Mount Malarayat Golf & Country Club (Mt. Makulot & Mt. Lobo Course)

Course Data
Location Manila, Philippines
Yardage 6929 yards Par 72
Course Rating 73.6
Playing Date Jan. 13, 2007
Designer J. Michael Poellot
Opened 1993
Caddy Yes
Golf Cart Yes (Can be driven on FW)
Rating
Overall Rating
4.65
Course Layout
5
Difficulty Level
4
Greens Conditions
4
Fairways Conditions
4
Landscaping & Views
5
Satisfaction Level
5
 

Mount Malarayat Golf & Country Club consists of a 27-hole golf course that is deployed in a relatively cool and flat hilly area, located at around 1,300 ft. (400 meters) above sea level. I will be reviewing their best 18-hole course combination of – Mt. Makulot & Mt. Lobo Course. While each hole is relatively flat, the course offers a much more formidable challenge than it looks. Players will often encounter lakes & bunkers around the greens, not to mention the heavily undulated green. Mount Malarayat is a walkable course with stunning mountain views, and is very fun to play.



A view from clubhouse

A vew of 14th green

 
Hole 3 Par 4 390 yards

Hole 3 Par 4 390 yards (2)

Hole 3 Par 4 390 yards (1)
A slight dogleg to the left. A dried creek running along the left side of the fairway wiil come into play on the tee shot. There is a pot bunker in the middle of the fairway for about 240 yards starting from the tee. Players will encounter another dry creek on the left side and a bunker on the right side of the elevated green, so an accurate second shot will be needed.

 
Hole 4 Par 3 222 yards

Hole 4 Par 3 222 yards (2)

Hole 4 Par 3 222 yards (1)
A long par 3 with a wide green. When the pin position is on the right, an accurate carry will be required since there is a hollow just in the front of the right pin.
 
Hole 5 Par 5 531 yards

Hole 5 Par 5 531 yards (2)

Hole 5 Par 5 531 yards (1)
A dogleg to the right. Players need to choose one of double fairways, upper left or lower right, off the tee. The right fairway is a short cut but it is narrower in a lower position. Pot bunkers are scattered all around the wide green with the greatly concave center. 

5th green seen from the side

Hole 5 Par 5 531 yards (3)
 
Hole 7 Par 5 526 yards

7th green seen from Hole 6
A dogleg to the right with the green sweeping further away to the right. Off the tee, a long fairway bunker that runs along the right corner of the fairway will come into play when players try to take a short cut. Carrying it is only chance to hit the green in two. The green is shallow and double-tired with the lower left, which is sloping down toward a lake. The peninsula green is guarded by 5 deep bunkers, and is surrounded by the lake in the front and on the right, long hitters will be forced to decide whether to aim for the green on the second shot or layup safely. This hole has been selected as one of the best 500 holes in the world in 2000 by US GOLF Magazine.

Hole 7 Par 5 526 yards (3)

Hole 7 Par 5 526 yards (2)

Hole 7 Par 5 526 yards (1)
 
Hole 8 Par 3 185 yards

Hole 8 Par 3 185 yards (2)

Hole 8 Par 3 185 yards (1)

An over-a-pond par three. Since the green is shallow, an accurate shot to hit the green and stop abruptly is required.

 
Hole 9 Par 4 424 yards
A dogleg to the left with a double fairway. While the fairway to the left offers itself as a shortcut, it is significantly narrower and faces a lake. Regardless of either route, the second shot will require the ball to cross over the lake, and if the pin position is in the left back section, the ball also need to carry the waterfall that will make this hole more demanding.
 

9th hole seen from the green

Hole 9 Par 4 424 yards (2)

Hole 9 Par 4 424 yards (1)
 
Hole 15 Par 4 417 yards

Hole 15 Par 4 417 yards (2)

Hole 15 Par 4 417 yards (1)
A relatively straight par four. Off the tee, four bunkers that are strategically arranged on both the left and right sides of the fairway will come into play. While there are no bunkers surrounding the green, there are humps and hollows on both its left and right sides, making approach shots relatively difficult.

 
Hole 17 Par 3 157 yards

Hole 17 Par 3 157 yards
The green is elevated and descends towards the back.
 
Hole 18 Par 5 514 yards

A dogleg to the right. While it is reachable in two shots, players must figure out a way to avoid both a pond and a deep guard bunker that surround the front of the green. When lay up on the second shot, players should be careful of the fairway inclining toward the pond on the left.

 

Hole 18 Par 5 514 yards (3)

Hole 18 Par 5 514 yards (2)

Hole 18 Par 5 514 yards (1)
 
19th hole

The Suites at Mount Malaryat

To get to Mount Malarayat, it is a two-hour drive from Makati city. The accommodation, The Suites at Mount Malarayat, is available adjacent to the golf club.

The 2017 edition of the Top 100 Golf Course of the World (top 100 golfcourses.com) ranked this course as No.9 in its category of best 30 courses in Philippines. As of 2015 there are a total of 100 courses in Philippines.

Another course designed by J. Michael Poellot is Aplaya Laiya Resort. He designed and overhauled 66 courses worldwide including 34 in Asia. His famous works in Asia are Caledonian GC, Tomisato GC, Nasu Chifuriko CC, Glen Oaks CC in Japan, Agile (雅居楽長江) G&CC - A Course, Long Island (長安) G&CC, Beijing (北京) GC in China, Royal Kuan-His (老翁関西) GC in Taiwan, Lakewood CC in Thailand, and Rainbow Hills G&HR in Indonesia.