Final Tee-Off At Marina Bay Golf Course: The Sunset That Promises A New Dawn

NTUC Club continues to make the sport accessible and affordable for all through partnerships and its estate-less golf club, My Golf Kaki, amid plans for a new, integrated golf development.

SINGAPORE, June 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- This Sunday on June 30, Marina Bay Golf Course (MBGC) – Singapore's first and only 18-hole public golf course owned and managed by NTUC Club – will shutter as its land lease expires. Since its inception in 2006, MBGC has had an illustrious 18-year history, welcoming members of the public to experience its world-class facilities. It made its mark by earning numerous accolades including Best Public Golf Course in Asia Pacific and ranking among the Best Top 3 Best Golf Course in Singapore.

Fun fact: In the past 18 years, the well-loved MBGC has seen more than 1.3 million people on the greens and dispensed over 419 million driving range golf balls.

Despite the closure of MGBC, NTUC Club will continue to make the sport accessible and affordable through its estate-less golf club My Golf Kaki (MGK). This has been done by providing more slots to MGK members during weekdays as well as increasing the number of days night-golf is available at the Orchid Country Club (OCC). Together with the recent expansion of MGK's portfolio of local and overseas courses including in Indonesia and Malaysia, MGK members can not only enjoy an easier planning and booking process, but have a wider variety of golf courses to choose from as well. 

Mr Lim Eng Lee, NTUC Club's Chief Executive Officer, said: "Despite the closure of MBGC, we hope to continue to make golf an affordable and accessible sport. In anticipation of MBGC's closure, we have stepped up efforts since last year to promote the affordable MGK membership to golfers. We are encouraged by the response with the community growing from 7,000, to over 9,000 members in the last 12 months. I am pleased that NTUC Club has been working closely with the SGA in our shared vision that golf can be an inclusive sport to be enjoyed by all."

Mr Tan Chong Huat, President of the Singapore Golf Association (SGA), remarked: "The closure of the hugely popular Marina Bay Golf Course will significantly impact Singapore's golfing community without access to a private golf club. We acknowledge the impact of land scarcity on the entry barrier and accessibility to playing golf in Singapore. As the national custodian of the sport, SGA will continue to play its leadership role in developing a robust golf ecosystem that strives to promote and develop the game of golf for all Singaporeans from all walks of life."

He added that SGA will uphold its commitment to making golf an inclusive sport that contributes to the physical and mental well-being of Singaporeans. It remains dedicated to this mission and looks forward to working with stakeholders, including NTUC Club, to achieve pragmatic and beneficial outcomes aligned with urban growth needs and the development of golf in Singapore.

Similarly, NTUC Club is deeply committed to grow Singapore's golfing community, and has been in discussion with the authorities for potential sites that can be developed under the Labour Movement (LM). NTUC Club plans for future LM golf courses to be inclusive with a new, integrated golf concept – one that is enhanced by additional recreational spaces for family-friendly activities such as cycling tracks, nature trails, and common spaces for picnics and performances. Future LM golf courses will welcome not just golfers, but the public and people from all walks of life.

Visuals of MBGC are available here.

About Marina Bay Golf Course

Opened in November 2006, Marina Bay Golf Course is Singapore's only 18-hole public golf course. From a humble reclaimed land to the transformation into an award-winning golf course, this landmark is best known for the only par 6 in Singapore and signature island green overlooking the cityscape. Marina Bay Golf Course is operated by NCI Golf Pte Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NTUC Club.

About My Golf Kaki

Golf for all, Golf for Good. 

Teeing up a vision to be the trusted and leading golf community where everyone can experience and immerse themselves in the game of golf, regardless of status and abilities, My Golf Kaki (MGK) is an energetic community powered by UPlay. As avid golfers ourselves, we're driven by a deep passion for making golf accessible and growing our community of Golf Kakis. Established in 2002, in 2023, we embarked on an exhilarating transformation, complete with a refreshed look and exciting new experiences for our kakis. We're now even more committed to provide members with affordable and amazing golf experiences, complemented by unparalleled service. Join our vibrant golf community in making a positive difference through golf, where we create social impact and foster a strong sense of community! For more details on MGK, visit  www.mygolfkaki.com.

