TMCC’s facilities supervisor is a responsible employee who is prepared to soil his hands
About 50 metres away, a maintenance worker was earnestly clearing the ground for a temporary green for the eighteenth hole of the Tampines course.
Sitting with me at the Tampines clubhouse was an excited Alex, who shifted and turned incessantly to watch the worker.
It was in the midst of an interview, and the hardworking Alex Chong felt that he had to observe the worker.
After all, as facilities supervisor at Tanah Merah Country Club, Alex was just showing his commitment to his job which is all-encompassing and varied. His duties include minor repairs to all facilities, ensuring that the restrooms are up-to-date and the air-conditioning at all outlets are in good working order.
That means, his is not a sedentary job, but one that sees him moving about and making clear observances.
That was why his focus during the interview occasionally strayed from Q and A to noticing what is happening everywhere, from the clubhouse to the course and roofs and beyond.
The 45-year-old father of two teenagers (a boy and a girl) who hails from Sabah, has his family in Johor but resides here (at Bedok) and makes weekly or fortnightly visits to JB to see his parents as a responsible worker.
He is in his second stint at TMCC, having joined the club in 2004, worked elsewhere for three years and then returned to the prestigious club in 2013 because it is like a “second home” to him.
The ever-smiling Alex is in charge of a small team, and he leads from the front and inspires his colleagues.
He also looks after the aeration of the ground, the landscaping at the waterfall and the restoration areas, so he is not shy to get his hands dirty.
Tall, strong and muscular, the bespectacled Alex also enjoys golf as a 22-handicapper, but although he is allowed to play once a week on maintenance days, he does not use the privilege often because of his tight family and working schedule.
He has never played in any other course but the two courses at TMCC, Garden and Tampines, and finds them “spectacular”.
Alex makes use of the company transport to and from home every day, and Alex considers this a good offering by the club.
“The club treats me well. I make a lot of friends. And on days when the club stages major golf events, I get to see some top-class golfers from around the world,” says Alex.
He works around the philosophy “that once you get yourself to enjoy your work, half the battle is won.”
“And you perform better,” says Alex, the model worker.