Singapore Island Country Club
Bukit Course ****
Singapore’s thirst for the new means that throwbacks are somewhat thin on the ground. The Bukit Course, however, is a charming echo of the days when plummy-voiced British colonial types wielded influence and gin and tonics and man-eating Malayan tigers roamed the still extant jungle.
Befitting of its old time feel, the Bukit retains a bucolic and rarefied atmosphere that is not available at some of the island’s more modern layouts. Laid out beside the sprawling MacRitchie Reservoir it boasts more than 3,000 fully-grown trees of at least ten varieties and its beauty has been lauded by figures such as Nick Faldo.
That’s not to say that its beauty makes it some kind of a pussycat however. The course, which was ready for play as early as 1924, had already hosted several Singapore Opens by the time designer Frank Pennink gave it extra teeth in the late 1960s and it continues to host professional tournaments to this day.
Pennink’s upgrade has stood the test of time admirably. The back nine here is particularly strong. The 12th is a treacherous long par-3 with out of bounds all down the left exacerbating the issue of a tiny bunker-guarded green. Another highlight is the rollercoaster 16th where an undulating fairway doles out good and bad fortune in equal measures.
Par: 72 Yardage: 6,645
Green fee: S$150-270
Architect: Unkown (1924),
Frank Pennink (1968)
Contact: www.sicc.org.sg
