Sep
29
Palm Course Hole 3
Just picked up golf? No handicap index? We know it can be frustrating not having anywhere to play. Especially if you are located in Singapore where beginners are often frowned upon at golf courses on weekends (if you are permitted to play in the first place). But you can’t really blame the golf courses or the seasoned golfers for breathing down your neck. The situation is a victim of demand and supply. As much as beginners don’t like to be rushed, golfers don’t like to wait at every hole and have their momentum disrupted.
So what options do beginners have? Try playing on weekdays. Most clubs in Singapore are tolerant if you have a decent swing and know basic golf etiquette. Of course, you can also pay the only public course in Singapore a lousy 10 bucks for a ‘30-day license’ to play (excluding green fees & buggy). And another 10 bucks to have the ‘privilege’ of making reservations.
There is a 3rd option if you don’t have a flexi work hours like me. Consider getting up early on weekends and head to the courses in Johor. Half the price, twice the fun. Palm Villa is one such club that welcomes beginners.
Talk to any golfer and most would trace their ‘virgin’ 18-hole round at the make-shift container hut in Palm Villa. I myself spent numerous weekends waking up at 4.30am when me and my buddy took up the game 10 years ago. Then, the drive there was an adventure by itself - elusive road-signs, huge pot holes and gigantic humps that the F1 cars would crash into.
Well, Palm Villa Golf Club has since gone a long way (and you don’t have to wake up at 4.30am nor do you need to have a 4-wheel drive). It now boasts a 27-hole course layout - Palm, Putra and IOI, with the latter being the more challenging nine. The make shift hut is now replaced by a contemporary clubhouse with good shower facilities. It is a friendly course with relatively flat terrain and reasonable distances for beginners - none of the par 3’s and par 5’s exceed 170m and 500m respectively. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t a mickey mouse course either. Water is in play on 3 holes in Palm course and 5 holes in IOI course. In particular, the Index 1 hole 5 on IOI course requires a precision drive down the middle of a narrow fairway and a gutsy iron shot to get across the canal. You will need to carry your drive at least 140m to clear the big pond on hole 7 at Palm course.
I met with their new Club Manager, Ivan Teo last week. Mr Teo concurred that the club is popular among Singaporeans as it welcomes golfers with varying standards. Because it is a public course, most golfers come with the expectation that the rounds may take longer to complete. So long as beginners observe basic golf etiquette, keep pace with the group in front and let better players overtake, the marshals rarely rush them.
Currently, the course does not take bookings but that could change soon. We are working out the details with the club to participate in our clickateeonline portal. By facilitating advance online bookings, not only would it allow better resource planning for the club, it would provide better customer service. There will not be a need for golfers to wait for an hour or two to get a tee-time or drive all the way there only to know the course is closed. And those who used our portal would know - we don’t collect a dime from you for online bookings - our service is FREE! We even help you maintain your scores and track your performance in cool charts. FREE.
Now, you no longer have to fuss over not having a place to tee-off. It’s funny how my best golf memory in the past decade isn’t teeing off at Pebble beach in Monterey or Kapalua in Hawaii. It is standing at the tee-box of Hole 1, Palm course at dawn, watching how the sun slowly brightens the day and unveils the tranquility of the surroundings. No buildings, no traffic, no construction noise. Just me, my buddy … and a whole bunch of crap about how I hadn’t slept well the night before and why I should get that extra stroke from him. Priceless.
Enjoy your game. Everyone can golf.
David
Sep
19
Golf made easy, for Japanese in Singapore
Filed Under News | Leave a Comment
Our online golf portal (www.clickateeonline.com) is featured in today’s issue of Shin Nichi Ho, a popular Japanese newspaper in Singapore.
Their editorial team did a fantastic job to showcase our services including the real-time golf booking engine, “Courses” that show detailed hole-by-hole description and professionally taken photographs for Legends Golf & Country Resort, Keppel Club, Ria Bintan Golf Club and Lam Luk Ka Country Club. Also, they featured our statistical tool “MyStats” that allows golfers to track their performance in interactive charts.
Most of all, the article brings greater awareness to the Japanese expatriate community that golf in Singapore is not restricted to members only. And for guests who are uncomfortable conversing with the golf receptionists in English, booking online makes it a whole lot easier.
We owe a big favor to Yoichi-san from Shin Nichi Ho who helped publish our story. Domo arigato, Yoichi-san.
David
Sep
18
Spot a ‘buaya’ (or in US, ’sandbagger’)? Apply ESC!
