Sentosa Golf Club, one of the new host courses for next year’s LIV Golf League, will not come cheap for those who want to join as membership fees have reportedly doubled in just three years to an eye-watering $618,000 for expatriates.
The 36-hole facility in Singapore has hosted the SMBC Singapore Open and the HSBC Women’s World Championship and is a well-known venue to many, but it is by no means accessible to many after a hike in ex-pat membership fees.
Permanent residents and Singapore citizens do get almost a half-price deal, but it's still been a big rise for them up to $368,000.
The figures come from the South China Morning Post who cite brokerage Singolf Services Pte with revealing the spiralling costs of joining LIV Golf’s newest host course.
The rebranded LIV Golf League will hit the course overlooking the Singapore Strait in April 2023 with the likes of Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Cameron Smith joining Greg Norman’s Saudi-backed outfit out there.
“People like Sentosa because it has this name. It’s for the rich and famous,” Lee Lee Langdale, owner of Singolf Services, is quoted as saying in the South China Morning Post. “But they run the club very well. Many mainland Chinese also live near Sentosa.”
The city state of Singapore continues to flourish despite the worldwide economic crisis, and that’s perfectly exemplified in the increasing prices for prestigious golf memberships.
It’s not just Sentosa, but nearby private clubs such as Singapore Island County Club, Tanah Merah Country Club and Laguna National are seeing membership price rises as they become a more desirable asset for wealthy ex-pats in Singapore.
Even the global pandemic did not slow down the rush for memberships, which are seen as investments by some in the area, but it hardly makes for a good scenario for those not so well off to try and take up the sport.
And it may not tie in with some of the LIV Golf rhetoric about getting more people involved in the game, being a force for good and making sure golf is a sport that can be enjoyed by everyone – when they’re playing at yet another exclusive, expensive private club.
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