Story & photos by Mike Besa
Over the last three months we documented the condition of Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club from the point when the course was almost unplayable to today. The golf courses are in much better shape but much still remains to be done. At least things are moving in the right direction for Eagle Ridge so, hopefully, the new management team can address all the remaining concerns and bring the course back to where it needs to be.
Just a few kilometers away, the Riviera Golf and Country Club faced many of the same issues. The club suffered from a lack of working capital even if it didn’t want for players. There were Korean groups that played the club regularly but, still, cash flow was an issue.
The bunkers were almost devoid of sand, the fairways were brown and the greens were completely uneven in quality. The employees were disheartened, as many of them were not paid on time. Members stopped playing at the club and quite a few left to join other golf clubs.
Things weren’t looking good for what was one of the top clubs in the country.
But, just last year, the club elected a new board and things turned around quickly. We aren’t at liberty to detail the circumstances that the new board faced, but suffice it to say that the change of management turned the club around almost overnight.
Operations generated sufficient cash flow to address all the outstanding financial issues that had previously plagued the club. The golf courses are looking so much better now. The Langer Course was the first to feel the benefits of a proper budget. The bunkers have the proper amount of sand in them and when we played it during the World Amateur Golf Championship qualifying round, they were all immaculately prepped and raked.
The course got a thorough going over. The rough areas, particularly the surrounds of the 14th tee box and the areas around the 14th green, were cut back. The tee box is a lot airier as a result and you can now actually see the 14th green when you play your approach shot. Improvements, such as this, are now prevalent on the Langer.
The club has since turned its attention to the Couples course. I feel that it’s safe to say that, after the club is done with the considerable task before them, the two golf courses in Riviera will be in the mix of any discussion about the best golf courses in the Philippines.
Beyond these two great designs by two of the greatest golfers of all time, Riviera is blessed with amazing terrain on which to build a golf course. With land this good, great golf courses are almost a given. To have golfers of the quality of Freddy “Boom Boom” Couples and Bernhard Langer as your designers then you have something special.
A good friend quipped that Langer must have been in a really foul mood when he designed his course at the Riviera. No one will dispute the fact that the Langer course is one of the most difficult golf courses in the country. It is monstrously long. Played from the tips, the first three holes (all par 4s) measure over 1,300 yards! Most club players will never reach these greens in regulation unless they play the forward tees.
As you would expect from Langer, a complete game is required to score well here. Each hole will test you from tee to green in a way that few others can. But that’s not to say that the course is unfair or unplayable. On the contrary, from the correct set of tees for your ability, this is a fascinating golf course; one that will challenge you endlessly each time you tee it up.
The Couples course is (very much like its designer) more laid back. The fairways are generous and the greens present large targets. They might make easy targets, but hitting the correct side of the fairways and the correct quadrants of the greens are vital to a good score. Three and even four-putts are not uncommon on certain greens.
The Couples has some very tough holes. Four and Five are long with large undulating greens. But it is the stretch of 12 to 15 that is the main event of the golf course. These holes are as beautiful as any that you’d care to name and will challenge you with their length and the complexity of the greens. The short par-4 14th provides a nice respite, but the green is as devilish as any on the course.
But it is the tee shot on 11 that gets the most notoriety. It’s just 185 yards to carry the ravine (from the forward tees) but the fairway in the distance looks positively miniscule from the tips. Nail the tee shot here and you have bragging rights for the day. Miss it, and the beer at the clubhouse will still taste really good.
Speaking of the clubhouse, it’s really going to need the attention of the new board, as well. It’s looking its age, which doesn’t speak well of the club. The lockers need renovation, and the carpets in the lockers and the restaurant could do with a change.
The good news is that, too, is on management’s checklist. It really shouldn’t cost the club all that much but it will enhance the overall experience at the Riviera many times over.
Our kudos to the new board of directors. Their love for the club and passion for the golf courses have completely turned the Riviera around.
The golf courses are in great shape, and as the rehabilitation and restoration work continues, everything—the golf courses, the clubhouse and the all-around golf experience—should continue to improve.
Look for old members to start making the drive back to Silang and for the share price to improve as the club continues to make progress. Things will only get better.
Image credits: Mike Besa