Filed Under Decoding the USGA Handicap System | Leave a Comment
How many times have you played with a seemingly decent bloke who beats you 16 holes straight, blew the remaining two and claimed he merely played to his handicap? A buaya or sandbagger in action. (buaya = crocodile in Malay language)
Well, this next piece of information from the USGA Handicap System might come in handy:
Under the USGA Handicap System,
“All scores for handicap purposes, including tournament scores, are subject to the application of Equitable Stroke Control (”ESC”). This mandatory procedure reduces high hole scores for handicap purposes in order to make handicap more representative of a player’s potential ability.”
ESC sets a maximum number that a player can post on any hole depending on the player’s Course Handicap* as follows:
Course Handicap Maximum score
9 or less Double bogey
10 through 19 7
20 through 29 8
30 through 39 9
40 or more 10
*A Course Handicap is determined by applying the player’s Handicap Index to a Course Handicap Table or you can calculate it by multiplying your Handicap Index by the Slope Rating of the course played and divide it by 113, round up to nearest whole number)
Example
A player with a Handicap Index of 10.4 has a Course Index of 13 at a course with a slope rating of 140. The maximum score he can post on any hole during the round is 7.
The next time you meet the seemingly decent bloke, show your ‘generosity’ by telling him to write down a 7 instead of 10 on his scorecard for the par-5 hole 17. =)
Better still, the next time your buddy does a ‘Phil M’, be gracious enough to tell him about ESC and make his day.
David
(reference: USGA Handicap System 2008-2011)
Sep
8
Got a call from Expat Living the other day, telling us they will be featuring our website in the Sep issue of the magazine. How cool is that!
On behalf of the team at clickateeonline - Thank you, thank you, thank you to Nora, Expat Living.
Aug
25
2-ball booking is now available
Filed Under News | Leave a Comment
Can't form a full flight? Just wanna go hit the fairways with your golf buddy, partner or kiddo on a quiet morning?
Well, we hear you. Two-ball online golf booking is now available on weekdays at Keppel Club, Sembawang Country Club, Legends Golf & Country Resort, Starhill Golf & Country Club and Lam Luk Ka Country Club. It is also available on weekends at Ria Bintan Golf Club and the three Gassan golf clubs in Chiangmai. Simply visit our portal at www.clickateeonline.com
You can also make two-ball booking at both Serapong and Tanjong courses in Sentosa Golf Club on weekdays (access via www.clickateeonline.com/sentosa)
Thank you for all your feedback.
Aug
9
Extract from Business Times - 09 Aug 2008
New interactive system lets you do this real-time for courses in and around Singapore, reports JUSTINE MOSS
WEBSITES dedicated to the golfing world have been around since the dawn of the Internet Age, and products and services aimed at the e-savvy golfer range from online retailers flogging the latest hi-tech equipment and apparel to golf tournament staging, and those offering golf vacations and sought-after tee times at exclusive courses. There’s a huge market out there for busy golfers who want access to this and more via the click of a mouse.
One slice of the Internet golfing pie involves booking tee times at a number of well-known public and exclusive golf courses around the world. While detractors may argue that it is easier to pick up the phone, online booking allows golfers to book out of hours - plus there’s usually valuable information on these sites showing availability, pricing, course and weather conditions.
The newest system on the block is Clickateeonline.com, an interactive, real-time online golf reservation system which went live three weeks ago. The idea for developing this portal stemmed from founder David Goh’s own experience with limited access to golf courses. ‘Most of us started out driving to Malaysia to play golf simply because most of the local golf clubs are off-limits if you are not a member,’ he says. ‘But when you visit these local golf clubs, you find that the courses are not full every day. If the clubs can allow some access to visitors, they’ll be able to get an added revenue stream and use it to improve the club facilities and services for its members.’
Mr Goh adds: ‘The way for the game of golf to continue to grow in Singapore is to increase the utilisation of golf courses. We can’t afford to build more public courses amid the scarcity of land. Yet, none have been able to do so without infringing on the privileges of club members. Through the latest web technology, we have found a way for members and non-members to co-exist.’
What differentiates this portal from other websites in Asia is its real-time facility, according to Mr Goh. He says that other golf websites in Asia involve filling out an online form, emailing it off and then waiting for a confirmed booking. ‘Why would I bother to do that? I may as well pick up the phone and get immediate confirmation,’ he says.
