Since the ’90s, Filipino golfers have become even more spoiled than usual. Not only are we attended to by caddies and umbrella girls, but we have become accustomed to immaculately manicured sandcapped fairways and lightning quick microbermuda greens. All well and good but, the great majority of golf courses in our country use carabao grass on the fairways and zoysia matrella (commonly called Manila grass) on the greens and fairways.
Sta. Elena Golf and Country Club and the Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club led the development of the new breed of golf courses. Sta. Elena is a favorite of golfers that live in the metropolis. Its pristine fairways are famous for draining very quickly after a heavy downpour and its tifeagle greens roll like glass.
Manila Southwoods twin Nicklaus signature courses are always in wonderful condition. Interestingly, they skipped sandcapping their fairways but use Tifton on the tee boxes, fairways and primary rough. The Master’s Course’s greens are being converted over to tifeagle to mirror the more consistent greens of the Legends Course. Between the two clubs, these are the best, most consistent greens in the country.
The traditionally built courses are championed by Wack Wack Golf and Country Club’s East Course. To this day, the East Course uses carabao grass on the fairways and zoysia on its tee boxes and greens. This construction is shared by the older golf courses in the Visayas and Mindanao. Fairways tend to get muddy during wet season and rock-hard during summer, presenting a variety of playing conditions with which the golfer must contend.
It’s interesting to note that most golfers adapt their games to one style of golf course or the other and have difficulty adapting when they play a course of the other style. In this article, we’ll endeavor to discuss the similarities and differences between the two and what is required to play effectively on either style of golf course.
First, we need to examine how the ball lies on either course. This is what determines the type of shot you can play. Sandcapped Bermuda fairways are lush. Walking on them feels like walking on a well-padded carpet. On the fairways, the turf is tight, the blades of grass, small and the ball sits evenly on the surface. You might find it sitting down in a sandy divot on occasion, but for the most part, the ball is in a position from which you can play a variety of shots. You can pick the ball cleanly off the turf, or you can hit down on it to get a bit more spin. Since the fairways drain so well, there isn’t much difference to playing them in the rain.
On carabao grass it’s a different story. The blades are large and loosely arranged. Many, Wack Wack among them, sit on adobe-based soil, meaning they retain a lot of water and may get muddy during the wet season. During the dry season, the fairways turn rock hard. The ball will sit down in the turf since carabao grass blades are loosely packed. You need to be very specific with your shot selection. When the fairways are damp, hitting down on the ball will only cost you distance. It is necessary to shallow the bottom of the arc of your golf swing to pick the ball neatly off the turf. Think about hitting the ball on the third groove and leave a small shallow divot.
You have more options in summer when conditions are dry. The adobe-based soil turns rock hard where water is scarce but, again, because the blades of grass are loosely packed, the ball will be sitting down slightly. In some areas, you might even find yourself on a bare lie. Because the sun-baked turf is hard enough to offer resistance, hitting down on the ball is now an option. Picking the ball clean is always an option as the condition of the lie has less effect on the shot. Many old-course specialists still carry a 3-iron in their bag. In the height of summer, they take this club off the tee and hit stingers with it; the ball just runs and runs and it’s easier to keep between the trees than a driver. It’s immensely effective.
This holds true for full shots and touch shots around the green. The Visayan golfers have a particularly clever technique. They’ll take a lofted wedge and make a shallow swing that collects the ball low on the clubface, right on the second groove. The ball comes out low and loaded with spin; it’s the only way to get the ball to check on a zoysia green from carabao fairways.
On the greens, the differences are less subtle. Zoysia’s blades are significantly larger than those of a modern micro-Bermuda. The effect is that the grass tends to slow the ball down and turn it into the direction of the grain. This means that besides allowing for the amount of visible break, you’ll need to allow for the effects of the grain on your golf ball. It’s tough for those unaccustomed to grainy greens but if you have a good caddy and pay attention to the amount of break that he allows for your putts, it won’t be long before you pick it up yourself.
Recognizing the shots you need to play are just the start of the process, now you’re going to have to go to the range and your club’s practice green to try some of these shots out. To hit those stingers with a long iron, just put the ball back in your stance a ball-and-a-half and finish low. This keeps the ball down. There are many videos on shallowing out your golf swing but fundamentally, you’ll need to move the ball a bit to the left (right for lefties) so the club contacts the ball closer to the bottom of the arc.
The near-thin chip will require a lot of your attention. With the ball slightly back in your stance, make a shallow swing at the ball. Visualize hitting it on the second groove of your wedge. Once you have feel for the hit, focus on distance control. You’ll need it to get used to the amount of spin a well-played shot generates.
Thus, endeth today’s lesson. The differences in condition, the way the ball sits and the shots you have to play on our older courses are what makes games there so interesting. I’m not demeaning the pristine conditions of the new courses here. There’s a very prominent place in our game for them but the old courses demand different skills and create increased awareness of your golf swing. Play them regularly and you’ll see gains in your golf game. Put it the work, do the reps and you’re on your way to lower scores and a ton more fun on the golf course.