OFTEN WHEN SWEEPING your way through Asia, ticking off destination after destination, you find yourself somewhere with a weekend to unwind between flights. On my most recent trip, Singapore happened to be that weekend spot. Certainly Singapore has much to offer, but the city-state also boasts one of the best and most highly rated public golf courses in Asia. Not only is the course well-run and in good shape, but also it lies just 10 minutes from practically every hotel in town. If you frequent any of the high-rises such as the Marina Bay Sands Hotel (not associated with the course), you can clearly see the course, developed from reclaimed land, as it stretches to the harbor, with the waiting cargo ships beyond. Wolfgang Puck’s Spago, where I celebrated my game afterward, offers a nice view.

South African Phil Jacobs, who designed the world-famous Fancourt Links, the home of golf legend Ernie Els, put his talent as a links designer to the test at Marina Bay. The par-72 course measures nearly 7,200 yards, with one of the few par-6 holes in Asia and the only one in Singapore. Jacobs also placed 87 pot bunkers constructed with geotextile-layered faces. Avoid these bunkers at all costs — often the only exit is sideways.

The pro shop can fit travelers with clubs, shoes and anything required for a round. Marina Bay also includes a four-tier driving range, one of the largest in Asia. If you can’t find the time for a day game, the course offers night golf Wednesday through Friday. The friendly staff is willing to help and makes your day comfortable. Shower facilities assure you can get ready for your evening after a round.

I teed up with Sei from Australia, who was moving for a job with Cisco; and two commodities traders, Faruk from Connecticut and Al from the U.K., both working in Singapore for extended periods.

HOLE 1 | 384 YARDS, PAR 4
What a daunting view: 18 pot bunkers set up like land mines for your tee shot. Phil Jacobs must want to play with your mental control right from the start. The fairway is split between the first and 10th holes, so half the bunkers belong to each. Sei warned me to avoid the bunkers, and I landed just at the top of one near a giant clump of ornamental grass. Sei did not heed his own advice, landing in a deep bunker. We both took safe shots to get back in play — me dancing among the grasses to get my footing and Sei swinging like a madman to lift his ball high and out of the trap. Both Al and Faruk seemed amused until Al dumped his second shot squarely into the water in front of the green. My shot landed on the back for a long and tricky putt for bogey.

Sei in one of the pot bunkers on the first hole © FRANCIS X. GALLAGHER

HOLE 4 | 716 YARDS, PAR 6
There is no question: One of the novelties of the course is its par 6. It usually requires four shots, but we had a surprise birdie in the group. The hole is set as an ever-so-slight dogleg right, with the green tucked in and protected by a grouping of trees and a pond on its right. I took a straight drive, favoring the right but avoiding the sprinkling of geotextile-faced pot bunkers — I counted five on that side. Unfortunately, Sei landed in one and had a difficult shot out, hitting the face, which reacts like concrete when struck. From here I laid on a 3-wood, again favoring the right and landing on a precarious slope of the pond about 120 yards from the green. Al and Faruk struggled on the left side, but Faruk’s wild shot from the left clipped a tree leaf and landed on the green in three. “Saved by the tree!” I proclaimed. My awkward shot to the green dribbled in front, followed by a chip on and one putt for par. Faruk made his putt for birdie to the cheers of all.

HOLE 8 | 497 YARDS, PAR 4
A difficult hole to par: You need two long and accurate shots on this hole, dubbed “the most difficult on the front nine.” The opening to the fairway appears a little narrow, so I took all the given room on the left and carved a drive, nearly clipping one of the massive night golf lamp posts. I landed free of harm near the left fairway bunker. Al and Faruk slammed two lovely straight drives, while poor Sei hit yet another fairway bunker on the right. He got a lot of sand practice. A lone bunker right in front of the green caught Al’s fairway approach. I carded a double bogey, a disappointment on the No. 1-handicapped hole.

HOLE 13 | 131 YARDS, PAR 3
This par 3 features a lovely island green. Faruk, having lived a few years in Houston, had his trusty “chipper” in his bag. A chipper, which might be deemed an illegal club, has about the same loft as an 8-iron but is heavily weighted. Average golfers find chippers a little easier to use versus a wedge. Faruk said this club always goes straight, and with a swing he squarely landed on the back of the green. I had never seen a chipper used in a full swing, and I asked to give it a try, ending with a similar result — except my ball rolled to the back of the green and into the water behind. Al took a nice, easy 9-iron to the green and putted in for a birdie, while Faruk carded a par and I a bogey.

HOLE 18 | 574 YARDS, PAR 5
Having lost the boys on the final hole due to a little storm, leaving a significant clearing between the forward groups, I drove three different drives to practice my skills and repeated this for my fairway wood shot. The first fairway smack took a slightly left trajectory over two fairway sand traps. The second was just the opposite, right but clear of the right bunker, and the third was my best hit of the day, down the center. As a purist, I played the first ball, about 100 yards from the center of the green. A sand wedge placed the ball about a foot to the cup for a shocking (the previous group were still packing their carts) but satisfying finale at Marina Bay Golf Course.

Marina Bay Golf Course

80 Rhu Cross
Singapore 437437
tel 65 6345 7788
mbgc.com.sg