‘With Clickateeonline, everything is real-time and your booking is confirmed straightaway. An email is sent giving you confirmation details and an ID.’ He adds: ‘Some of the US websites have been planned in a very linear fashion. When we planned this we wanted something very easy for golfers.’
There are currently 13 courses in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand available on the website and these include Keppel Club, Sembawang and Jurong Country Clubs, Legends and Starhill in Johor and Lam Luk Ka Country Club in Bangkok. Mr Goh is hoping to grow this to 80 by the end of the year.
‘We’ve created a target list,’ he says. ‘In Indonesia you’re really just talking about Bintan and Batam, and we’re not going into Jakarta or Surabaya yet. We’ll probably go as far south as Perth and probably go into China as well.’
Regions outside Asia might also be an option in the future, says Mr Goh. ‘This is borderless - it’s a matter of time, resources and response. The US is probably a bit saturated but we think we still have a better product as to what’s out there, and with the right funding we might even expand there.’
Using this golf reservations system is free and it’s relatively simple to navigate. You don’t have to be a member or register to use the website, and once you make a booking, you receive an email with confirmation of your booking plus a login ID and password.
After deciding on when and where you want to play, you click on that timeslot which reveals the number of flights available and how many golfers can play at that time. The price and what it includes is shown in local currency, and might typically include playing 18 holes, buggy, lunch and caddy. Most of the courses have a cancellation policy of about three days, and Clickateeonline will send golfers a reminder about their booking.
Other features of the portal include a quick overview of golf courses, a detailed course description with hole-by-hole photos and tips on how to play. ‘My Game’ allows golfers to view, edit or cancel their online bookings. There’s also ‘My Score’ - a personal score repository that let golfers submit their hole-by-hole scores online - and ‘My Stats’, an interactive chart that plots golfers’ performance over time, with callouts of specific scorecards and score breakdowns.
An additional feature for the future is a community-style add-on, which Mr Goh says he may call ‘the tee-room’, where golfers can upload a picture of themselves and post something on the notice board saying they’re playing a particular course on a certain day and time to see whether other golfers would like to join them.
Loftec has already started working on Phase 2, which promises many more nifty features for golfers. Adds Mr Goh: ‘We want to build an entire golf ‘ecosystem’ around Clickateeonline.com.’
Aug
7
Welcome Jurong Country Club, Starhill Golf & Country Club & Ria Bintan Golf Club
Filed Under Golf Courses | Leave a Comment
Golfers in Singapore will now be pampered for choices. Jurong Country Club, Starhill Golf & Country Club and Ria Bintan Golf Club are the latest golf clubs to offer real-time online golf reservations through our portal.
Jurong Country Club is one of the few golf clubs here that offer night golfing. With their $3 million floodlight system with 720 lights strategically deployed throughout the entire course that renders a natural carpet of light, you can partake in one of life’s finest indulgences in cool, tropical evenings!
The course plays to a par 72 and is split into two distinct halves, with the clubhouse sitting snugly in the middle. The front nine, designed by British architect Frank Pennick, sprawls over heavily wooded hills and valleys with one major water hazard. The back nine, by contrast, is a green-carpeted plain. You can swing into widened fairways moulded with Zoysia grass running into the Jurong Lake that provides a velvet-smooth playing surface, and the incomparable Bermuda grass on the greens.
Starhill Golf & Country Club is only a short drive from across the Causeway. Favored particularly by Japanese golfers, the club boasts a 36-hole championship course complemented by a sumptuous spread of Japanese cuisine.
As it is one of the earliest Golf Clubs to be developed in Johor, the trees lining the sides of the fairways are now taller and maturing making the fairways tighter. The colonial styled clubhouse perched atop a hill commands a spectacular view of the surroundings.
This next course needs no introduction. Voted the best golf course in Indonesia and Asia’s 5th best golf course by Asian Golf Monthly last year, Ria Bintan Golf Club is a world-class golfing destination that keeps golfers captivated with its 27-hole championship course designed by Gary Player.
And the best part is - it takes you less than an hour to escape the hustle and bustle of the concrete jungle to find your golfing paradise in Singapore’s neighbouring island of Bintan.
We offer real-time access to tee-times at Ria Bintan Golf Club through www.clickateeonline.com. By booking the ferry separately by yourself (www.brf.com.sg), you will stand to enjoy savings of up to $5 per golfer over even the lowest daytripper package price offered by the club. Why not, since you are saving the club the effort of making ferry arrangements. You will still enjoy express check-in and immigration clearance, golf bag handling service and complimentary roundtrip transfers between Bintan Ferry Terminal and Ria Bintan Golf Club. So what are you waiting for?
