Pinoy Golfer Blog

Rancho Palos Verdes is the first modern golf course constructed in the Davao City limits. Built by the Sta. Lucia Realty Corporation on the top of a ridge in what used to be a pomelo plantation in Barangay Mandug/Indangan, Buhangin District some thirteen kilometers outside the city proper, the course is a must-play for any golfer worth his salt on a visit to this fair city. The 18-hole course was designed by the renowned design firm of Andy Dye, whose creations have captured the attention of golfers across the country who are as appalled by their difficulty as they are swayed by their beauty. Completed in 2001, the course has a feel mature beyond its years. The old growth rainforest and verdant... Read More

Apo Golf and Country Club is the grand old man of golf in the fair city of Davao. It might not be as pretty or picturesque as its younger, newer neighbour but it is by far a sterner test of golf. At just over 7000 yards in length, Apo will test your abilities with your longer clubs severely. Just two of its par fours are under 400-yards and on most of them you’ll need to lay up short of the many streams that bisect the fairways. The doglegs present yet another test. Local knowledge dictates that you play away from the dogleg but far enough down the fairway to give yourself a clean shot at the green. This is to avoid the overhanging branches of the very tall trees that define the fairways.... Read More

For golfers looking to tee it up in Pattaya, a game at the historic Siam Country Club is an absolute must. The Club is home to two wonderful golf courses including the first privately owned course in the country which gives in a unique place in the history of golf in Thailand. The Siam Country Club is located just 20 minutes drive from Pattaya. There are two courses a few kilometres apart, both with their own excellent clubhouses and facilities. The Old Course was the first privately owned golf course in Thailand. Work began on the course in 1969 and was first played in 1971. The course was originally created by Japanese course designer Isao Izumi but was completely redeveloped in 2006 by Schmidt-Curley... Read More

Bettinardi Signature 3 The Bettinardi Signature 3 is all about aesthetics and feel. This timeless design is a classic blade putter machined out of a single piece of Bettinardi’s proprietary Double Aged Stainless Steel (D.A.S.S.). The Signature 3 features the Bettinardi trademark honeycomb face milling to assure the flattest putting surface possible. I am drawn to this putter because the very first putter I ever played with, a MacGregor Tommy Armour Silver Scott, is this head shape. I have many good memories of my rounds with it but also remember what an uncompromising piece of work it was. Putt the ball well and you can do no wrong. Putt poorly and you won’t have a place to hide. The... Read More

March was a milestone month for me. I turned 55 on the day of the 1st Impact Golf Cup. This marks the beginning of my career as a senior golfer. Really, I can’t believe this time has come. Apart from a few more aches and pains, I don’t feel too different than I did a few years ago. I still tee it up on the blue tees during my casual rounds and I like to think that I’m still competitive from there. I do have a few trophies that back up that assertion. In fact on the odd occasion and in the company of the right foursome, I’ll even tee it up from the tips without too much stress. I rather enjoy pushing myself as I have in other sports in my pre-golf life. But the calendar doesn’t lie.... Read More

Championship – Cebu 507 (123-134-122-128), Del Monte 499 (123-124-125-127), Alabang 493 (124-104-130-135), Manila Southwoods 429 (103-111-116-99), Fil-Am Fairfield 316 (76-72-78-90), San Juanico 304 (71-72-74-87), Pinoy Vancouver 251 (65-76-60-50), Brotherhood Sharp 248 (66-48-50-84), Greenhills West 220 (55-49-58-58), Mabuhay SFO (38-52-47-51), Fil-Oz Sydney 160 (23-44-37-56), Riyadh Golf 139 (28-52-26-33) Founders – Wack Wack 476 (117-116-120-123), Orchard 461 (117-111-121-112), Negros 445 (106-114-120-105), Apo Golf 444 (107-122-103-112), Davao 418 (104-105-99-110), Tagaytay Highlands 412 (90-104-113-105), Palos Verdes 402 (97-105-92-108), Alta Vista 392 (104-92-105-91),... Read More

Day 3 Scores: Championship Division Cebu 379 (123-134-122), Del Monte 372 (123-124-125), Alabang 358 (124-104-130), Manila Southwoods 330 (103-111-116), Fil-Am Fairfield 226 (76-72-78), San Juanico 217 (71-72-74), Pinoy Vancouver 201 (65-76-60), Brotherhood Sharp 164 (66-48-50), Greenhills West 162 (55-49-58), Mabuhay SFO 137 (38-52-47), Riyadh Golf 106 (28-52-26), Fil-Oz Sydney 104 (23-44-67) Founders Division Wack Wack 353 (117-116-120), Orchard 349 (117-111-121), Negros 340 (106-114-120), Apo Golf 332 (107-122-103), Riviera 329 (108-121-100), Forest Hills 323 (106-105-112), Valley 309 (102-100-107), Villamor 308 (96-103-109), Davao 308 (104-105-99), Tagaytay Highlands 307 (90-104-113), Alta... Read More

