SINGAPORE - Former golf professional John Pang shares his birthday with the Singapore Golf Association (SGA), both 60 this year.

And as the SGA celebrates its diamond jubilee, it is paying homage to the players who have given their best in 60 years in the search for honours for the country.

Pang is one of them, having represented Singapore at the SEA Games in 1989, Eisenhower Trophy in 1990 and the Putra Cup in 1991. The affable Pang, who picked up the game at the age of 12, was a professional for 27 years before he quit the sport to start a food and beverage business.

He recalls his experiences with this plaudit to the SGA: "It is a well-run organisation that goes out of the way to promote and popularise the game.

"During my time with the national team, the SGA was very professional in every way."

The SGA was registered as an association on Oct 5, 1961, during a period when the game was played mainly by the colonial masters, top civil servants and leaders of the business community.

J.W. Stogdon, then president of the Royal Singapore Golf Club, C.Y. Koh and Joseph Quah jointly mooted the SGA idea not only to give golf a legitimacy but also to widen the pool of players.

Gradually, caddies became amateur players, even professionals. The ordinary men living beside golf courses like the Singapore Island Country Club (SICC) also took up the game. And the SGA's original objective "to encourage and promote the game" was gaining momentum.

Members of the SGA then were the Royal Singapore Golf Club and the Island Club (which later merged to form SICC), Keppel Club, Changi Golf Club and former military clubs Tengah and Seletar. The association held its first annual meeting on May 11, 1962, with Stogdon installed as its first president.

More clubs emerged over a 20-year period, including Sentosa Golf Club, Jurong, Tanah Merah, Laguna National, Sembawang and Warren. Then emerged Raffles, National Service Resort & Country Club and Orchid. In the 1980s, golf enjoyed a boon with almost 80,000 people playing the game.

The SGA grew from a small association of golf clubs to a recognisable size comprising 11 ordinary members, seven associate members and four affiliate members.

Its constitution was amended in 2001 to enable golf clubs without real estate to join as associate members. This allowed the general public to obtain and maintain a golf handicap without having to be members of a club.

In 2010, the constitution was again amended to accept affiliate members which are any body, society, organisation or commercial entity committed to furthering the interest of the sport of golf to join SGA.

But the current SGA committee, under the leadership of businessman Ross Tan, faces a major challenge in the light of the closure of clubs and uncertainties over lease renewals, leaving them to focus on a smaller playing population, down by about 20 per cent from the high of 80,000.

Tan said: "My task coming on board as president since 2016, was to continue with the good governance and ground work laid out by my predecessor Bob Tan and his team. We emphasised on areas that needed rejuvenation and the SGA team has indeed served the golfing fraternity well in the last five years.

"As we embark on the next 60 years, faced with new and different challenges, SGA will adopt and adapt itself to approach those challenges with vigour and commitment. Always keeping in mind that we must promote, serve and grow golf in all aspects."

The profiles of the competitive golfers these days have changed dramatically, from caddie-turned-golfers to players with educational qualifications.

And with sponsorships, scholarships and opportunities to seek collegiate and university places in the United States, today's competitive golfer is so much more equipped for high-level golf.

The SGA has been leveraging this trend, and has been securing successes at the SEA Games, Putra Cup and regional tournaments. More importantly, junior golf development is buzzing and with the help of the NTUC, the game has been brought to the masses.

So things are certainly looking up as SGA focuses on being dynamic, engaging and relevant as it begins its countdown to the next 60 years.