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

My time at the 93rd Philippine Open was not all fun and games. There was lots to do and a lot of it was important work. The 13th (4th on the Lobo) My morning usually began at 6 AM when I would go into the tournament office, pick up a pin sheet and go do the rounds of the golf course. On my way out I also checked the tournament tees to make sure they were in the right spots and the correct width apart but the real objective was to make sure the pin placements were correctly reflected on the pin sheets. The pros needed to be 100% confident that the information they have is correct. If there was a discrepancy, a radio call was made to the two starters and the other tournament referees to make sure... Read More

Birthday boy Elmer Salvador is the 93rd Philippine Open Champion Elmer Salvador celebrated his 40th birthday in magnificent style by winning the 93rd Philippine Open Golf Championships by 3 strokes over Dutch National Guido Van der Valk. Salvador bucked a rough start when he briefly lost the lead on Mt. Malarayat’s Makulot 9 but rallied to pull even again at the turn. Van der Valk then bogied the par 3 11th and Elmer pulled ahead by one. NGAP Secretary General Commodor Danny Pizaro, Mt. Malarayat Chair Antonio Turalba, Sr. and NGAP Tournament Dircetor Pablo Soon award Salvador his trophy and a hefty check “That was the turning point,” Salvador said in Tagalog, “I knew... Read More

Elmer Salvador endured an up and down round but remains tied for the lead Elmer Salvador’s game lost steam today and that allowed pursuers Guido Van der Valk and Angelo Que to make up ground on the halfway leader. Salvador started off on the wrong foot with a bogie on number 1 and a double on number 5 but regained his footing somewhat with birdies on 5, 6 and 7 to finish even par on the front side. His roller coaster round continued with a birdie to start the back but he quickly gave it back with a bogies on 12, 13 and 14. He birdied 15 and 16 to pull back to even par but quickly bogied 17 to surrender another stroke to the course to finish at 1-over par for the day when he only managed... Read More

Elmer Salvador leads the 93rd Philippine Open by 3 strokes after two days Moving day at the Philippine Open saw the country’s new rising star Elmer Salvador remain red hot and still in the lead of the 93rd Philippine Open by three strokes after backing up his opening day 63 with a 6-under par 66 for a two day total of 129. Playing with a borrowed putter after his regular gamer was somehow damaged at last week’s ICTSI Canlubang Invitational, his putting remained as hot as his ball striking and continues to keep the rest of the field at arm’s length heading into the weekend. If he keeps this pace of play up, he should think about keeping this putter in the bag permanently. Defending... Read More

Elmer Salvador file photo from ICTSI Canlubang Invitational Philippine Golf Tour Order of Merit winner Elmer Salvador took full advantage of the benign weather conditions and soft greens to post a 9-under par 63 to lead the first day of the 93rd Philippine Open at Mt. Malarayat Golf and Country Club. Starting on the back nine, Salvador, playing with defending Philippine Open champion Angelo Que made the turn in 33 and went on a tear. He birdied all but one of the par-4s (the first) and eagled number 7 (on the Makulot course) for a 6-under par 30 on his inward nine. His considerable ball striking was complimented by a red hot putter on the day; no one could keep up with him Angelo Que tried to... Read More

Arrived at Mt. Malarayat Golf and Country Club this morning before the proam started. I didn’t play as I still had stuff to do for the Business Mirror Golf section due out this Thursday. After the proam, I did manage to sneak out for a quick nine holes on the Lobo course which will serve as the back nine for the pros at the Open. The course setup today was forgiving. Pins were cut in friendly positions and the greens were heavily watered and were soft and receptive. I don’t think they’ll be watered again until the end of the tournament, but you never know. The field is strong; the only one missing is Juvic Pagunsan who told me at Canlubang last week that he probably would be... Read More

Mount Malarayat Golf and Country Club was just voted the 2009 Asian Golf Monthly Best Golf Course in the Philippines. The prestigious award was announced on October 28 during the 2009 Asia Pacific Golf Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A fitting award for one of my favorite golf courses. Kudos to the Active Group and to MJ Carr for the achievement! For more information and images, please check out the post on Mt. Malarayat Golf and Country Club elsewhere in this blog. SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Mt. Malarayat voted best course in the Philippines by Asian Golf Monthly", url: "http://pinoygolfer.com/?p=458" }); 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

Congratulations to Angelo Que for defending his ICTSI Mt. Malarayat Championship at the beautiful Mt. Malarayat Golf and Country Club. It was a far cry from last year when he shot 20-under par and won by 3. This year he was determined to make it exciting for all concerned. Richard Sinfuego and Wisut Artjunawat (again!) pushed Que to the limit. Artjunawat mounted a very stiff charge and got to 12-under with two to play but finished bogie-bogie to fall out of contention. Sinfuego led from the second day and threatened to win wire to wire, but for an errant drive which found the water on the 72nd hole and  led to a double bogie. Angelo didn’t make it easy on himself with the win in sight;... Read More

  #gallery-1 { margin: auto; } #gallery-1 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-1 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-1 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } Come down and be a part of the ICTSI Mt. Malarayat Championships at Mt. Malarayat Golf and Country Club on May 20-23. This is a leg of the Mercedes Benz-Asean Tour. Watch the Philippines’ best golfers strut their stuff on one of Philippine golf’s most beautiful golf courses. Last year’s Champion Angelo Que shot 20... Read More

Nestled at the foot of the Batangas mountain range for which it is named, sits the beautiful Mt. Malarayat Golf and Country Club, the crown jewel of the Active Group. Situated in Lipa, 1,200 feet above sea level the weather is appreciably cooler than lower locales. The mountains provide a stunning backdrop to this modern parkland style course. Laid out by Bob Moore of JMP Design Group, the course consists of three nines, all named for peaks in the Malarayat range, Mt. Makulot, Mt. Lobo and Mt. Malipunyo. Interestingly, the first tees of each of the nines orient you directly at the mountain for which the nine is named. Even more interesting is that this was achieved by luck and only noticed after... Read More