The Resort

Hotels:

Choose from four hotels: Costa Sands Resort air-conditioned chalets with prices from S $40 a night is a budget option for families; the five-star 459 room Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa offers stunning luxury suites by Siloso Beach; historic Sijori Resort has 64 rooms housed in an original pre-war building; and the Sentosa Resort is 5-star luxury on top off a cliff overlooking the South China Sea, with 214 suites and 27 acres of tropical woodlands and the Spa Botanica.

Food:

There are lots of restaurants in each hotel including sunset dining at Sharkey's seafood restaurant or a yummy buffet at Silver Shell Café or Terrace Café. For drinks and snacks, choose from seven cool beach bars like Bora Bora Beach Bar spinning French and Latin jazz tunes, or ten cafes and fast food joints including Burger King. There are fifteen restaurants in the resort, three of which offer local cuisine including Sentosa Tavern Muslim Café serving Malay cuisine. At the golf club itself there are four eateries: gourmet food combining Chinese classics with New World invention at The Peacock restaurant; respected Japanese cuisine at Nogawa Restaurant; or drinks and snacks all day at the Deli and Golfers Terrace.

Facilities and activities:

Spa Botanica at Sentosa Resort is home to Singapore's first mud pools, flotation pools, mediation labyrinth and Turkish-styled steam baths, and the modern Health Club and Spa is a extreme luxury chic facility set to revolutionize spas in Singapore with its whirlpool and steam and Thai Pavilion garden with a fish pond and waterfall.

70 percent of this 500-hectare island is rainforest which is home to monitor lizards, peacocks, parrots, and monkeys which children will enjoy watching at beach shows. The forest provides an excellent terrain for walks or relaxing in serene gardens. Admire 3,000 species of insects at Butterfly Park and Insect Kingdom, or indoors there are 2,500 fishes in Underwater World. You can even experience manmade Mother Nature at Volcano World - Asia's largest manmade volcano.

Kids will also love Magical Sentosa, a Disney-style half hour state-of-the-art multimedia show at the Musical Fountain where children will meet dancing octopus, jellyfish and the beautiful Princess pearl. Or entice them into the game at Sijori Wondergolf - three eighteen hole miniature courses. Older kids will go crazy for the luge gravity ride - part Go-Kart, part tobagon, or swing on The Flying Trapeze.

Adults wanting cultural stimulation will enjoy visiting the 17th century Fort Siloso. A two mile stretch of white sand beach at Sentosa allows for plenty of beach fun like volley ball or swimming with dolphins. Observe it all at Carlsberg Sky Tower, 131 meters above sea level this is Singapore's tallest observatory and offer spectacular views of Sentosa Island and across to Singapore.

The Serapong Course

Architect:
Originally constructed in 1974, the course was upgraded and re-designed in 2001 by Ronald Fream.

Type:
Tropical / Parkland

Landscape:
Serapong was voted "Most Scenic Golf Course" at the annual WHERE Concierge Choice Awards 2000; its dramatic backdrop of Singapore Harbour certainly lives up to its reputation. Located on the site of a former mangrove swamp, military fortifications can still be seen on this exotic course, along with two manmade giant lakes, large bunkers and Fream's trademark mounds and contours.

Course facts:

- Sentosa Golf Club was opened in 1974 by Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and the club is Singapore's most established with politicians and celebrities among its 1,500 members, forming a 'Who's Who' of Singapore society.
- It is home to the Singapore Open - Asia's biggest National Golf Tournament. The tournament attracts many international players as well as Asia's top golfing talent including Gary Player, Nick Faldo, and Thongchai Jaidee. Celebrities to have teed off here include Sylvester Stallone.
- Sentosa is known as one of the toughest courses in Asia.

Playing the Serapong Course

Steady approach play and good putting will get you past the first three holes, but it is on the monstrous par four fourth hole, ranked index one, where the problems begin. With water running down the right, narrowing to as little as 12 meters between two bunkers, laying up will leave a long and difficult shot to a sloping green guarded by a deep bunker in the front-right. The signature hole is the par five, 13th. With the South China Sea in the background, a mighty blow to the left of the grove will set you up for a crack at the green in two, or you could go for the safer route. The final drive on the 18th will make you nervous, especially with the fairway angling towards the lake.

Score Card - Facts

Address:
27 Bukit Manis Road, Sentosa, Singapore 099892

Website:
www.sentosa.com.sg (island resort)
www.sentosagolf.com (golf club)

Telephone:
(65) 6275 0022 (golf reception)

Courses and lengths:
Two 18-hole championship courses:
Tanjong Course - 18 Holes, Par 72 - 5,964 meters (white tee), 5,294 meters (red tee)
Serapong Course - 18 Holes, Par 72 - 6,028 meters (white tee), 5,372 meters (red tee)

On the course dress code:
Golf shoes, polo or turtle neck tops with pants or tailored shorts.

Tee times:
The Tanjong Course is closed on Mondays and the Serapong Course is closed on Tuesdays.
Morning: 7.15am to 9.10am
Afternoon: 12.30pm to 2.25pm

Handicap:
The maximum (USGA) handicap recognised by the Club is 24 for men and 36 for ladies

Green fees:
Visitors pay S $200 on weekdays and S $280 for weekends or public holidays. Prices are exclusive of tax.

Golf club facilities:
The Peacock is the Sentosa Golf Club's main dining hall and Nogowa - a new Japanese restaurant recently opened by Singapore's most respected Japanese Chef Yoshio Nogawa, there is no lack of food choices after a game of golf. Sentosa island itself is one of Singapore's most visited attractions, with its pristine beaches, sea sports, secondary rainforests and a historic military fort.

Location:
From ECP, exit at Keppel Road and head up Telok Blangah Road. Keep a look out for signs pointing the way to Sentosa Island. Golfers who wish to proceed to the Sentosa Golf Club by car can purchase the $2 car entry permit (cash payment only) at the gantry booth located at the Sentosa Causeway Entrance. Taxis enter Sentosa island without the entry charge.

More information

Adventure Golf: Singapore
Bazaar: shopping guide to Singapore