Pinoy Golfer Blog

In the course of our travels, the question that is often asked of us is, “What is your favourite golf course?” Often the strategy is to remain diplomatic. There are indeed some marvellous golf courses in the Philippines. But some are better than others so we set about to come up with a list of our favourites. Now our criteria here is golf only; these rankings do not consider the food, quality of service or other criteria. Our sole consideration is the golfing experience. The 17th is the signature hole of Canlubang's South Course The Best If you told me that I could only play at one golf club for the rest of my life, I would be perfectly happy at Canlubang Golf and Country Club. The two courses... Read More

When adidas Philippines Golf Division manager Jorel Buhay called to offer the chance to interview Filipino-Australian phenom Jason Day after his win at the Byron Nelson, we jumped at the chance. After all, Day is the best and highest ranked Pinoygolfer on the planet. Here’s the transcript of our conversation. You are half Filipino – do you still stay in touch with your filipino roots such as eating Filipino food etc? I’m half Filipino on my mum’s side – she’s from a small town near Manila, I’m not sure exactly where. I grew up eating some Filipino foods but I’m not very familiar with the food. I don’t speak the language but I feel I should get back in touch with my roots. Any... Read More

Benjie Magada receives his trophy from ICTSI's Nana Villanueva and The Orchard's general manager Rene Garrovillo As expected, the last day of the ICTSI Orchard Championship was a real shootout. Tony Lascuña and Benjie Magada both failed to build on their lead and were caught by a surging Jay Bayron who took the lead at the turn with a birdie on two and a chip-in eagle on the par 5 fourth. Bayron held sway until the long par 4 17th when he missed the green and failed to get up and down for par. Bayron hung on to a one stroke lead and had a chance to put the tournament away with a birdie putt on 18 that narrowly missed the mark. Jay Bayron chipping in for eagle on the par 5 fourth Jun Bernis... Read More

Benjie Magada Benjie Magada built on his hole-in-one spiced first round yesterday with a 4-under par 68 today to tie erstwhile leader Tony Lascuña at 137, 7-under par at the ICTSI Orchard Championship at The Orchard Golf and Country Club’s Gary Player course. Magada played consistent golf and stayed out of trouble to record the day’s best round. Tony Lascuña Lascuña meanwhile had a roller coaster of a round; he went out in a 4-under par 32 but gave most of it back with a back nine score of 39, 3-over. Fortunately he had enough of a lead after day one that he didn’t lose too much ground to the hard charging Magada. Cassius Casas Cassius Casas held on to solo third place with... Read More

The first day of the ICTSI Orchard Championship at The Orchard Golf and Country Club in Dasmariñas, Cavite started under the threat of rain. Heavy rains the night before inundated the golf course forcing the organizers to allow the players to lift, clean and place their golf balls on the erstwhile soggy fairways. Thankfully the dark skies passed and play continued unhindered. Tony Lascuña Tony Lascuña and Cassius Casas took advantage of the soft conditions. Onyot birdied 3 of his first four holes en route to a 6-under par 66 to lead the field. Casas was just one back with a 5-under par 67. Six golfers sit tied with identical 3-under par 69’s keeping the two leaders in striking distance.... Read More

It’s been nigh on five years since I first visited Caliraya Springs Golf Club in Cavinti, Laguna on the shores of Lake Caliraya with friend Doc Vince Gomez. Let’s face it, Caliraya Springs isn’t exactly a short hop from Makati and there are so many other great golf courses that you pass on the way here so you’ll forgive me if it’s taken a while to come back. Unfortunately, that kind of thinking deprives you of some really good experiences and this was certainly one of them. Yes, it is quite a hike to get here. But I do miss the drive through Calamba, Los Baños and Pagsanjan. We used to frequent Pansol and Laguna in general in our college days and the national highway through here... Read More

The wedge is one of the most important clubs in a golfer’s bag. You’ll use one more often than you use your driver. It is instrumental in making par if you miss the green in regulation. But this club is on the verge of a major change after the enactment of new regulations governing grooves on the faces of golf clubs. The new rules implemented by the USGA reduce groove volume by as much as 30% and supposedly spin by almost an equal amount. You’d be forgiven for thinking that the advancement of wedge technology would stagnate. Well, you’d be wrong; dead wrong. Introducing the Taylormade TP wedge with XFT (exchangeable face technology). Now here’s a wedge that practically guarantees that... Read More

