Tanah Merah Country Club has always placed Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a major priority when it comes to initiatives to promote community projects.
Therefore, when the Club’s Deputy Chairman Ashok Kumar proposed that a CSR initiative to introduce golf to young students at its neighbourhood, the enlightened General Committee (GC) and Club Management welcomed the move with full enthusiasm.
After all, the Club is home to a cadre of top-level golf instructors, many of whom have proudly represented the nation over the past decade.
The GC and Club Management believe that golf can be a powerful force for fostering community bonding, strengthening relationships, and positively impacting the growth and development of the younger generation.
Against a backdrop of a reduction in the number of golf courses, TMCC is well positioned to make golf a serious activity with its two renowned courses — the Tampines Course and the Garden Course.
And to help build the next generation of golfers, TMCC, with the blessings of the Ministry of Education, collaborated with Angsana Primary School, located at Tampines Street, as its beneficiary.
This served a three-fold benefit: in nurturing talent, contributing to the community and aligning with the Singapore Sports Vision 2030 of supporting talent development in sports.
The initiative was first discussed during the GC meeting earlier this year as part of the Club’s Grow Golf initiative.
The plan was to engage local schools in close proximity to the club, particularly in the eastern area of Singapore, by offering golf as an activity, providing access to practice facilities to support their students’ golfing development.
TMCC reached out to several schools in the east and eventually partnered with Angsana Primary School in its CSR focus of making golf more accessible, positively impacting the local community, and adding value to TMCC membership.
The programme was launched on Oct 17 and comprised eight holistic sessions on weekdays, each session lasting two hours.
The focus areas were Driving Range, Putting and Short Game (Chipping) with emphasis placed on fundamental movement and sport-specific skills, providing juniors with the opportunity to acquire valuable life skills and values through golf in a safe and challenging environment
Eighty pupils, aged 11 and 12, were trained by resident instructors Goh Kun Yang, Daren Lim and Marc Ong, and a few external coaches.
As part of the Club’s long-term commitment to nurturing young golfers, the Club invested in junior golf equipment to support the programme, and presented each participant with a TMCC golf shirt and cap to commemorate their learning journey.
TMCC has, since its official opening in 1984, established itself as one of the premier championship courses in Singapore and the region.
The Club has hosted numerous world-class tournaments, including the Johnnie Walker Classic, HSBC Women’s Champions and the World Amateur Team Championships, while advancing sustainability through solar panel installation initiative and nurturing young talent through its Junior Golf Programme.
Guided by its commitment to excellence, TMCC continues to advance the game of golf in Singapore and across the region through its close partnership with the Singapore Golf Association.