With their wood-and-attap home a par-four distance away from the sixth hole of the Singapore Island Country Club's (SICC) Old Course, it is only natural that the Poh family took to golf as a pastime.
It was in the 60s and 70s that the family of six brothers and one sister turned this hobby into a passion after having sneaked in past 6.45pm on many occasions to play a couple of rounds before failing light.
It was a daily routine until one day in 1963 when Singapore was under a curfew that the older brothers Eng Huat, Eng Soon, Eng Teck and Eng Toon quietly played 18 holes with borrowed and improvised clubs and thoroughly enjoyed the session.
Brother No. 3 Eng Teck was only in Primary 6 then, yet, while lying down in bed one day, he had the foresight and vision to plan for a future in golf for the family.
All four Pohs were leading amateur players, and Eng Teck decided to make something out of their golfing prowess by encouraging younger siblings Eing Chong, Eng Wah and sister Serene to also focus on the game.
Eng Teck turned pro in 1974 even while indulging in a household appliance business. And when he found that his siblings were making little headway in their non-golfing careers, he decided to form a company that was strictly doing golf. So when Poh Brothers Golf Management was formed in 1995, the company managed by Eng Teck, and all the Pohs - who became qualified instructors - were involved in the business in one way or the other.
Today, the Pohs are a household name in Singapore golf and Eing Chong, Eng Wah and Serene went on to represent Singapore in international tournaments, the former two also wearing Singapore colours in the World Cup.
With almost 30 years of experience in running driving ranges, from Seletar Country Club Driving Range (1979 to 2000), Seletar Base Golf Club (1995 to 2000), Queens Golf Range (2001 to 2009), Tering Bay Golf and Country Club in Batam (2004 to 2009), Punggol Golf Range (2011 to 2013), Toa Payoh Golf Range (2008 to 2018) and currently Mandai Executive Golf Course, the Pohs know the trade like the back of their palms.
From next Thursday, they will run the Punggol Golf Range at Punggol East and manage the 80-bay (two-storey) driving range, a golf academy, a pro shop and a cafe. And as have always been their vision and mission, the company will provide a range of facilities and coaching expertise to their clients.
Eng Teck, 68, said: "We want to contribute and serve the communities and golf industry, provide a one-hub solution for golfers via lessons, facilitating golf handicaps and proficiency certificates, organise tournaments for the juniors and support active ageing among the senior community.
"We have a long-term partnership with the Singapore Golf Association and offer our services to them, especially in junior golf every Wednesday.
"We also work with Team Nila from the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth by creating opportunities for people of different backgrounds to come together and give back to the community. We have almost 25 coaches whose expertise the clients can tap.
"Our junior tournaments are very popular and we ensure that every participant goes home with a trophy, be they gold, silver or bronze."
It has been a long haul for the Pohs since 50 years ago when they lived in poverty with their patriarch just a maintenance worker with SICC. Of course, with Eng Teck's drive and determination, the Pohs have come a long way with their involvement in golf.
That is why they want to give back to the game that had provided careers - and a sense of togetherness with family and friends - for all seven Pohs.
