Story & photos by Mike Besa
On February 18 of this year, a report surfaced about Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana ordering the Philippine Navy to turn over several portions of the Navy Golf Course in Fort Bonifacio to their qualified owners from the Armed Forces and the Philippine National Police.
In his Department Order 42 issued last February 6, the defense chief directed Navy Flag-Officer-in-Command Adm. Robert Empedrad to relinquish control of the area comprising the Philippine Navy Golf Course to qualified and legitimate lot owners of the AFP Officers Village through the AFP Officers Village Association Inc.
When I was a newbie a little over two decades ago, Navy was the course on which I honed my game. I didn’t have the wherewithal to purchase a club share in one of the nicer private clubs, so like many, the public courses became my playground. Navy’s proximity to home made it an instant favorite. The fact that it was fun to play was icing on the cake.
Upon reading the report, a compulsion to play the golf course again came over me. I needed to see it again before the order took effect and the club ceased to exist.
It had been quite a while since I played the Philippine Navy Golf Club. Having moved to Tagaytay in the intervening years, I was blessed to live in close proximity to many of the best courses in the country today. But I have never forgotten the fairways where the passion for the game took hold.
I was very pleased to see that the club seems to have prospered since my last visit. The clubhouse is in very good condition. Since the food at the club’s restaurant is something of a legend within the golf community, business is very, very good. It’s so good that many non-golfers make the club their venue of choice for a hot meal.
The club has worked to improve the golf experience here. Paved cart paths replaced the gravel goat tracks the clubs used to navigate. The conditions of the golf course are generally very good. Green speed on the zoysia greens might vary depending on weather and the course’s maintenance cycle, but they’re generally quite good for greens of this type.
The golf course is an eminently manageable 5,618 yards from the blue tees. It starts out easily enough; the 471-yard par 5 presents a real birdie opportunity if you can keep your ball on the fairway. However, chances are pretty good that you’ll bogey the 447-yard par-4 second hole. The space afforded to the tee shot is generous, but the hole becomes increasingly difficult as you near the green.
The short par 4s are real charmers. Just 200 yards off the sixth tee in the correct direction will leave you a short wedge into a small green surrounded by a moat. The uphill, 327-yard seventh tempts those that can to go for the green when the wind favors the shot. A miscue off the tee will challenge the best of short games.
All the par 5s offer scoring opportunities and Philippine Navy GC has five of them. The three on the inward nine—13, 14 and 15 offer legitimate eagle opportunities, especially so on hot summer days when the firm fairways reward good drives with lots of roll. The greens are tricky but small. Finding the putting surface usually means a realistic chance for a birdie or better.
Many that frequent Philippine Navy Golf Club view the golf as a preliminary to the main event—the post-round meal. As previously noted, Navy has the best food of any of the city’s public golf courses and the coldest beer. The gising-gising, sinuglaw and sisig are not to be missed.
We spoke to as many of the club’s staff as we could about the impending order to close the club for good. Most were aware of the order but seemed unconcerned. Research reveals that the property has been mired in a variety of disputes, the order referred to by Secretary Lorenzana merely the latest among them.
It makes sense for the Philippine Navy to keep the golf course open. Besides being a nice perk for our sailors, it is a moneymaking enterprise. Beyond that, golf courses like Philippine Navy and the other public golf courses scattered throughout the city provide the points of entry for intrepid golfers into the game. They serve a critical purpose in the game’s infrastructure and all efforts must be exhausted to keep them open for the good of the game.
Image credits: Mike Besa