SPH Golf Card Launched At Laguna Golf Bintan Reopening
With Laguna Golf Ambassador and six-time Major champion Sir Nick Faldo officiating
SPH Pacom, a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Press Holdings (”SPH”), launched its new golf card on November 3. Known as the SPH Golf Card, the card allows its members to utilize an online platform for scoring, golf course bookings, golf handicap maintenance, global golf insurance coverage and to enjoy benefits and discounts from diverse golfing and lifestyle program partners.
Murali Subramaniam, Deputy Editor of The New Paper, as well as Director of SPH Pacom on its partnership with Laguna Golf Bintan, “It was important for us to be able to find a ‘home club’ that was near enough to Singapore, and yet offer a unique experience for our members. With the newly renovated Laguna Golf Bintan Course, we have the best of both worlds – a beautiful, ocean-side golf challenge with the fine hospitality that comes with being a Banyan Tree property,” he said.
This key partnership with Laguna Golf under the Banyan Tree Group led to a joint launch of the SPH Golf Card together with the reopening of the Laguna Golf Bintan golf course in Bintan, Indonesia.
“Laguna Golf and Banyan Tree Group have a long standing relationship with SPH, most recently with our sponsorship of the Business Times Corporate Golf League. We are delighted to have the opportunity to become such an integral part of this innovative new Golf Card concept, and look forward to welcoming SPH Golf Card holders to our Laguna Golf destination with Banyan Tree and Angsana resorts in Bintan, Phuket and Lang Co (in Danang)”, said Paul Wilson, Assistant Vice President and Group Director of Golf at Laguna Golf.
Taking advantage of his Asia travelling schedule, to commemorate the partnership between Laguna Golf and SPH Golf Card, and to relaunch the Laguna Golf Bintan course, Laguna Golf Ambassador and sixtime Major champion, Sir Nick Faldo, was present to officiate the launch and to receive an honorary membership to the card.
The Laguna Golf Bintan course is an 18-hole, par 72 golf course playing to 6,890 yards off the back tees. Set within 60 hectares of a tropical paradise and originally designed by Greg Norman, the course first opened in June 1998. Redesigned with a soft opening in July 2016, the course places great emphasis on natural surroundings and wildlife. Golfers will get a sensorial golfing experience here amidst a tranquil atmosphere with sea views, greenery and age-old rock formations that exude a unique sense of peace and oneness with nature. The layout is still very relevant and challenging to play. Although it has been relaunched officially, we understand work is still ongoing to further enhance the course, which we are told will be complete by March 2017.
The SPH Golf Card will be an associate member of the Singapore Golf Association and will be available to the public by the end of the year. The card is priced, for a limited period, at SGD 150 per year.