Posts by author
Mike Besa
Titleist AVX Golf Balls are here
Titleist’s latest performance golf ball, the AVX, has finally arrived in our market. AVX stands for Alternative to V and X, which, conveniently, allows us to understand where this ball fits in Titleist’s considerable line.
A preview of what could be the best driver of 2018
Callaway’s next big thing, the Rogue family of golf clubs, have been on the world market now for almost six months but have just started to make their way to the country’s proshops. Shame really. TaylorMade has gotten a big jump on Callaway’s finest since their Philippine launch several months back. They’ve made big strides in the market since the M3 and M4 have proven themselves superior to their predecessors. Has Callaway’s late entry into our market shortchanged golfers that opted to put the new M3 and M4 in their bags? Would they have been better served if they’d waited for the Rogue drivers?
Cavite’s Water Crisis
THE Philippines has always been a country of just two seasons—hot and wet.
Cobra F8 ONE Irons – Curiosity or a growing trend?
Cobra’s initial one length offering was well received—especially among golfers who struggle with consistent ball-striking. Return rates have been low, and while it would be overstating things to suggest there’s been widespread adoption, there remains genuine curiosity.
Long-term reports on the hottest clubs on the market
Don’t you just hate it when you test a club at the driving range and are just striping it perfectly? Take out the credit card, pay for it, and for the first round or two, it is absolute bliss. Then, by the third round or so, the magic wears off and the club just stops working. Now you’re furious because you just paid retail for what was supposed to be the latest and greatest but turned out to be a dud.
Sherwood Hills Golf Club: Still one of the best golf courses in the country
SHERWOOD Hills Golf Club had been a hideaway golf course for myself and a few of my Pinoy golfer friends over the years. It is very well run and always in tremendous condition. It is an awesome golf course with tremendous variety; enough to keep even the hardest core golfers thoroughly entertained. For the quality of golf on tap here, there are remarkably few golfers on the fairways.
Asian Golf Tourism Convention: The Philippines embraces golf tourism
ALTHOUGH we live in the digital age, the Philippines has managed to remain off the chart in the world of golf tourism. Given the beauty and quality of the golf on offer here, it strikes many as odd that the country has done little to develop a potentially lucrative resource.
Cobra F8 Driver: At par with the big boys
By virtue of sheer volume and quality of advertising and promoting their products, it’s usually difficult to look past the golf mega-manufacturers. Fortunately for the next-tier companies like Cobra Golf et al., many golfers march to their own beats and are the first to look beyond the big boys for alternative products that provide similar or superior performance to the TaylorMades and Callaways that hog public consciousness.
Bert Bravo debuts 18-hole par-3 golf course in Dumaguete
If I had to describe Bert Bravo in a word, it would be irrepressible. The man is driven by his passion for life and living.
Odyssey O-Works Red #7: The mallet for golfers that prefer blades
When I started out in golf, I was a devotee of the blade putter. The clean, uncomplicated lines made for easy target acquisition and made aiming instinctive. But there was a downside. Miss the putter’s miniscule sweet spot and the ball had little chance of making it to the hole.
The Rebirth of the Mimosa Golf and Country Club
Built in the midst of the great golf-course boom of the early-1990s the Mimosa Golf and Country Club Mimosa is built on what was known as the Clark Air Base Golf Club. The original 18 was split and expanded into what are now two lovely golf courses. Redesigned in 1992 under former Mimosa Leisure Estate Chairman Antonio Gonzales by Hawaii-based course architects Robin Nelson and Neal Haworth, Mimosa now boasts two delightful golf courses, the Mountain View and Acacia-Lakeview, that exploit the varied terrain of the vast property.
Modern Rules of Golf: Growing the game
The USGA and R&A announced today the modernized Rules of Golf that will go into effect at the beginning of January 2019, ending a six-year process of discussion (and yearlong period of review).
Product review: TaylorMade M4 driver
When TaylorMade announced the new M4 driver, I was of two minds. On the one hand, I love my 2017 M2. By my reckoning, it is the best driver I’ve ever owned.
The comeback golf course of the year –Riviera Golf and Country Club
Story & photos by Mike Besa
Twist Face hits Philippine fairways!
A TaylorMade product launch is a big event and in 2018, their launch of the new M3 and M4 at the Army Driving Range in Fort Bonifacio was no exception. A huge crowd turned out to see the latest golf clubs from the golf-equipment giant from Carlsbad, California. TaylorMade Golf has a huge following here all anxious to see and test the much-hyped Twist Face Technology.
Looking for something different? Cobra’s got you covered
Golf manufacturers struggle to outdo and out-hype each other in their attempts to separate us from our hard-earned cash. Twist Face. Jailbreak. Dragonfly technology. You’ve seen the ads and surfed their web sites. You know what I’m talking about.
Best Modern Golf Course: Anvaya Cove Golf and Sports Club
From the moment we set foot on Ayala Land Premiere’s Anvaya Cove Golf and Sports Club, we knew it was something special. The land, the layout, the amenities…everything about it just screamed “world class.” We know that that’s a term that’s been used quite loosely in the past, but rest assured, it is entirely appropriate when applied to Anvaya Cove’s stunning golf course.
TaylorMade M3 and M4: The first of 2018’s big dogs hits our shores
Market forces being what they are, new golf clubs typically make it to our market a bit later than the larger markets in the Asia-Pacific region. Now while that delays our enjoyment of the latest and greatest that equipment manufacturers have to offer, it allows us the latitude of observing the rest of the world’s reaction to said clubs and that should allow us to make better purchasing decisions when the time comes.
Odyssey golf wants to put a mallet in your bag
Your putter is the one club in your bag that seems to defy the advancement of golf technology. Yes, there are plenty of putters that have used science to make them roll the ball better, respond better on mishits and in theory, make you a better putter. But that said, it is an indisputable fact that most golfers continue to play with putters that were fundamentally designed in the 1960s.
Southlinks Golf Club: BusinessMirror Golf’s public golf course of the year 2017
Story & photos by Mike Besa
Are the new drivers really better?
I’ve seen it happen every year since I began writing about golf and golf clubs. Every year the equipment manufacturers introduce their latest, greatest drivers with each claiming to be longer and easier to hit than last year’s model.
The Best of Philippine Golf
The end of the good year 2017 is upon us and as is our custom, it is time to look back on the year that was and how the golf courses of the country fared.
How Many Wedges Should You Have in Your Bag?
This is a topic that gets a lot of feedback from our readers. There is so much choice that it’s confusing. Which wedge do I get? How many wedges should I carry? What lofts should I get? What’s bounce? What are the different sole designs for?