For more than three years, between 1965 and 1968, the proposed Golf Club became a hot political issue with constant attacks on the Government for embarking upon the project. Not only was the Opposition in Parliament particularly vocal on the subject as might be expected, but even Government supporters questioned the wisdom of spending public funds on the construction of a golf course. The cost of the project came under severe criticism although no one, not even the official side, was able to give a clear answer as to what the cost was. The Tunku himself had decided as a matter of principle that the Government would only loan the money needed with the specific proviso that it would eventually be paid back by the management of the course.
No doubt partly due to the need to assuage the ruffled feelings of politicians and the public, it was announced in early 1968 that a Subang Golf Course Corporation Bill would be laid before Parliament so that the whole enterprise would be above board. It was also revealed that of the total area to be acquired some 35 acres would be turned into a housing scheme while another 10 acres would be set aside for a modern country-club type of hotel for visitors using the recently completed Subang International Airport. The returns from these two projects would go towards repayment of the Government loan.
On a bright and sunny morning in September 1968 the Subang National Golf Club's 18-hole course was declared open by His Majesty the Yang Dipertuan Agong before a gathering of foreign and local dignitaries. The Tunku took the opportunity in his welcoming address to clear the air about the long-term plans of the Club and reiterated that when the entire development had been completed it would not have cost the Government even a cent.
On a lighter note, when it came to his turn to tee off the Tunku hit a 'trick' ball that exploded in a cloud of red smoke while the King's golf ball was the object of a scramble among the caddies. The lucky one who retrived it was Encik Osman bin Omar, 18 years old, a Class One caddy from the RSGC, who received a small reward from His Majesty for getting the ball which was to be mounted later as a souvenir to commemorate the occasion. The King had earlier declared the course open by unveiling a plaque in the form of a huge golf ball which is now prominently displayed at the entrance of the present Clubhouse. At the opening ceremony the Tunku committed himself to turning the new course into a first class course.
It is important to note that despite the numerous distractions caused by the political controversy surrounding it and the plans to embark upon a housing scheme and a modern hotel under the Corporation that had come into law, there was a consistent interest in the purely golfing aspects that the Tunku and his Committee faithfully adhered to. In this regard, it must be remembered that, after Mr. Inouye had drawn up his plans and left, it fell to the Government Departments concerned, particularly the Public Works Department, and various individuals to ensure that the course was built to the highest standards of the game. The name Tom Verity, thus, looms large in this context for it was he who had a personal hand in working closely with the PWD engineers, Mr. Chew Choon Lee and Mr. Bobby Tan, in shaping the greens and fairways out of a former rubber estate denuded of most of its trees.
Tom verity had spent a considerable length of time in the country and had lately been the professional at the Island Country Club in Singapore. He had then joined the RSGC in a similar capacity and moved over to the embryonic KGNS in 1966. It is almost certain that Inouye's original sketches were radically modified by Tom Verity's personal involvement as the construction of the course went along. The result in 1968 was a par-72 championship course of 6,835 yards with four par-3 holes, ten par-4 holes and four par-5 holes. One of its most interesting features, as a newpaper noted at that time, was the colossal size of its bunkers of which there were no less than 64, the biggest guarding the fifth green being a full 65 yards.
Verity also considered the 220 yd 6th hole as the most challenging with a stream, two ponds, and three bunkers. The specially designed three-tiered driving range is the only one of its kind in Malaysia. It might be said in all truth, therefore, that it was Tom Verity and the stalwarts from the Public Works Department who gave full expression to the Tunku's dream of a golf course that would possess singularly challenging characteristics befitting its status as the National Club.