AS most local golf club continue to battle their way back to a semblance of normality in the wake of the pandemic restrictions been lifted, weekday bookings are not chock-a-block as they initially were.
Notwithstanding this, several of the golf clubs TeeUp spoke to about bouncing back from the lockdowns and conditions of their courses, said they were quietly confident things would get better and that they looked forward to a strengthening of their improving fortunes in the New Year.
“I think before we get carried way we must remain wary of the threat posed by a new wave brought on by the recently reported Omicron variant and others which might appear in the future,” said a veteran administrator, who chose to speak on condition of anonymity.
“But having said that, and in the hope that things do not regress again with another wave, the golf industry in general appears to be heading in the right direction, and that means on the road to recovery.
“Trying to determine to what extent the recovery process will be depends on the individual clubs as they all have their own projections and strategies in place, which they will work towards.
“But generally speaking, it is a lot better now than it was just a few months ago when the lockdowns brought everything to a standstill and everybody was struggling without knowing when things would get better.”
These views were mirrored somewhat in an earlier TeeUp interview with Sime Darby Property Group managing director Datuk Azmir Merican.
He said that “regular maintenance with limited manpower capacity were still ongoing during the lockdowns” and that ensured both courses at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club were “well-kept for when the club reopened”.
He added that they were also “pleased with the easing of restrictions” that allowed for the resumption of planning and organising tournaments again.
Azmir also pointed out that in a way, the pandemic “gave our environment the rare opportunity to thrive without any human interference” and that “constant stress on the greens was significantly reduced, allowing more maintenance care to be carried out”.
Saujana Golf & Country Club general manager S.A. Nathan said their courses too benefitted in similar ways.
“Of course, there was a case of lost revenue because of the absence of golfers from the course and at the food and beverage outlets. But it did allow us to carry out maintenance work without interruption and that certainly was something that the fairways and greens, and general maintenance, benefitted a great deal from.”
Looking ahead, Nathan said they too hoped there would be no setback in terms of a lockdown and that 2022 would see continued progress being made in the recovery from the effects of the pandemic.
A six-handicapper who played the Saujana’s Plam course the other day spoke highly of the greens.
“The greens are really good,” he said. “And it is nice to see that the club keeps the course in top-class shape – ever since the last Maybank Championship.
“I have no qualms playing this course,” he added.
Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Golf & Country Club general manager James Thevarasu said they were nearing the completion of upgrading works on some of their greens.
“This was stared sometime ago and while it went through the lockdowns with reduced capacity, we are hoping to get it all in place and completed in the early New Year,” said Thevarasu.
A member of Kelab Golf Titiwangsa PDRM, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he does not have the authority to speak on behalf of the club, said they were “generally happy” with the condition of the course.
He, however, lamented the challenges it faces when it rains.
“Heavy rain is not a friend of this course, but other than that, it’s not too bad, and we enjoy playing here,” he added.
A visit to Glenmarie was also met with positive vibes.
“There has been a lot of work done here to keep these two courses in good shape,” a member told TeeUp after a round in the morning.
Adding to this, club manager Nor Afendi Mohd Razlan said most the work was regular maintenance, with only some of it deemed upgrades.
“Our courses are kept in shape through regular maintenance programmes that we follow,” said Afendi.
“And we have seen an upturn in business since the relaxing of the pandemic restrictions. We hope things will get even better as time goes by.
“If there are no downturns in the New Year, then hopefully 2022 will be one that we can go through with some confidence,” he added.
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