Most 70-year-olds would be content to be playing a round of golf a week, maybe even two if their fitness allows… but Ananthanathan Sinnadurai – better known as SA Nathan – remains general manager of Saujana Golf & Country Club (SGCC), in Malaysia, and deals with the golfing demands of hundreds of people on a daily basis.

And yet, unlike many in similar roles around the world, Nathan has no golf pedigree; nor a PGA qualification; but he does have masses of experience.

He admits he’s a marketing man. And, clearly, a marketer with some reputation. He’d already spent nine years at SGCC as head of marketing before returning for another nine years… you don’t get asked back if you’re not good at what you do.

Maybe it’s his 37 years of marketing experience that enables him and SGCC to work so successfully with the adjacent five-star Saujana Hotel Kuala Lumpur (SHKL), because Nathan has to balance the demands of the hotel’s stay-and-play guests with those of his members.

Modestly, he gives much of the credit for the smooth running of this side of the operation to the hotel’s general manager, Jasmine Ong Li who has been with SHKL for 28 years, initially in event sales, then business development, before working her way up to director of sales marketing.

Nathan smiled: “One of the wonderful things I notice is the working relationship between us. We have known each other for only 30 years, and we were young executives at the time. I was just a young marketing man joining from the age of 32.

“After college she comes and joins as another in sales and marketing. So, we have worked together well for so long.

“So far, no arguments, nothing. We work very collectively, very well. Like a family.”

He explained: “Currently the policy of the board of directors is that non-members wishing to play, and visiting tour groups, must stay at the hotel. I may get enquiries from other hotel operators for their guests to play, but I tell them visiting golfers must stay at SHKL.

“There may be the odd exception, such as reciprocals from other European Tour Destination member clubs – who we’ve been working with since 2015 – but that’s the current policy.

“Whenever there’s a group, once it’s firmed up, usually the hotel will do the arrangements in terms of the rooms and the F&B. And the golf club deals with the golf.

“I’m trying to make our packages more attractive,” added Nathan. “I’m trying to build in a package where green fees, buggies and all are thrown in if there’s a package. I’m working on that at the moment.

“Weekdays we’ve got a lot of slots available because a lot of members are working on weekdays. So, the stay-and-play package would be quite a good revenue earner. It’s going to be a tough balance because the weekend slots are quite tough to get.”

SGCC has two multi-award-winning 18-hole courses: the Ronald Fream-designed Palm Course and the Bunga Raya Course, which has recently undergone re-routing and reconstruction by the Australian firm of Parslow & Winter Golf Design.

Between them the courses have hosted nine Malaysian Opens and three Maybank Championships and, in 2002, the World Amateur Golf Team Championship, comprising the Eisenhower Trophy and the Espirito Santo Trophy.

Small wonder, then, that golfers visiting the country want to head to SGCC. But they need to be forewarned – and not just about the requisite booking at SHKL.

For those of us wedded to the traditional European way of golf resort management, some of the parameters Nathan works within might seem surprising, but we should remember, Selangor is more than 10,000 kilometres from London and the culture is different in Malaysia.

For example, the minimum make-up of a group on the tee in the morning is three; if you’re in a two-ball, you’ll be placed with another two-ball, or an individual golfer, before the starter lets you head off. Those who are unaware of the rule will remember it once they’ve waited around to join another group.

“The decision was made by the board, and, also, by the golf committee. We started having one person taking a slot, and we want to maximise the numbers. So that’s why the board decided, at least in the morning, it’s a minimum three-ball, which is better for the group following behind.

“If, for example, you’re telling the starters you’ve got a two-ball and the third sometimes doesn’t come up we try to get them matched up with another two-ball.”

There is certainly a requirement to get as many golfers on the course as possible in the morning. Because of the climate, the majority of members – and, one presumes, visitors from SHKL – want to tee-off early and finish before 1pm. Mad dogs and Englishmen spring to mind.

There are some areas, however, where SGCC is, arguably, more traditional than most of its European contemporaries.

Nathan explained: “We are one of the few clubs in the country that allows walking. Many of our members walk the course. Most clubs look at the revenue side, whereas my chairman is very conscious of people’s health. So, the chairman allows walking for members. Visiting golfers, however, must take a buggy – we use Club Car here.”

And, in keeping with golf everywhere else – especially on the professional tours – occasionally, slow play can be problematic.

Nathan smiled: “Most of them, 99 per cent, are OK, but there’s always one. We’ve got marshals on the golf course and sometimes the marshals themselves have problems telling them to speed up play. And I tell the marshals, if you still can’t move them along, you give their names to me, and I’ll write to them officially.”

Now, that is traditional. A slap on the wrist from the powers-that-be. And rightly so, I might add. But not all traditions are easy to enforce.

“One of the challenges that we face here, I think not only in Saujana or Malaysia, is the etiquette part of it, getting the members to replace the divots, repair pitch marks and rake the bunkers,” laments Nathan.

“Sometimes we have caddies, but sometimes the caddies are on a first-come, first-served basis, and when that happens, the members play and sometimes they don’t repair their own pitch marks, because the caddy normally does that. Some of them don’t even rake their bunkers.

“We are not forcing them to take caddies here. It’s more of choice whether or not, but if you don’t want to take a caddy, then you should replace your own divots and repair pitch marks. When I played golf in Australia, I saw the etiquette there,” he states.

So, what next for SGCC? Nathan has no need to ponder the question. He doesn’t break stride.

“Five years from now, I think you’ll see the golf course will be considered more challenging. We are looking at some of the holes and how we can improve them. We are also talking to the European Tour Destinations people to give us some good advice on that.

“You always want to ensure the course is challenging and always in good condition. The logistics part is something we are, also, studying; where the player just comes and drops a bag and goes to the tee box and the bag is waiting for them. We are also looking at refurbishing many of our facilities, like the changing rooms.”

Not resting on one’s laurels, now there’s a welcome break from tradition.