and bringing back annual favourites like the year-end party, cycling, children camps and more, that meet prevailing safe management requirements. Wendy also looks forward to increasing the Club’s contribution and presence within the community with more charity events.

CLUB NEWS

Recently, l encoun tered an incident that happ ened at the starter’s hut when l was there for PM GP on 11th July 20 21.

Hi Liza, Thank you for being so patient and supportive with me as a new member. I walked in with a long list of golf booking questions, and you gave me very clear detailed explanations. Really appreciate your time and kindness. You are amazing! :)

While l was waiting patiently with my husband for our tur n before proceeding to the tee box after the Marshall had do ne his job to verify name s and to register the canister we had co llected, 2 buggies wi th 4 players drove down and claimed that they were ahead of our flight. The marshal Gopa lan, who was on du ty checked through his list again and again but found none of their names. The gu y kept telling the ma rshal approval was given but the marsh al did not accept th e reason. Their names were not in his list, and we were in the first flig ht to tee off, already standing next to him . He explained and sent them back, ap ologising to them "Sorry, Boss". The gr oup drove off after

trying hard to get him to allow them to proceed, but he sto od firm and did no t allow them to bypa ss our flight, which is the first flight on his list. I would like to credit him with his right attitude in dealing with such unforesee n situation. The way he handled the situation and his firmness in doing so deserves credit for his approach towa rds his duties. Do hope my acknow ledgement of his ac t will encourage staff in carrying out their du ties with the right attitu de and judgement to handle matters in an amicable manner. Thumb ups to him, the young Gopalan. - Polly Lee, memb

- Zhong Li, member

STAR AWARDS Congratulations to our Seletar Star Award recipients for the period of April to June 2021. They have gone the extra mile in serving both members and colleagues alike, and their hard work has been well recognised and rewarded. All the best and we look forward to their continued excellence in the future!

Hng Goid Mooi with GM

Gopal Pillai with GM

Tham Hock San with GM

Teo Poh Wan with GM

FRONT OF HOUSE Winner: HNG GOID MOOI (KTV Operator / Safe Distancing Ambassador) Runner-up: GOPAL PILLAI (Golf Assistant)

SUPPORT SERVICES Winner: THAM HOCK SAN (Technician) Runner-up: TEO POH WAN (Assistant Course Supervisor)

CLUB NEWS

MANDATORY FAST AND EASY TESTING

A total of 12 staff from Sports & Social, F&B, Housekeeping and HR attended the Supervisory Training in ART self swab online workshops.

FOR STAFF

In line with the government’s directives for frontline staff to undergo regular fast and easy testing (FET) for COVID-19 surveillance regardless of vaccination status, our staff have successfully completed several training and swab tests which started in July. These tests are conducted in-house and conducted every two weeks with strict safe distancing measures in place. Our HR Manager Sherina Lee shares “We definitely welcome the government’s measures as these are all aimed at keeping the Club and our staff safe. Our staff have been very cooperative with the fortnightly swab tests. So far, all our F&B and cleaning staff have tested negative. Now, with a pool of trained and experienced staff supervisors for the FET, we aim to be better prepared in meeting any changes on safe management. We are also expanding our capacities to conduct these tests in a private setting which will be more comfortable for our staff, especially as Singapore journeys on to the endemic stage and such testing will be part of our new norm”. Rostered Routine Testing (RRT) in session with safe distancing measures in place

Let us all work together to keep the Club an open and safe environment for all!

Welcome Ordinary Members Law Foong Lin, Michelle Shan Huayang Derrick Goh Kay Chiang James Low Kain Por Tay Ming Hui Phua Sin Liew Lian Kai Soon Yeo Sumi Lee Jun Yao Brandon Leow Geck Quee John Selvan s/o Jeyaperagasam Tan Jian Hao Lim Han Hoe Jeffrey Kwok Han Ping Ang Hock Keng, Henry

Our New Members!

