Story & photos by Mike Besa
Central Luzon has been the hotbed of progress in the last decade. Billions of pesos have been poured into the region by local and foreign companies alike, all eager for a piece of one of the biggest pies in the history of the country. Through it all, golf has prospered in the region. In the last few years, new golf courses have opened and shifted the country’s attention from the golf courses of the Calabarzon to Pampanga, Bataan and Tarlac.
Through the region’s golf growth spurt, Subic has been strangely silent. It’s an aberration since Subic Bay was at the forefront of the economic development in the region. Along with the Clark Economic Zone, Subic is home to the region’s most capable deep-water port and is home to an international airport to boot. Economic growth of that magnitude practically demands a world-class golf course.
It wasn’t like Subic didn’t have a golf course that could cope with the demands of the times. The old Binictican Golf Club was a favorite with American servicemen while the Americans still had control of Subic Bay. Two different developers bid for and won the rights to bring Binictican GC into the 21st century, but for different reasons, both groups failed to bring the golf course up to its full potential.
Thankfully, all that is in the past. Today, the Subic International Golf Club is finally ready for prime time and ready to take its place in Philippine Golf.
Subic Smart Community Corp. has proven that the third time’s the charm. They took over the property and pumped a considerable investment into the property. SSCC’s vision for the property is to build an upscale retirement community like the ones that they develop in Japan. Picture a country-club environment for the elderly, where all the residents’ needs are cared for; housing, recreation, medical care and all their other activities are provided by the developers. The residents want for nothing, everything is provided.
The golf course provides a unique amenity for both residents of the community and for golfers in the region. A world-class community requires a world-class golf course, and SSCC moved to transform the old Binictican Golf Club into one of the best golf courses in the country.
An ambitious goal? Certainly. Unattainable? Hardly.
The Subic International Golf Club sits on a gorgeous piece of property in the formal American naval base. Situated in the valley beneath the Binictican housing development, the outward nine meanders along the foothills. The course isn’t overly long or demanding but it requires accuracy and good management to play well. We played it on a previous visit and were challenged and entertained. But the inward nine was unfinished at that point, through no fault of SSCC. A late-season typhoon hit the property hard and damaged two of the fairways on the second nine.
But that’s all in the past and the golf course is finally complete. It’s early days yet and the golf course is still a baby, but this baby has potential.
The golf course measures a hair over 7,000 yards from the tips, making it a suitable venue for a professional tournament. Most of us will never play the golf course from there and at 6,505 and 6,034 yards from the blue and white tees respectively, the golf course is very accessible.
Water is what you’ll have to deal with here, and water abounds at Subic International. A full thirteen of the holes have water in play, including the peninsula-green fifteenth which has nothing in between the tee box and the green but.
Thankfully, the greens provide generous targets, but that accommodation causes other problems. Miss the correct quadrant and you could be staring down a forty-yard putt.
The golf course provides a good mix and makes balanced demands on the golfer. It is predominantly flat as the fairways snake around the foothills and marshland. This makes the topographical changes on the second nine more dramatic and infinitely more entertaining.
It doesn’t favor one flight shape over another; the holes turn both left and right in equal measure. Golfers that can control the ball’s trajectory have a distinct advantage here.
The golf course is covered in seashore paspalum. Perhaps, not the first choice, but given the golf course’s location, paspalum provides the ideal solution for a golf course located by the bay. This is especially evident in the heat of the driest summer in recent memory; Subic International remains green. Paspalum not only tolerates brackish water, it thrives on it. The neighboring tidal pools provide an abundant supply with which to feed the golf course.
As previously noted, the front nine is tight but feels serene and intimate. The holes on this side seem to exist in their own milieu, except for Nos. 2 and 6 whose greens sit adjacent to each other where the nine turns on itself. The golf is pretty good too. Precision trumps power.
Two is indicative of the kind of golf required on this side. It’s the most difficult hole on the golf course and offers the golfer several options off the tee. Playing safe before all the hazards results in a long approach into the green. Taking on the hazards means threading your drive between two huge trees on either side of the hazard.
Six is the most beautiful hole on this side. The hole plays 194 yards from the men’s tees with water in front and the green framed by the mountains. It’s easily one of the most beautiful par 3s in the country.
