Pinoy Golfer Blog

Robert J. Bettinardi, Jr. Last year, Bettinardi Golf went back to its roots and produce putters independently in their state-of-the-art facility in Tinley, Illinois after. Soon after, company president Robert Bettinardi appointed Red Golf as the exclusive distributor in the Philippines. Red Golf has maintained strong ties with Pinoygolfer.com having been there from the very beginning. Three of the founding forum moderators – jick, xxio, and w2 – are also founding partners of Red Golf. Red Golf continues to provide forum members with special offers and privileges, and always support Pinoygolfer.com activities. Bettinardi Golf quickly made its presence felt in Philippine soil. Using the... Read More

When I first got wind of the impending release of the TaylorMade R9 Supertri; the first 460cc head with Movable Weight and Flight Control Technology, my heart skipped a beat. I admit it; I’ve been a big fan of the Carlsbad giant’s drivers since the 300 series in the mid-90s. The 500 series completely changed the game. They forced the other manufacturers to rethink their product lines to compete. This series spawned one of the truly legendary drivers of this era; the TaylorMade R510 TP. I had this driver and it was sweet! After a series of Ping drivers, I was drawn back to TaylorMade by the R9. The adjustability, particularly that of the club face setting was the answer I was searching for.... Read More

Eleven is a strong risk reward hole Smack in the middle of Cebu City in Banilad sits the scenic Cebu Country Club. The club traces its beginnings to the early 1900s as a nine-hole golf course built by British and American executives. Today, almost a century later, it has blossomed into the first course in the Visayas. The course is beautiful. The trees that border the fairways are as mature as any golf course I’ve seen. The fairways are carabao grass but this is part of the charm here; it is golf the way my grandfather played it, the way it used to be. Fairways are well defined and lined with trees; this is number 4 The course is flat but is no pushover. The fairways are defined by mature tree... Read More

- Rain came down so hard on Wednesday. When we got to the course at 6 AM, the right half of the first green was under water. Most of the 5th and 6th holes were flooded, and just walking to your golf ball was a problem. We were forced to delay the start time by a full hour. Working just off one tee (normally, we start the pros from both sets of tees), that meant that our last tee time started at 2:10PM. Luckily only one flight failed to finish their first round on the day itself and only had the 18th to play. - There was precious little to show that the disqualifications in Del Monte had an adverse effect on the players. No one ran up to mark their ball from 100-yards out. There were a few snyde... Read More

On our travels to Calatagan, we have often been confronted by the question of where to spend a night or two. The golf at Calatagan Golf Club is so good, that it’s a sin to just drive down for the day. Matabunkay was the obvious first choice given the number of restaurants and resorts there, but it’s a bit out of the way, particularly if you take the Balayan-Calatagan road. Lago de Oro is convenient because it’s within the Calatagan Township just five minutes from the golf club. We’d driven by the low cement wall that borders the resort with the lake and cables beyond, but hadn’t considered looking inside for food and board. It’s a common mistake, one that many have made and it’s... Read More

The greenside bunker at 16 It’s been nigh on 12 years since the first time I set foot on Calatagan Golf Club’s fairways. I was enthralled and completely enchanted with it then and if possible, I am even more enamoured with Calatagan; the town, the people and the golf course than ever before. It has become the site of an annual pilgrimage, my annual golf retreat to the sleepy Batangas town, the site of one of my favorite golf courses in the country. The 17th green Driving into Calatagan, I tried to put my finger on just what is it that has so completely seduced me. For one, the Nasugbu/Lian/Calatagan area holds many happy memories from days gone by. It began with summer trips with my friends... Read More

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