After a year of renovations, the new home of the HSBC Women's Champions was unveiled yesterday with the completion of Sentosa Golf Club's (SGC) New Tanjong Course.
The par-72, 6,479m course will progressively open for play from Nov 26 with a full opening scheduled for next February, well in time for the US$1.5 million (S$2.1 million) HSBC tournament scheduled for March.
Redeveloped at a cost of $32 million, the New Tanjong will feature panoramic views, a 20m-high waterfall and large sandbelt bunkers rarely seen in Asia, plus the new Zorro Zoysia grass - noted for its dark green colour and robust root system to handle tropical weather - on its fairways.
Environmental sustainability was also emphasised in the rebuild. This included re-using more than 300 trees from the old course and installing six reservoirs-cum-water features to ensure self-sufficiency in irrigation.
Among the stand-out holes are the 158m, par-three 4th where from an elevated tee box, players enjoy views of the Southern Islands and the iconic Marina Bay skyline in the distance. The uphill 385m, par-four 9th is another worth noting, thanks to a massive fairway bunker and will offer most golfers a stern test.
Besides the world-class HSBC event, the New Tanjong will host the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship from Oct 4-7, 2018, considered one of the most prestigious amateur tournaments in the world.
SGC is also home to the award-winning Serapong, 58th in Golf Digest's rankings and the highest-ranked among courses in South-east Asia.
The completion of New Tanjong was part of SGC's vision of becoming internationally renowned, said its president Low Teo Ping.
"With the New Tanjong Course, SGC now returns to offering two high-quality courses... Each offers a distinct golfing experience with differentiated features such as bunker sizes, and golfers will have a 'happy dilemma' in choosing which one to play on."
Yesterday, about 100 SGC members and their guests played a round at the New Tanjong to mark SGC's charity fundraising drive. They pledged $50,000 for the beneficiaries of Assisi Hospice & ARC Children's Charity.
