[SINGAPORE] Six out of Singapore’s 16 golf courses will be closed by 2035, freeing up huge tracts of land for other uses once their leases expire.
Leases for the six sites, including courses at two of Singapore’s most prestigious golf clubs Tanah Merah Country Club (TMCC) and Singapore Island Country Club (SICC), will expire by 2035 with no renewals “as there are future plans for the land in question”, said the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) in a press statement on Monday (Jul 7).
Apart from TMCC’s Garden course near Changi and SICC’s Bukit course in Sime Road, three other private clubs will be giving up land: Keppel Club (Sime), Warren Golf & Country Club in Choa Chu Kang and Orchid Country Club in Woodlands.
GRAPHIC: MINLAW
The tenancy for Mandai Executive Golf Course – Singapore’s one remaining public golf course, which was previously extended for two years – will also expire without further extension on Dec 31, 2026.
The changes are part of the government’s long-term approach towards land use planning, MinLaw said. “This includes ensuring sufficient land to meet critical national needs, such as housing, economic activities, security and essential infrastructure. Land use plans are continuously reviewed taking into consideration our evolving needs and priorities.”
It added: “The government will balance the access to golfing facilities by private golf club members and the general public so that there can be golf courses catering to different segments of the golfing community.”
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Singapore’s top golf clubs have long been the preserve of the wealthy, with memberships trading for up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
According to information as at April 2025 from club membership specialist Lee Lee Langdale, membership fees for Singapore’s oldest golf club SICC range from S$50,000 for a local individual to S$155,555 for a foreign corporate membership. TMCC membership starts at S$40,000 for individual to S$80,000 for foreign corporate, while transfer fees for Sentosa Golf Club start at S$80,000 and go up to S$320,000 for a foreign corporate membership.
The Warren Golf & Country Club and Orchid Country Club sites have already been earmarked for housing in the Draft Master Plan 2025. Their leases will both expire in 2030.
These rezonings add to land released with the 2022 move of Keppel Club from its original Telok Blangah address to its current Sime Road site, and the closure of Marina Bay Golf Course in 2024.
Land occupied by Keppel Club (Sime) and SICC (Bukit), which are side by side, will now be turned into an 18-hole public golf course following their lease expiry on Dec 31, 2030. Currently, only private clubs have 18-hole golf courses.
A part of the combined courses could be run by the labour movement for its members – a potential replacement for Orchid Country Club, which is owned by the National Trades Union Congress Club.
“This aim is to provide continued access to public golfing facilities for the general public and labour movement members,” said MinLaw.
In the north, Mandai Executive Golf Course will be redeveloped into an outdoor education site under the Ministry of Education, once its lease expires on Dec 31, 2026. The centre will potentially allow students to participate in water activities and accommodate larger-scale camps by uniformed groups, the ministry previously announced in February 2024.
Singapore has 16 golf courses as at July 2025, including the public course in Mandai and one hybrid public-private course (Keppel).
For now, only two – National Service Resort & Country Club in Kranji and Sentosa Golf Club (Serapong) – will have their leases renewed and extended for another 10 years to Dec 31, 2040.
Of the 16 golf courses, the lease of one will expire in 2026, six in 2030, one in 2035 and seven in 2040. Plans for the clubs after 2040 are “under review”, according to planning specifications.
Another golf course, Sembawang Country Club, has a licence agreement with the Ministry of Defence.
At the National Service Resort & Country Club, a centre of excellence will be set up in partnership with the Singapore Golf Association (SGA). This will be the second such centre on the island to develop young golfers.
Slots will be reserved weekly for the SGA to facilitate national and youth team training. It will complement the association’s existing weekly trainings in other clubs, said MinLaw.
The last update in 2014 saw the lease renewal of seven golf clubs. They are Changi Golf Club, National Service Resort & Country Club (Changi), Orchid Country Club, Seletar Country Club, Sentosa Golf Club, SICC and TMCC.
