Pinoy Golfer Blog

He wasn’t supposed to lose. It was pre-ordained. After all, Tiger Woods had won 70 professional golf tournaments in his career, 44 of 47 tournaments with the 54-hole lead and was 14-0 in the majors under the same circumstances, but lose he did. More correctly, he got his hat handed to him on a platter. Tiger Woods was defeated at the 2009 PGA Championships, the golf world’s final major championship of the year by unheralded 37-year old Korean Yang Yong-Eun (known on Tour as Y.E. Yang), the son of a farmer that didn’t pick up the game until he was 19 and only turned professional when he was 29. This after Tiger had led the tournament for the first three rounds and seemed set for a wire... Read More

Fresh off his stint at the US PGA Championships at Haleztine Golf Club in Minnesota, Thonghai Jaidee flew straight to Manila to host an exclusive golf clinic for HSBC’s most valued customers and friends. The clinic was held in part to support the UNICEF Regional Youth and Education Program. Incorporating a unique philanthropic twist, the bank held a nearest to the pin competition for each of the five sessions of the clinic; donating $10,000 to UNICEF. Ever the trooper, Jaidee was in fine spirits after his marathon flight and day long clinic. I doubt he slept very much at all having flown in at 3 AM. Still he was kind enough to spend a good hour and a half fielding questions from the press... Read More

Daybreak at Mt. Malarayat Mt. Malarayat is definitely one of the most beautiful golf courses in the country. It’s hard to come here and not be affected to one degree or other. When we were there, the weather was iffy; sunny bits followed by torrential rain, making photographing the golf course and the fauna that thrive there difficult at best. But whatever happens, the course’s beauty somehow manages to rise above it all enchanting all that come to play. I’ve been coming here for years and the feeling has not changed. I still look forward most eagerly to any time I can spend here. I’ll keep the post short and let the pictures tell the story. Even when the weather takes... Read More

No golfer talks about the affliction that we all know as “the YIPS”. It’s almost like a curse; don’t say it or think it and maybe it won’t affect you. Kinda like “the Shanks”. But the sad fact of the matter is that most, if not all golfers will have an experience or two with one or both of these demons. The question is what does one do in the midst of such a dilemma? I was never a really good putter. I’m streaky and have had my moments, but I always felt that putting was the weakest part of my game. It’s what’s held me back as a golfer and is the most vulnerable part of my game. My bout of the yips goes back to the Chairman’s... Read More

I recently went on a hunt for a new high bounce wedge; the 56*/14* Cleveland CG-14 that I had been using no longer fit my eye for some reason. I had grown uncertain with it in my hand. Not what you want when you’re in a spot of bother and need it to get up and down. I was very impressed with the Nike VR (Victory Red) line at Pacsports launch of the new line at the Manila Polo Club so I decided to give one a go. Nike’s Victory Red line signals the company’s return to more traditional iron line than in years past. No gimmicky stickers or fancy paint jobs; just the basics but very well crafted. In my opinion, these are the best irons Nike’s produced since the Pro Combo,... Read More

When was the last time you played golf? And I mean really played golf, with all the rules of the game in play? Almost every game I’m in, every tournament I play in has mulligans, gimmes or some other concession to the speed of play. We might be playing it on a golf course with golf clubs and balls, but it doesn’t quite pass for golf. There is no pressure when you can give up on a putt because you know that it’ll be conceded. There is no honor in taking a mulligan. Since I am relatively new to the game of golf (having only played these last 15-years), I grew in the game expecting mulligans and concessions when I played. Imagine my absolute shock the first time I entered a serious... Read More

When we left off with the R9, I was impressed enough with how the head felt that I felt the urge to get another more appropriate shaft for me to fully explore the head’s potential. A sympathetic Pinoygolfer in Dallas was kind enough to step up and send me a spare sleeve without which, things would not have been as straight forward. Many options presented themselves. I’ve had great success with the Graphite Design Tour AD YS-Q. I’ve had lots of success with Graphite Design shafts. I like the way they feel at impact; lively and very stable. I considered getting another YS-Q for the R9 but then an upstart new shaft manufacturer caught my eye. Oban is a new company formed by one... Read More

Elmer Salvador became the latest winner on the fledgling Philippine Golf Tour at the ICTSI Sherwood Hills Classic. He played wonderful golf on a tough golf course in adverse weather conditions, shot under par each of the three days to win the tournament by 5 over charging Benjie Magada. The man can play. He also had a not-so-desirable reputation for choking at the crucial stages of the tournaments. He’d been in or close to the lead in a handful of the previous PGT events and just couldn’t close the deal, usually with errors at key moments to fall out of the lead. Well, that all changed that stormy week at Sherwood Hills. Interestingly Salvador started his life in golf as a “lake-boy”... Read More

I admit it. Freely, I’m a club ‘ho. What you ask? A club ‘ho is a golfer that is constantly obsessed with golf equipment. He surfs the internet constantly, patrolling E-Bay and the hard core golf boards searching for the latest, greatest and rarest for their burgeoning collection. What is it about golfers and their golf clubs? It takes 14 of them to play a round of golf and yet most of us have at least 3 times that number. I’m guilty. What blinds us so that we are willing to risk the children’s trust funds on future acquisitions? Whatever the spell, this obsession is born from passion for the game; we need something to connect us to golf when we are away from the course and our... Read More

Elmer Salvador put in another strong performance on a very tough Sherwood Hills course. He backed up yesterday’s 68 with a 3-under par 69 and held off Benjie Magada who posted a 69 of his own. Salvador fulfilled the promise he showed in previous Philippine Golf Tour events when he seemed to come undone after taking the early lead. This day he sealed the deal with a masterful performance taking his first PGT win. The tough course spread the field. Ferdie Aunzo crafted a 69 of his own to finish alone in 3rd. Arnold Villacencio was alone in 4th and Miko Alejandro, the Low Amateur finished a stroke behind in 5th and veteran Ruben Sasutil finshied another stroke behind in 6th on his own. Ray... Read More