SICC to take action against 'wrongdoers' using technology to beat golf booking system

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Island Country Club (SICC) said on Friday (Sep 11) it will not hesitate to take action against "wrongdoers" after it emerged that members had used software programmes to book sought-after time slots.

Responding to queries from CNA, SICC said the police had been informed of these suspicious activities and that the club is offering police full support in the investigations.

In a notice to members on Thursday that was seen by CNA, SICC said its online booking system had been compromised with some members' accounts using bots or scripted programmes to secure popular time slots. 

READ: SICC says online golf booking system 'compromised', police reports made

The system received "millions" of booking attempts each day from automated bots and scripted programmes, it added.

SICC found that more than 50 per cent of online golf bookings were completed within seconds after bookings opened, with the fastest completed in two seconds. 

The club said on Friday its golf booking system had worked well without incident until the recent post-circuit breaker period, when it experienced a surge in demand from members wishing to play. 

Since the bookings made by bots in July were detected, SICC had been monitoring the transactions and strengthening its system, the club said, adding that no personal data had been compromised.

"We will not hesitate to take the appropriate actions against wrongdoers and send a clear signal that we will do what is necessary to protect the interests of the membership at large."

In the meantime, the club has implemented measures such as allowing members to book a tee time using only one active booking session at any one time. Members were previously allowed to have multiple booking sessions.