A view over the fence from former barrack buildings belonging to the British forces in Singapore to the greens of Changi Golf Club, which has a history dating back to 1949 when it opened by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as the RAF Changi Golf Club. The area in which it is in is one that is very much connected with the British Military. Barracks were set up to house army units from the late 1920s into the 1930s and were turned over to the Royal RAF following the war – the British had only realised the potential of operating an air base at Changi only after inheriting a Japanese built airfield (constructed with POW labour during the occupation). The cost of building the course, some £1,500, came from grant from the Commander-in-Cheif’s fund. To open the 9-hole course on 2 March 1949, a round of golf was played by the club’s Patron, Air Marshal Hugh, and its President, Vice Air-Marshal A. C. Sanderson. The officers were also the Commander-in-Chief (Air Command) Far-East and the Air Officer Commanding, Malaya, respectively.
The golf club is one of several in Singapore with leases set to expire within the next ten years and facing the possibility of not having their leases extended. This was made public as part of the Land Use Plan released to support the rather unpopular Population White Paper. Planners are said to be in the process of identifying land currently occupied by golf clubs for re-use in anticipation of the increases seen in the island’s future population.
Map of the Changi area in 1942, showing the location of British army barracks before the airfield was constructed.
Media reports early last year mention a total of 18 golf clubs in Singapore. These are said to take up more than 1,500 ha. of land or just a little over 2 per cent of Singapore’s total land area, making the nation as being one, based on a report in The New Paper in a 3 Feb 2013, with one of highest concentration of golf courses in Asia. There are many who do wish to see a reduction in the availability of land for such exclusive forms of use in an overcrowded Singapore and it is good to see that is some consideration that is being given to this.
The Long and Winding Road 
Leave a Reply