Oh Yin Fong Shen Qiong Kwok Zhong Li Wei Hao Tang Kim Siong Lee Aik Chong Lee Aik Kong Aaron Koh Seng Wei Siong Wei-Jen Deyna Yee Pinh Jeremy Karen Chng Chai Pheng Kong Ngio Meng Kong Wei Siong Thomas Looi Kin Weng Clarence Looi KeYang Ethan Song Lye Hock Ma Ni

Social Members Tay Kian Boon Terence Tan Soon Yong Doris Ooi @ Doris Ooi-Peter Jeyaperagasam @ Anthony Jeya Foo Xue Ling Zoey

Lifestyle Members Kevin Paul Morrison Skok Christopher Andrew Ang Kah Yee Song Wei Wei Lim Hyun Hai

CLUB NEWS

SELETAR JUNIOR JUSTIN KUK

WINS HIS THIRD NRG AT CHANGI By Kuk Hun Yi, Seletar Country Club member

Seletar junior Justin Kuk displayed grit and determination in winning the latest Changi National Ranking Game (NRG) organised by SGA and held on 6 and 7 September 2021, against tough competition, challenging course conditions and inclement weather. The competition venue, Changi golf course, is renowned for its tight holes, small greens, and firm conditions. Playing on Changi with its short par 4s and long par 3s presents a different challenge of golf than on any other golf course in Singapore. The field for this Changi NRG was further tested by having to walk and play 36 holes on the first day. Against this backdrop, the +3.1 handicapper played commendably well by carding a 2 under 66 and led the field by 2 strokes after the first round. After a few holes, the second round was washed out by heavy rain and the NRG was shortened into a two-round event. In the third and final round, Justin was placed in the championship flight and was involved in a titanic struggle from hole 1 onwards with his nearest challengers, with the lead changing hands again and again over the course of the game. Justin displayed remarkable grit and fighting spirit to fight off the challenges of the other three players in the championship flight, all of whom had opportunities to win. After trading blows all the way up to the 17th hole, Justin was tied at 4-over with NSRCC’s Daryl Low. At the par 4 18th teebox, after Daryl had laid up on the fairway, Justin decided to take a calculated risk to use his driver to drive the par 4 green 290 meters away. When he finally chipped

to 3 feet and converted his birdie putt, Justin prevailed to finally win the tournament by 2 strokes. Other selected Seletar junior members results from Changi NRG: • Brayden Lee – 6th position with a cumulative score of +12 (148) • Ethan Lim – 14th position with a cumulative score of +21 (157) This Changi NRG represents the third NRG win for Seletar junior Justin Kuk this year, after having won consecutive NRGs at Seletar Golf and Country Club (in March) and Sentosa Golf Club (in June). After also having taken the Low Amateur title at the recently concluded Leg 7 of the FTAG Pro Series competing with Singapore’s top professional golfers, Justin feels positive that his game is trending in the right direction. Upon reflecting on his Changi NRG win, Justin said “I just want to thank SGA and Changi GC for organising and graciously hosting this event. It has been difficult to recover my form after a year of lockdowns and an injury in 2020. I’m really happy that different aspects of my game are improving, my NRG wins have definitely given me encouragement. My next challenge will be to get all the parts of my game to work well at the right times and also to continue to improve my mental toughness’’. Wishing all our Seletar juniors every success for their future playing careers. Onwards and upwards.

Seletar ju nior Just in Kuk win s Changi

Seletar’s Justin Kuk sending it down the narrowest fairway on hole 8, Changi GC

GOLF

NRG.

Photos credit: SGA

y t e f a S WHEN GOLFING

When golfing, one important aspect that must always stay top of mind while we take in the beauty of nature is SAFETY. When stepping onto the course, safety counts as the number one concern and should never be taken lightly. This issue, Seletar Buzz brings to you some illustrations, though not exhaustive, to remind members what to be mindful of, especially on some of our blind holes. Safety is our priority – let’s play safe to keep golf an enjoyable game for everyone.

HOLE 3 TEE BOX