Championship Division Cebu 257 (123-134), Del Monte 247 (123-124), Alabang 228 (124-104), Manila Southwoods 212 (103-109), Fil-Am Fairfield 148 (76-72), San Juanico 143 (71-72), Pinoy Vancouver 141 (65-76), Brotherhood Sharp 114 (66-48), Greenhills West 104 (55-49), Mabuhay SFO 90 (38-52), Riyadh Golf 80 (28-52), Fil-Oz Sydney 67 (23-44) Founders Division Wack Wack 233 (117-116), Apo 229 (107-122), Riviera 229 (108-121), Orchard 228 (117-111), Negros 220 (106-114), Forest Hills 211 (106-105), Davao 209 (104-105), Palos Verdes 202 (97-105), Valley 202 (102-100), Villamor 199 (96-103), Phil. Navy 199(104-95), Alta Vista 196 (104-92), Tagaytay Highlands 194 (90-104), Sta. Elena 187 (86-101), Manila... Read More

It’s been six years since I first came to Davao as a member of the media covering the PAL Interclub. That almost seems like another lifetime ago; I was the associate editor of Swing Magazine and we were in the process of producing our 6th issue. I was very much a rookie then and wandering around wide eyed and in amazement of everything that was going on around me. This time is different. The 65th PAL Interclub is the biggest ever. This year 160 teams have made the trek to Davao to compete in both the seniors and regular divisions. At ten persons per team, that makes 1,600 golfers that have come to test themselves against two very different and challenging golf courses. Apo Golf Club... Read More

I get invited to a lot of tournaments but there is one that stands out in my mind as the most organized, most meticulously run that I’ve had the pleasure to play in the whole year; the Lexus Cup. The tournament is organized by Lexus Philippines as a way to thank their customers and the Lexus Club of the Philippines for their support and continued patronage. The only requirement for entry is that you must own a Lexus. There is no entry fee, the carts and caddies are included in your entry as was the sumptuous dinner that followed but more on that later. I was incredibly excited when I received my invitation to the tournament which came two months in advance of the appointed date. I played... Read More

Miguel Tabuena might not have won the Philippine Open but with the 96th Philippine Open televised in 200 countries, he gave the world all a taste of his awesome potential. It is one of the most difficult things in golf to follow one record round with another. Granted, that doesn’t make his final round 81 any easier to swallow, but this experience is sure to make him stronger in the future. Few 17-year olds get to play in the championship flight of a professional tournament so Miguel is still ahead of the curve. Chin up, Miguel! You still made us proud. Besides Miguel, I can’t think of anyone more worthy of winning the 96th Philippine Open than Mardan Mamat. Not only did the 44-year... Read More

From the Asian Tour - Manila, February 12: An emotional Mardan Mamat of Singapore coasted to a comfortable five-stroke victory at the ICTSI Philippine Open to end a six-year winless run on Sunday. The 44-year-old picked up his third Asian Tour victory with a closing one-under-par 71 at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club’s East course to complete a commanding wire-to-wire victory with an eight-under-par 280 aggregate. Mo Joong-kyung of Korea threatened briefly before finishing a distant second in the US$300,000 Asian Tour event, signing off with a 74 while top Filipino honours went to Antonio Lascuna who returned a 69 for tied third place with Japan’s Azuma Yano, who signed for a 70. However,... Read More

Manila, February 11: Singaporean veteran Mardan Mamat rode a hot putter to hold a slender one-shot lead over a fast-charging Filipino teenager Miguel Tabuena after the third round of the ICTSI Philippine Open on Saturday. Mardan, chasing a third Asian Tour victory, holed several huge par saves en route to a battling two-under-par 70 at a wind-swept Wack Wack Golf and Country Club’s East course to lead on seven-under-par 209 in Asia’s oldest national Open. His overnight three-shot lead was reduced by Tabuena’s brilliant course record-equaling 67 while Korea’s Mo Joong-kyung fired a 68 to trail by two on 211 with only the top-three players breaking par after 54 holes. Earlier, Hwang Inn-choon... Read More

Miguel Tabuena equaled the course record of the newly revamped East Course at Wack Wack Golf and Country Club with a 5-under par round of 67 in the swirling winds that have come to define the Philippine Open Golf Championship. The mark was set earlier in the day by Korea’s Hwang Inn Choon. Playing in the second to the last flight with Mo Joong Kyung and Ben Fox of the United States, Tabuena and Mo started the fireworks early when both birdied the first hole. They seemed to feed off each other as both birdied three of their four opening holes. Both threw the odd bogey into their round (Mo at the 6th and Miguel at the difficult 8th) but it mattered little when the birdies were falling... Read More

You’d be smiling too if you had a 3-shot lead going into the weekend on one of the hardest golf courses that the Tour plays on all year. Mardan Mamat turned his round on Wack Wack Golf and Country Club’s vaunted East Course into a virtual stroll in the park, laughing his way around holes that reduced his fellow competitors to tears. All this in the swirling winds that finally made their appearance at the 2012 Philippine Open. Mamat played bogey-free golf and could seemingly do no wrong. Not that he didn’t hit any poor shots; he did but managed to miss in the right places as he did on 16 and 17. This streak of luck late in his round allowed him to maintain his 3-shot lead... Read More