As golfers we strive to emulate our idols and role models on tour. We dress like them, we mimic their habits and mannerisms and we play their equipment. Well, at least we think we do. In truth, there is little similarity between most of the golf clubs on Tour and the ones we buy at the local proshop. Think of this in an automotive analogy; there is as much similarity between the two as there is between a race car and a production model. They may look alike, but the care of assembly and the materials used are poles apart. At least until now. With the introduction of the Callaway FT-Tour driver, you and I can now play the exact same driver that Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson earn their livings... Read More

Much as I hate to say it, Negros is one of the places that I’ve golfed the least. I have two rounds of golf total on the island both during the 2005 PAL Interclub where I attended as part of the media. The shame stems from the fact that my Mother hails from Silay City, just 14 kilometers North of Bacolod City. I spent many summers there as a child and later a full 4 years as a young adult and consider it my spiritual home. My grandfather Aguinaldo Severino Gamboa built the first golf course on the Island; he had three holes on the farm in Buenbaño, Silay and later built a full 18 hole golf course on the Southern outskirts of the city by the sea in Guinhalaran. My father, grandfather and... Read More

Infared shot of the Caliraya Springs clubhouse by my cousin, Marty Ilagan Alas, all good things must come to an end and our time here at Caliraya Springs was no exception. I got up early one last time to see what mother nature had in store. I went out at 4:30 AM and was greeted by a blanket of fog so thick that it obscured visibility almost completely. I took a few photos but it was quickly apparent that they wouldn’t be suitable for publication. While I was doing so, VP Operations David Du rode up and his cart and we started a long conversation that continued through breakfast and beyond. I managed to get some work done and post pics on the blog before time quickly came to check out of... Read More

My objective today was to get better acquainted with the golf course for the forthcoming article. Normally it takes me three rounds but rains the last two days limited the amount of time I spent on the course and restricted us to just one nine per day. This was going to have to do. Scorpio_18 suzywong We got a treat when Telly Arce (suzywong) and Noel Mescallado (Scorpio_18) decided to drive out to play a round of golf with us here. Telly’s a real newbie in golf, one that’s been bitten hard by the bug and this was her first time to golf outside of Metro-Manila. Noel was our Pinoygolfer of the Year in 2009 and one of our original members. They’re tagging along on the sighting... Read More

Eventful day 2. We met VP-Operations David Du today. David is a savvy businessman who has a real passion for nature. David has the unenviable task of rehabilitating and continuing the completion and rehabilitation of Caliraya Springs after management responsibilities were transferred back to Atlanta Land from Sta. Lucia. When David took over last year the grass on the fairways was ankle deep, carabao grass had taken over the once Tifton fairways and most of the greens were dead. On a shoestring budget, David has somehow managed to get the course back to playable condition. The fairways remain carabao grass, but that’s probably better longer term since the grass is native here. With proper... Read More

The view from behind the 6th hole's island green It’s been nigh on five years since I first visited Caliraya Springs Golf Club in Cavinti, Laguna on the shores of Lake Caliraya with Doc Vince Gomez. Let’s face it, Caliraya Springs isn’t exactly a short hop from Makati and there are so many other great golf courses that you pass on the way there. But that kind of thinking deprives you of some really good experiences and Caliraya Springs is one of them. 7 is a good length par 3 over water Yes, it is quite a hike to get here. But I kinda miss the drive through Calamba, Los Baños and Pagsanjan. My friends and I used to frequent Pansol in our college years and the national highway... Read More

Pinoygofer in the HOUSE!! The 11th hole at Forest Hills Golf Club Mars Pucay blasts out of the greenside bunker on 11 Ferdie Aunzo made a few too many mistakes Aunzo chips it close on 11 Long hitting Ramil Biscera Benjie Magada is a cagey fox that knows his way around the golf course Elmer Salvador is the danger man whenever he tees it up 14-year old phenom Miggy Yee Elmer Saban enjoyed his best finish in a PGT event to date The explosive Artemio Murakami in action... ... and in repose Pucay was a model of consistency Ramil Biscera in a spot of bother on 11 The champs goes over his card at the scorer's table Dante Biscierra joins champ Pucay and runner-up Elmer Salvador at the presentation... Read More

Mars Pucay wins The fact that Mars Pucay won at Forest Hills comes as no surprise to those that know his game. Pucay is known for being a “Steady Eddie” sort of player; his hardly misses any fairways and is always in or around a good scoring position around the green. He had his work cut out for him at Forest Hills, though. Artemio Murakami showed just how explosive a player he is by shooting a 5-under par 31 on the Palmer 9 and started his back nine with a birdie on the par 5 10th. Unfortunately, the film crew from Studio 23 unsettled him on number 11 and he made bogie. Then he and Elmer Salvador both doubled the 12th, handing the lead back to Pucay. He consolidated that lead with... Read More