Aug
6
MEDIA RELEASE
SINGAPORE – 6 August 2008 – Loftec Private Limited, a Singapore start-up, announced today its launch of clickeateeonline.com – a FREE, open access golf reservations system that allows users to book tee-off times instantly at 13 courses in the region, including Keppel Club, Sembawang Country Club, Jurong Country Club and Ria Bintan. The list of courses is expected to grow to 80 by end of the year.
Inspiration for such a portal came from the founder, David Goh’s own experience with limited access to golf courses. “Most of us started out driving to Malaysia to play golf simply because most of the local golf clubs are off-limits if you are not a member. But when you visit these local golf clubs, you find that the courses are not full every day. If the clubs can allow some access to visitors, they will be able to get an added revenue stream and use it to improve the club facilities and services for its members.”
David elaborates, “Like airlines, golf courses have a perishable product - why let it go to waste. They can segment their product like the airlines’ First, Business and Economy class - everyone can have access to the basic product of flying from point A to B on the same plane, but enjoy different levels of priority, comfort and exclusivity.” The comparison with the airline industry is no coincidence as David spent 10 years with Singapore Airlines management before taking the leap of faith for entrepreneurship.
“The way for the game of golf to continue to grow in Singapore is to increase the utilization of golf courses. We can’t afford to build more public courses amid the scarcity of land. Yet, none have been able to do so without infringing on the privileges of club members. Through the latest web technology, we have found a way for members and non-members to co-exist.”
Until now, the process of reserving a round of golf in Singapore and the region can also be frustrating. Making phone calls (and for tourists, long-distance calls) to multiple clubs to find available slots and various pricing deals can be time consuming. This will all change with clickateeonline.com. The site adopts a unique Web 2.0 look and feel that displays course information, prices and availability - all in one single page without the user having to click the mouse. It also allows users to update golf scores and track their personal golf statistics online for FREE.
Loftec has already started working on Phase 2 which promises many more nifty features for the golfers. “We want to build an entire golf ‘ecosystem’ around clickateeonline.com”.
Key features currently include:
• Real-time golf availability and price display for 13 courses
• Immediate confirmation of golf reservations
• Quick overview of golf courses
• Detailed Course description, including hole-by-hole photos and tips on how to play
• My Game that allows golfers to edit or cancel their online bookings
• My Score – a personal score repository that let golfers submit their hole-by-hole scores online
• My Stats – an interactive chart that plots the golfers performance over time, with callouts of specific scorecards and score breakdown
MEDIA CONTACT
Peter Ng
Mobile: (65) 96858484
Email: media@loftec.biz
David Goh
Fax: (65) 63141878
Mobile: (65) 98521204
Email: david_goh@loftec.biz
Jul
24
Dear friends,
Come visit our new golf reservations portal - www.clickateeonline.com
You will get real-time access to not just one, but 13 golf courses around the region (yes, the number keeps increasing, we couldn’t keep track). We are constantly adding more golf courses in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
For most of you who are familiar with the earlier version of our online golf booking engine, you will know that all our tee-times are based on real-time availability and immediate confirmation. No more phonecalls, fax or emails.
And it is not just about seeing all courses’ availability at one glance. We also added a couple of cool stuff. Now, you can get a quick overview of the courses on the main page itself. To see more details, click on Courses. You will get to see interactive hole-by-hole photos and tips on how to play each hole.
Other exciting features include My Score - a personal score repository that let you submit your scores online. Once done, you can use our interactive charts at My Stats that help you track your performance over time, with callouts of specific scorecards and score breakdown.
And the best part of all these new features - they are FREE!
Visit us and tell us what you think, ok? Tell your friends about our website if you like it.
Wanna golf?
- Brought to you by the team behind www.clickateeonline.com
Jun
6
www.clickateeonline.com/sembawang
We are pleased to announce the launch of Sembawang country club’s real-time, online golf booking facility for visitors. With her origin dating as far back as 1968, you can expect to be greeted by the natural landscaping comprising of mature Raintrees and a variety of palms at Sembawang country club. Despite its popularity, the green fees are relatively affordable, with Monday* specials priced at an attractive S$65, including buggy fees. So see you at the “Commando Course”, which is what it is affectionately named by the regular golfers. Book early to avoid being disappointed.
* closed for maintenance on alternate week