One of three signature courses of the Golden Bear, Jack
Nicklaus, in the country, Manila Southwoods’ Masters Course has proven its
worth against the best golfers in the country and the world. It has hosted the
Eisenhower Cup (the world amateur golf championship), the Philippine Open on a
number of occasions and was the home of the Resorts World Manila Masters, a leg
of the Asian Tour and the richest professional tournament in Philippine golf.
It is over 7400-yards from the tips and has the variety and
length to challenge the very best the game has to offer. It is a true
championship test and deserves its place as one of the best golf courses in the
country.
The golf course is beautiful. A former sugar cane field, Nicklaus
took advantage of the creeks and streams that crisscrossed the property and
built on them, creating lakes and marshland habitat for the endemic and
migratory birds that call Southwoods their home.
The results are impressive. Manila Southwoods Golf and
Country Club is an Audobon avian sanctuary; the 175th golf course in
the world to receive this distinction. Its most visible residents are the
hundreds of egrets that make the trees on the right side of the sixteenth
fairway their home. Happy hour here is quite a sight. Imaging sipping your
favorite libation to the sight of hundreds of egrets flying it to roost for the
night.
There are 52 other avian species that call the Carmona golf
property their home. Southwoods’ protected habitat assures its feathered
residents that they will always have a home in and on the fairways of the club.
There are so many memorable holes on the Masters Course.
Each is unique and offers its own set of challenges. There are some brutally
tough holes. Two has blossomed into the toughest hole on the golf course. At
438-yards from the gold tees, it isn’t overly long. The bunker on the right
guards the ideal landing area off the tee. Hit it and you’ll have a short iron
to the green. Tee shots further to the left will leave you a long iron or
hybrid into the green. Clubbing for the approach shot is a challenge as the
hole plays into the prevailing wind. This is a classic golf hole.
Six used to be the handicap one but has now been demoted to
the second most difficult hole on the front side. Like two, it isn’t
particularly long at 419-yards from the tips. It is the precision that is asked
from you off the tee that makes it so difficult. The ideal line is over the
bunkers on the right, challenging the wind, the water hazard and the bunkers
just beyond it. Tee shots to the left side of the fairway mean challenging the
deep greenside bunkers to the left of the green. The green is deep and
relatively flat. The green has a bit of break in it but it’s so subtle that
it’s difficult to divine. A great par four.
Nine is the hole that most amateurs dread. Everything is laid out in front of you; avoid the bunkers on the left and out-of-bounds on the right. The green is shallow on the right and deeper on the left. A good drive will leave you a mid to short iron into the green.
Ten is one of our favorites; a massive 446-yard par four that plays dead into the prevailing wind. Interestingly, there isn’t a single bunker on this hole. Not that it needs it. A stream bisects the fairway and guards the ideal line into the green – the closer you are to it, the better your angle into the green. Most will play to miss the green on the left as an errant shot to the right means a watery grave for your golf ball. Ten is one of the strongest holes on the golf course.
Fifteen is a gorgeous par five. At 545-yards from the back tees, it is reachable in two by longer hitters. The only issue is over two hundred yards of water to avoid on the left side. The three-tiered green offers a generous target but misses to the right will be penalized by bunkers and deep rough.
Eighteen is a tremendous finishing hole. It has provided its
share of drama over the years with dozens of fantastic finished to its credit.
It’s a hole that can make or break one’s tournament; eagles and doubles are
possible here. Shorter hitters are best advised to play up the left side of the
fairway. This avoids the water hazard on the right and gives you the ideal line
into the green. In true Nicklaus tradition, the green is set up to receive a
fade. Having one in your arsenal gives you a distinct advantage.
What puts Southwoods Golf and Country Club’s Masters Course
over the top is the condition of the golf course. It is one of the best conditioned golf courses in the country. The greens
are superb. The golf course has been at or near the top of the country’s golf
course rankings for the last 25-years and it should remain there for the next twenty-five.
Images by Marty Ilagan