About NTUC Club

Established in 1986, NTUC Club is the leisure and entertainment arm of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) in Singapore. As part of the Labour Movement (LM), we are committed to providing diverse recreational options guided by values of care, passion, trust, and service. NTUC Club manages clubhouses across the island, Downtown East, D'Resort, Wild Wild Wet, Aranda Country Club, Orchid Country Club, and UPlay. Launched in 2023, UPlay offers 'phygital' recreational experiences, partnering with unions and companies to enhance social well-being and community engagement. NTUC Club also oversees community initiatives like nEbO, U Live and My Golf Kaki - promoting engagement and enrichment for workers. For more details on NTUC Club, visit www.ntucclub.com.sg.

** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **

Final Tee-Off At Marina Bay Golf Course: The Sunset That Promises A New Dawn

SHANGHAI, July 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Trip.com Group is pleased to announce the one-year anniversary of its successful childcare subsidy for its global employees. To support employees in family planning and promote working families, all employees who have been with the company for three years or more receive an annual cash bonus of RMB 10,000 for each newborn child every year. This applies from the child's first birthday until the age of five. 

Since its launch in July 2023, the childcare subsidy has benefited 541 employees across Trip.com Group's offices worldwide till date.

The childcare subsidies come in the form of a cash bonus, and employees are free to decide on what to spend it on. Some employees, such as Peter Song, a market manager in Korea, who expressed his joy at being a working father, shared that his family will be spending it on daily necessities such as milk powder and diapers.

Others such as lsla Fang, a senior financial analyst in China, who found out about her pregnancy in November 2023, shared that the funds would support her child's education: "I hope my children can receive education through collective activity as soon as possible, so they are in a happier and relaxed learning environment. The policies allow this and provide my family with two key things: money and time."

Beyond the financial support, employees also highlighted the sense of happiness and relief at being emotionally supported by a company culture that encourages wellness and a work-life balance.

Selviana Fortunella Santoso, a market executive in Indonesia, was five months pregnant when she found out that she would receive the childcare subsidy, and said it was like receiving a miracle. She was also particularly happy with the company's other family-friendly policies, such as insurance coverage and maternity leave.

"This is the first time I have directly experienced such a supportive policy in the company," said Xinqi Du, a market executive in Japan. "It's a very family-friendly environment – you can even bring your children to the workplace after school. I also have supportive supervisors and colleagues, who fully understand as a working parent, sometimes I may not be able to reply to messages promptly when working from home."

Promoting employee wellness through a hybrid work model

As a pro-family company, Trip.com Group continues to support working parents and care for pregnant employees. In recent years, the Group has implemented family-friendly policies such as hybrid work, company insurance that covers spouses and children, and assisted reproduction benefits such as egg freezing.

This year, Trip.com Group also celebrates its two-year-anniversary of successfully introducing hybrid working for employees, a work model which officially launched in March 2022. The global group was the first internet company in China to implement such a scheme, offering employees the choice to work remotely on certain days of the week.

The policy has now been expanded to all of Trip.com Group's global offices across selected business lines. It aims to improve employee satisfaction, contribute to family care and the promotion of work-life balance, and even help to reduce traffic congestion in cities across the world.

Working from home has become standard for many employees around the world. Yet, some continue to argue over the effects of hybrid working on employees and firms, and that it detracts from productivity, innovation and career development. There is, however, published research that shows otherwise. In a six-month randomised control trial investigating the effects of hybrid working from home on 1,612 Trip.com Group employees in 2021–2022, it found that hybrid working improved job satisfaction and quality of life.

Hybrid work was especially welcomed by female employees and those with long commutes. Moreover, there was no evidence to show that hybrid working affected performance grades over the next two years of reviews, and no evidence for a difference in promotions over the next two years overall, or any major employee subgroup.

Going forward, Trip.com Group will continue to find new ways to support employee wellness, help employees in family planning, and promote working families with inclusive initiatives.

About Trip.com Group

Trip.com Group is a leading global travel service provider comprising of Trip.com, Ctrip, Skyscanner, and Qunar. Across its platforms, Trip.com Group helps travellers around the world make informed and cost-effective bookings for travel products and services and enables partners to connect their offerings with users through the aggregation of comprehensive travel-related content and resources, and an advanced transaction platform consisting of apps, websites and 24/7 customer service centres. Founded in 1999 and listed on NASDAQ in 2003 and HKEX in 2021, Trip.com Group has become one of the best-known travel groups in the world, with the mission "to pursue the perfect trip for a better world". Find out more about Trip.com Group here: group.trip.com.

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** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **

One Year Later: Trip.com Group's Childcare Subsidies Benefit Hundreds of Employees