Singapore's golf industry in the rough

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SINGAPORE -- With the economy caught in the rough, golf club memberships in Singapore are plummeting but industry players say the game is still swinging.

High joining fees, often upwards of $54,000, in the city-state are sending many golfers to neighboring Malaysia and Indonesia where they can tee off for a third of the costs.

A surplus of fairways in Asia is driving clubs to woo golfers any way they can.

Many local clubs have been forced to chip 20 percent off their fees amid job jitters and competition among Asia's 1,300 plus golf clubs.

Golfing in the Lion City, the mainstay of Asia's affluent classes and business elite, mainly takes part in Singapore's 13 private clubs. There are only four public courses in a space scarce city.

Club membership prices have rocketed in the past, but not now.

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The benchmark Singapore Business Times Golf Index, which tracks the open market price for club memberships, has fallen to its lowest point since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.

People who shelled out for prestigious memberships are now holding paper worth pennies on the dollar and are dumping an expensive sport.

"Club membership prices are very similar to shares, everything is based on demand and supply," Margaret Wee, marketing manager for club membership broker AAZ Regional Marketing, told Reuters news service.

"After the World Trade Center [attacks], the markets have gone very quiet. People have become very cautious."

Mirroring Japan

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Singapore has the enviable reputation of ranking as one of the world's highest in terms of acreage in golf courses per citizen, a veritable haven for its 25,000 private club members.

The city-state's experience is mirroring Japan, where scarce space and a golfing boom drove memberships to sky-high levels almost 20 years ago and saw an exodus in players elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific.

Today, in the neighboring Malaysian city of Johor Bahru, several courses are experiencing crowded greens, cheaper memberships and a slew of Singaporeans jostling for tee-off spots.

Industry watchers say there may be as many as 50,000 Singaporean golfers that do not own a local golf club membership, preferring to head abroad to play.

Demand for equipment has also fallen into a sand-trap. Some retailers have seen a 30-40 percent fall in sales in the last six months.

"Golf is considered a luxury good so it is badly affected. People are tightening their belts," Pan West's country manager Andrew Loh told Reuters.

Another golf retailer says high-end products are still selling but low-end items are being hard hit.

Long term investment

Although times are tough for the industry, the green is still a popular place for Asia's workers.

Optimists point out that Asia is the only place where the number of golfers is on the increase.

The Singapore industry is placing its bets on avid golfers and growing numbers of enthusiasts to keep business in swing.

Some adult golfers are pulling their children into the game and some schools have begun adding it to the curriculum.

Many see it as a long-term investment and a long-term hobby rather than one dictated by short-term economic winds.