MST Golf Celebrates 25 Years of Excellence

MST Golf celebrates its 25^th year of excellence as the leading golf retail and services provider in South East Asia this April.

With a formidable presence of over 50 outlets, super stores, tech shop, café and academies, the MST Golf group of companies also successfully operates four stores in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and six stores in Singapore.
The early years
MST Golf’s founders Ng Yap and KP Low, childhood friends from the small bustling seaside town of Sekinchan, planned to set up a business venture into general trading and marketing. They formed Masinthai Sdn Bhd in 1989.

It was a chance encounter upon some used golf clubs in New York City that led to a decision to ship a batch of golf clubs to Kuala Lumpur for reselling in 1990. Despite knowing nothing much about golf, it proved to be very successful and thus, the road to building the golf retail empire began to take shape.

In 1991, the first retail outlet was opened in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur. The fate in the golf business was further sealed with the official changing of the company’s name to MST Golf Sdn Bhd in 1992.

Recognising golf retail as its core business, founders Ng and Low began to seek new opportunities and slowly built a diverse portfolio in the industry.

Growing and thriving with stores nationwide
Our collaboration with JUSCO Departmental Store (now known as AEON) in 1997 resulted in the first MST Golf department in the departmental store, opening our doors to a wider golf audience. A further collaboration with Parkson Departmental Store in 2002 started MST Golf’s dominance in golf retailing in the departmental store market.

In 2001, MST Golf opened its first pro shop in a golf & country club. In a bolder and confident spirit, the first MST Golf SuperStore opened in 1999 amidst the Asian financial crisis. It was a strategy that elevated the company to greater heights.

Staying focused on the golf business, we began trading in the wholesale of golf equipment, accessories and apparel in 1993, shortly after acquiring the first distributorship from Austad’s USA in 1992.

MST Golf’s further forays included driving range management in 1993, apparel licensing in 1996, corporate customization of products in 2001, event management in 2002 and golf vacations in 2010.

With greater enthusiasm, MST Golf ventured into the golf academy business in 2001 with the acquisition of Wilding Golf, which was later re-branded as the Pro Tour Golf Learning Centre in 2005. Realising the demand for specialized technical services, Golf Tech Shop was born in 2005 as a dedicated technical improvement centre for custom fitting, repair and club adjustment.

With the success and blueprint in the home ground, MST Golf casted an ambitious eye to expand regionally. In the year 2000, MST Golf embarked on its first overseas venture in Singapore. This was followed by in-roads to Thailand in 2002 and Vietnam in 2005.

MST Golf today – a position of strength
Over the years, MST Golf has carved its name solidly as the leading golf company in the region with integrated golf services covering:

• Retail
• Wholesale
• Event Management
• Golf Academy
• Driving range
• Corporate Sales
• Vacation

Today, MST Golf is a prominent name among the golfing community. With staff strength of over 400, MST Golf has evolved from a small entrepreneurial enterprise to a regional group of companies. Our ilovegolf loyalty programme comprises 45,000 members and has become the largest golf community in the nation.

The continuous support from our growing base of satisfied and loyal customers is strong evidence of MST Golf’s sound reputation and undeterred commitment. MST Golf was fittingly awarded The BrandLaureate Awards for 3 years in a row (2008 to 2011) as Best Brand in Golf.

MST GOLF will continue to create a strong impact in the golf scene with its consistent strength in providing quality products and services to golfers from all walks of life.

Celebrating 25 years of excellence – looking ahead
Much has changed in the golf industry in 25 years, but over the course of the evolution of MST Golf, the values on which the company was built – unparalleled determination and dedication, undeterred quest for improvement and competitive edge – still define MST Golf today.

MST Golf celebrates its 25^th anniversary to mark an important milestone in its journey and in appreciation to business partners, customers and staff. It will be year-long celebration with a series of product promotions and campaigns, specially planned for customers. As MST Golf turns 25 this year, it is poised to continue to drive growth in all areas of golf with renewed confidence.

With a dynamic management team and a relentless sales force, MST Golf continues to set new heights and standards for the golf retailing industry within the region. Through unwavering dedication, MST GOLF remains committed in bringing you Everything Golf.

What our Founders Say

“I am very proud of what we have achieved these past 25 years. We always aim to drive the industry forward and I attribute our success to all MST Golf staff. Many of them in various levels and positions have been serving the company for over 10, 15 and 20 years. I am sincerely grateful for their contributions.”

– Ng Yap, Chief Executive

“We are very customer-focused and always strive to deliver beyond customers’ expectation. We work very closely with all the brands to best serve our customers.”

– KP Low, Managing Director

MST GOLF KEY MILESTONES (1989 – 2014)