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An old flat course with each hole separated by trees. There are 2 courses,
East and West. This East Course is a championship course while the recently
built West course is a resort course. The East course staged the 1977
World Cup. A feature of the course is that each green is elevated and
slopes from the back to the front and the landscaping of the greens is
excellent. You might feel that the course is a little shorter than a 7000
yards par 72 because there are only 2 par 3s and 7 less than 400 yard
par 4s. It was regrettable that the greens were a little slow although
the condition of the grass on the greens was good.
Played in Octber 2018 (latest version)
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A slight dogleg to the left, gently
downhill. If your tee shot curves to the left too much, a lake will catch it or
trees in front will disturb your second shot and make it impossible to aim for
the green. The bunkers on both sides come into play. |
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| A very short but demanding par 4.
The further the tee shot flies, the bigger trouble you will face. The pond 230
yards off the tee squeezes the narrow fairway on the left. If you hit to the right
to avoid the pond, your ball will be in trees where it will be hard to hit the
green. If you successfully place the tee shot on the fairway, the second shot
over the pond is easy. |
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| A signature hole with an elevated
green more than 5 meters high. The green is narrow & deep and slants from
the back to the front, so putting is demanding, too. If your shot doesn’t bite,
it will likely roll down to the one of 6 bunkers guarding the green. Needless
to say, an accurate shot is required on this hole. |
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tee shot is downhill and the second shot is uphill. The creek crosses the fairway
300 yards off the tee but because it is downhill, a 270-yard drive can land up
in the creek. A large bunker in front of the green is in play. The green is a
reverse “ U “ shaped, which is unique. |
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| A straight hole reachable in 2. Seve
Ballesteros made eagles for 2 days in succession at the World Cup in 1977 after
he successfully reached the green on the second shot with a 2 Iron. The second
shot is downhill, which in fact makes the actual distance of this hole about 20
yards shorter. This is a relatively short par 5 but the front side of the green
is guarded by water, which enhances the difficulty. If you decide to lay up in
front of the pond, the third shot needs to be hit from a downhill lie. The green
is narrow in depth and guarded by bunkers on both sides. |
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| A little downhill, neat par 3. There
are bunkers on both sides of the green. |
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| An excellent hole with coconut trees
guarding both sides of the fairway. High-rise buildings behind the green make
the view of this hole unique. The second shot is gently uphill. |
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It takes 20 minutes both from Central Manila and from Ninoy Aquino International
Airport by car. You need to be accompanied by a member to play at the
East Course.
When
it opened in 1931, there was nothing but greenery surrounding the course. But
with the development of the suburbs of Manila over the last 70 years new buildings
have gone up one after another around the course. Nowadays, modern buildings surround
the course, which makes the view from the course unique and is similar to the
courses in Shenzhen, China, where I often play.
This course was awarded 6th place by Asian Golf Monthly 2004 Best course
in the Philippines.
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Mordern buildings seen from the course