KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Golf and Country Club (SGCC) has been forced to cancel all golfing tournaments at its club, at least for the first few months of this year, after a fire razed its buggy house here this week.
President Andrew Yap said this was because all 63 buggies were destroyed in the blaze that took place at SGCC in Jalan Kolam, Bukit Padang, early Friday (June 2).
When contacted on Saturday (June 3), he said all they had left now were a couple of old buggies that were meant for maintenance work by staff members.
"I’m not sure how many tournaments we have planned as I have yet to be updated by the club captain but yes, all upcoming tourneys have been canceled for now," said Yap, who was only elected as SGCC president some two weeks ago.
As of now, he was unable to give a time frame when the SGCC would be fully operational, although he said golfers could still play at their courses.
"But they will have to walk. However, no tournaments can be held," he said, adding that fortunately, the administration office was in a different building.
On Friday, firefighters found that almost 80% of a two-storey building used to store the buggies had been destroyed when they reached the scene shortly after receiving a distress call at 12.28am.
Lintas Fire and Rescue station chief Agustavia Joe Guasi said they managed to get the fire under control at 1.15am before extinguishing it at 2.30am.
"We are still investigating the cause of the fire and assessing the actual losses," she said.
Yap said the losses could be somewhere between RM5mil and RM6mil.
"With us unable to hold golf tournaments, it would hit us further," he said, adding they will leave it to the authorities to complete their investigations.
He said the fire department told them that the report could be ready in two or three weeks.
Towards this end, he said they have called in for quotations for new golf carts.
"According to the latest market price, one buggy now costs over RM30,000 and the delivery will take some four to five months.
"Hopefully we can get the buggies in before the end of the year," Yap said.
According to its website, the SGCC is the oldest 18-hole golf club in Sabah, having first opened its fairways to golfers in 1976.
The club is located in the busy Bukit Padang area, which is a heavily populated spot near the city area.
