F&B UPDATE
Our new caterer has now been in place for three weeks. They started on Saturday, 1 August – the busiest day of the week – with only 12 days to organise and mobilise a team of more than 30 staff in an unfamiliar kitchen, as the award was only made on 20 July. It was, to put it mildly, an extremely challenging and stressful start. The first two weeks were essentially about survival, but with the Managing Director very present and hands-on – including taking orders and serving – the response to feedback and the pace of improvement have been rapid. Food quality has improved markedly even though consistency remains a work in progress, along with ordertaking and service levels. There is still much work to be done, but the direction of travel is encouraging and the improvements are already noticeable.
On the events and catering side, feedback from multiple Members indicates that standards are already back to where they were with the previous operator, despite a heavy load of catering events from day one. This has been made possible by the operator’s external central kitchen, which supports large-scale catering. Given the extremely tight transition period, this is a credit to the operator and, in particular, to the team on the ground.
The selection of the new operator was from working down the previous tender list against the following criteria: (a) ability to mobilise by 1 August; (b) a reasonable, limited menu to start, expanding to a full menu by the second or third month; (c) sufficient front-of-house and kitchen personnel; (d) prices no higher than the previous operator’s; (e) portions no smaller than the previous operator’s; (f) a beverage offering as extensive as before, with zero corkage; and (g) a one-year term, after which the Club may go for tender again. The overwhelming consideration was to minimise the disruption to Members. On this basis, the winning caterer, MBFE, was ranked third (out of nine) on the tender list – the only bidder ranked higher was unable to mobilise in time.
Kudos to our F&B Convenor Ally Azwin and his F&B Subcommittee for their tireless work in getting this transition effected, with the F&B operations now fast stabilising. We also thank Members for their understanding and patience during this period. Transitions of this nature are never seamless, particularly when undertaken at such short notice, so your patience Members can enjoy the new dining experience by the Club’s new operator at the Main Lounge and constructive feedback have been greatly appreciated. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and work with the operator to get the service experience where we want it to be.
SPORTS FACILITIES UPDATE
The Kids’ Pool and the Contrast Therapy facility (infrared sauna and cold plunge pool) opened in August. On the tennis front, Grass Courts 1 & 2, the new Turf Court 7 and practice courts are scheduled to open for play in October, with Grass Courts 3 & 4 to follow in November. Construction of the pickleball and padel courts will commence in December 2026 after the completion of the exterior shell and structural works of the Sports Annex Building.
The 50-metre pool is now expected to open between October and November. During construction, the contractor – having passed an audit at the 20 percent mark – was found to have used a different unauthorised grouting material for the remaining portion of the 50-metre pool without approval; this was discovered before the chemical wash and filling stages. The affected grouting will have to be stripped and replaced with the properly specified material at the contractor’s cost, resulting in a one-month delay. Quality and safety must come first.
The Sports Annex building continues to progress, with the firstfloor concrete casting complete and work now underway on the casting for the second floor and thereafter the roof, scheduled for completion in October. Once these are done, interior works can commence, along with the commencement of works on the dedicated pickleball and padel courts that many of us are really looking forward to. The resurfacing of the covered tennis courts with a dedicated tennis court surface will also commence once the pickleball and padel courts are up and will take a month.
GOLF
The 49th edition of the RSGC Ladies Amateur Open, or as most of us call it, the LAO – a three-day, 54- hole World Amateur Golf Ranking event – was held in the first week of August. The field was strong with representation from national players from around the ASEAN region, non-ranked amateurs from as far away as the United States as well as representation from RSGC. The eventual champion of the Tuanku Bahiyah Trophy was Namo Luangnitikul of Thailand, who scored 72, 70 and 73 for a total of four-under-par. The tournament was superbly organised, led by our Golf Convenor Omar Salim, and his Subcommittee, together with Interim Lady Golf Captain Stella Chau. It was particularly pleasing to see our many volunteers and referees working seamlessly and so wholeheartedly behind the scenes to deliver such a high-quality event. My thanks to everyone in RSGC who contributed – often without much recognition, but always with great commitment.
GREENS
The golf course was presented in excellent condition for the LAO, with green speeds of 11, 11.5 and 11.6 over the three days – speeds not seen at RSGC for many years, since the Maybank Championship, a European and Asian tour sanctioned event.
The course continues to progress, with the rough and fairways manicured, the lakes cleaned, flora and fauna now abundant in the smaller lakes, and presentation and playability much enhanced. We are on track to reach 70 to 80 percent of the standard achieved during the Maybank Championship (targeting 60 percent for the greens via patching as achieving a higher standard would otherwise require closure), with the Club Championships next year as the timeline for reaching that level. This progress is particularly encouraging as it is being achieved within our existing maintenance budget. Kudos to our Head Greenkeeper and team, as well as to our Vice Captain and Greens Convenor and the Greens Subcommittee.
A small reminder that makes a big difference: please help our greenkeeping team by ensuring your caddy repairs your divots and ball marks, as keeping the course in good condition is very much a shared responsibility.
GOLF COURSE UPGRADING & RENOVATION
The list of architects has been increased to five, with RFP submissions due on 11 September – a slight extension was granted as one architect was unable to tour RSGC in August, having recently served as the course architect for a golf major. All other architects have since toured the Club, and some have also played the course; one architect has, however, since withdrawn. In September, the PSC will conduct interviews with the remaining architects after the RFPs are submitted, while working with the Tender Board, with the aim of finalising the architect selection by the end of the month.
Some of the design ideas put forward have been deeply impressive, addressing our key requirements and more. It’s still early days, and we don’t want to get ahead of the process before an architect is appointed, but a few themes are emerging that Members can look forward to:
- A clubhouse with a far more commanding view over both golf courses, and more importantly, with several tees and greens reimagined to bring more of the play closer to home.
- Addressing the impermanence of Lot 1026 at minimal cost, freeing up land for better use and providing intelligent, low-cost solutions to some long-standing site constraints while delivering much greater functionality.
- Expanded water features that enhance the course’s beauty while also improving drainage, water retention capacity and flood resilience.
- Bolder, more memorable holes in a couple of stretches of the golf course, including a possible island or peninsula green and a run of holes that will ask players to carry water onto the fairway and green — all achievable without materially adding to the cost as there is full intention to do sand-capping and drainage across the fairway and rough for all 36 holes in any event.
- Larger greens with more pin placements than today, which will not only lift the aesthetics but also spread wear more evenly across the greens instead of concentrating traffic around just a few pin positions. The architect also noted that larger greens do not imply easier scoring.
- More prominent, aesthetically attractive and strategically placed bunkers, with maintenance and budget friendly designs that allow ainwater from the fairways and greens to drain away from the bunkers, even where it may visually appear otherwise. Separate entry and exit points for machines to groom the sand will also improve turnaround time and playability, reduce wear and tear, and help manage ongoing maintenance costs.
- A significantly upgraded practice facility, with a dedicated warm-up area for players heading out to a round, a world class short game practice area and separately, a purpose-built 300 yard driving range.
We’re genuinely excited about where this is heading, and look forward to sharing more with Members once the architect is appointed and the plans take firmer shape.
See you around the Club!
Your Captain
Lee Kok Kwan