Power gets its chance on the second nine. Holes eleven through twelve favor golfers that can move the ball out a long way. They are also the golf course’s sweet spot; the most beautiful holes on the golf course.
The tee shot on eleven is my favorite on the golf course. The fairway sits across a hazard from the tee boxes and turns right steeply up the hill. The trees on the hillside block your view of the top third of the fairway and the green complex. Those capable will enjoy taking their tee balls over the trees to take advantage of lay of the hole. The reward is a wedge or short iron into a gigantic four-tiered green.
Crest the hill to the twelfth tee and the view of Subic and the bay beyond greets you. Twelve is long at 460 yards from the tips, but the hole plays downhill and is consequently much shorter than it reads on the card.
The tee shot on thirteen is breathtaking; the elevated tee has a grand view of the rest of the golf course and the clubhouse beyond. This reachable par 5 has the biggest bunker on the property guarding the left side of the green.
Fourteen is interesting. It’s a monstrously long par 4 from the tips at 446 yards into the prevailing wind, but an eminently manageable 446-yard par 5 from the blues. An interesting solution to toughen up an otherwise easy hole for professional play.
The million-peso question is whether Subic International is worth the green fee. Subic Smart Community Corp’s stated goal was to build a world-class golf course in Subic. At such a golf course, the green fee was never going to be cheap.
SSCC’s model for Subic International is the upscale public golf course in the United States. We’re talking about Torrey Pines, Pasatiempo, Half-Moon Bay or maybe Bethpage Black in upstate New York. Green fees at these types of golf courses range from $150 to $250 so Subic International is priced accordingly—for now, green fees are P5,800 on weekdays and P7,000 on weekends. This is until the owners are happy with the condition of the golf course and feel it is worth the price they intend to charge for it. When that time comes green fees at Subic will go to P7,500 on weekdays and P10,000 on weekends.
The facilities at Subic International Golf Club are more akin to a luxury hotel than a golf club. The club has a proper chef and the menu, though small in scope, is well thought out. Everything we tried was meticulously prepared and was equally delicious.
Can we talk about the toilets? It is an undisputed fact that Japanese toilets are the best in the world. The automated wonders do everything for you in ease and comfort and are downright luxurious. They are on full display at Subic International Golf Club. The seats are heated, and everything is controlled via a small panel just to the right above the bathroom tissue. What decadence.
Though eye-wateringly high, the green fee does include the golf cart and caddy, so while there is value there, it’s still higher than any other golf course in the country. So, is it worth the money?
At the moment, perhaps not. The golf course is still too young, and the club is still refining its design, planting trees and ground cover. The caddies are still inexperienced but are intelligent and well trained. But, given enough time and the proper management and guidance, Subic International could very well mature into one of the best golf courses in the country. If the facilities and services continue to improve as the owners envision, it could well be worth the green fee then.
But price aside, what Subic Smart Community Development has done with Subic International Golf Club is nothing if not impressive. They have cut no corners in the construction; build quality is as good as it can be. The golf course takes full advantage of the lay of the land to give us a golf course that is good in every aspect.
The golf course fills a niche in the growth of the game in the Central Luzon region which today is home to some of the very best golf courses in the country. Subic fits in nicely, providing another high-end golf experience to complement and add variety to the golfing experiences of Anvaya Cove, Luisita Golf and Country Club and the better courses in Pampanga.
Yes, it isn’t as tough as Torrey Pines or as long as Bethpage Black, but must a golf course brutalize you to earn your respect? Subic International isn’t that kind of golf course nor does it aspire to be. It is a well-balanced, well-conceived design that will entertain and challenge a broad range of golfers. It’s an enjoyable course for both low handicappers and high alike. It is beautiful, beguiling and serene and if managed properly, could mature into one of the best golf courses in the country.
Image credits: Mike Besa
1 comment
Mike B. I am looking forward to playing Subic Interntional Golf Club when I get back. By then the course and the greens would have matured a little bit more. From all indications Subic GC will be a challenge,
to golfers to challenge the course and management to market the course to both locals and foreign visitiors.
But kudos to management for their vision..
A good article that brings out the positive side of the decision to invest in Subic.
cheers
Albert M G Garcia.
BRAFE GOLF
RILEY GOLF
MEGAFIBER GOLF TEAM
SHERWOOD BANDIDOS
and where good golf is played.