SICC'S ISLAND COURSE REVAMP TICKS ALL BOXES

Century-old natural terrain is turned into an exciting golf course that pleases and teases

- Godfrey Robert

Thave a special affinity for The Singapore Island Country Club's (SICC) Island course for it was among the few layouts on which I had my first lessons in golf reporting.

Asa rookie reporter in1970, I was asked to accompany my then senior, the erstwhile Ernest Frida (national athlete and sportswriter), to pick up tips on covering golf events.

So armed with a notebook filled with golfing terms, I watched star golfers such as SICC teaching professionals Alan Murray and Chang Chung Fa swing away for18 holes at the hilly Island course.

I was captivated by the beauty of the relatively short course, one so very familiar with former Putra Cup champion Phua Thin Kiay, who once lived a wedge-distance from the par-four 13th hole.

Phua, 78, who has since retired, said: “The Island is a fascinating course, short but tricky, stuffed with slopes that tested one’s stamina. I shot my best-ever score of seven-under 65 on this rugged course.”

As Phua reminisced about the course, I wondered about how the Scottish architect Peter Robertson had turned this natural terrain of rough vegetation in a catchment area amid a tranquil setting into a challenging course that was both pleasing and intimidating.