Often when traveling across Asia, you end up with a weekend to relax between flights. On my recent trip, Singapore became that weekend stop. The city-state offers plenty to see and do, and it also hosts one of Asia’s most highly regarded public golf courses. Conveniently located about ten minutes from most hotels, Marina Bay Golf Course is well managed and kept in excellent condition. From many high-rise hotels, including views from the Marina Bay Sands area, you can see the course spread across reclaimed land toward the harbor, with ships waiting beyond. Nearby dining, such as Wolfgang Puck’s Spago where I celebrated after my round, provides a pleasant conclusion to a day on the links.
Designed by South African Phil Jacobs, the architect behind the famous Fancourt Links, Marina Bay showcases his links-style sensibility adapted to an urban waterfront site. The par-72 layout stretches nearly 7,200 yards and includes one of Asia’s few par-6 holes—the only par-6 in Singapore. Jacobs placed 87 pot bunkers with geotextile-lined faces throughout the course; these bunkers are notoriously tricky and can force awkward sideways exits, so avoiding them is essential.
The pro shop is well stocked for travelers, offering club rentals, shoes and other necessities for a round. Marina Bay also features a four-tier driving range—one of the largest in Asia—and offers night golf Wednesday through Friday for those with tight schedules. The staff are friendly and helpful, and shower facilities make it easy to freshen up before an evening out.
I played with a diverse group: Sei from Australia, who was relocating for a job with Cisco, and two commodities traders—Faruk from Connecticut and Al from the U.K.—both working in Singapore for extended periods.
HOLE 1 | 384 YARDS, PAR 4
The first tee reveals an intimidating sight: 18 pot bunkers arranged like land mines across the opening fairway. Jacobs clearly intended to test your nerves right away. The fairway is shared with the 10th hole, so many bunkers serve both sides. Sei warned me to steer clear, and I managed to come to rest near a large clump of ornamental grass at the top edge of a bunker. Sei wasn’t so lucky and found himself down in a deep pot bunker. We both played conservatively to get back into play—me balancing among the grasses to steady my stance while Sei heaved a high, aggressive shot out. Al and Faruk watched and laughed until Al’s second shot splashed into the water short of the green. My ball finished on the back of the green, leaving a long, tricky putt and a bogey.
Sei in one of the pot bunkers on the first hole © FRANCIS X. GALLAGHER
HOLE 4 | 716 YARDS, PAR 6
A standout feature of Marina Bay is the par-6 fourth, which typically requires four good shots but rewards one of the rare birdies in our group. The hole bends slightly to the right and the green is tucked behind trees with a pond guarding its right side. I hit a straight drive, favoring the right to avoid the scattering of geotextile-lined pot bunkers—there were about five on that side. Sei found one and had a challenging extraction; the bunker faces react almost like concrete when struck. From there I hit a long 3-wood toward the right and ended up on a slope near the pond about 120 yards out. Al and Faruk struggled from the left, but Faruk’s unconventional shot clipped a tree and miraculously landed on the green in three. I managed to chip and two-putt for par while Faruk drained his birdie to loud cheers.
HOLE 8 | 497 YARDS, PAR 4
Considered the toughest on the front nine, the eighth demands two long, precise shots. The fairway opening looks narrow, so I played it left and carved a drive that nearly clipped a massive night-golf lamp post but landed safely near the left fairway bunker. Al and Faruk produced solid straight drives while Sei again found a right-side fairway bunker and accumulated plenty of sand practice. A single bunker guarding the front of the green caught Al’s approach. I carded a double bogey here—a disappointing result on the course’s No. 1 handicap hole.
HOLE 13 | 131 YARDS, PAR 3
This short par-3 features a picturesque island green. Faruk, who lived in Houston for a while, brought along a “chipper”—a heavily weighted club with roughly the loft of an 8-iron that many amateurs find easier to use around the green. Faruk claimed the club always flies straight and, with one confident swing, landed cleanly on the back of the green. Curious, I tried the chipper on a full swing and achieved a similar flight, though my ball rolled off the green and into the water behind. Al used a tidy 9-iron to find the green and tapped in for birdie, Faruk made par, and I settled for a bogey.
HOLE 18 | 574 YARDS, PAR 5
A late-day storm had separated our group from the players ahead, giving me a clear stretch of hole to practice my shots. I teed off three times to test different lines, then did the same with my fairway wood. My first fairway shot drifted slightly left over two sand traps, the second went right but avoided the bunker, and the third was the best—straight down the center. As a purist I played the first ball from about 100 yards out and hit a confident sand wedge that put the ball a foot from the cup. The previous group was still packing their carts, so my small but satisfying birdie felt like a perfect ending to the day at Marina Bay Golf Course.
Marina Bay Golf Course
80 Rhu Cross
Singapore 437437
tel 65 6345 7788
mbgc.com.sg