Story & photos by Mike Besa
The Arnold Palmer course at Forest Hills Golf and Country Club bears special significance to BusinessMirror Golf; it was the first golf course featured when this section was redesigned back on the 13th of August 2013. The golf course was brand-new back then, quite literally an infant as far as golf courses go having just opened for play earlier in the year. The back nine was the greener of the two having just been completed just months before. When you play a course this new, it’s an interesting exercise to give it a few years then play it again to see how it’s progressed.
And, yes, it’s come along very nicely, indeed.
It’s almost inconceivable that it’s taken me four years (almost to the day!) to return. To be honest, because I only played it a couple of times back then and have stayed away so long, I’d forgotten many of the nuances of the golf course, but as the round progressed, it came back to me. They were all good memories, too.
For those that haven’t had the pleasure of stalking the Palmer’s fairways, this is a ball strikers’ course just like its sibling, the Nicklaus course (which we featured just two issues ago). You need to have decent control of your golf ball to keep it here. It is a mountain course but it’s not as penal as some others. Neophytes will do best to play the forward tees. You’ll gain a better appreciation for the golf course more from there.
Most important is that the golf course is playable. All you need are a few rounds under your belt so you know what to expect and what will be asked of you. Once you figure it out, it’ll grow on you. It’ll make you a better golfer.
The Arnold Palmer signature course sits on one of the hilliest parts of the vast Forest Hills property. It is not overly long at 6,808 yards from the tips and instead relies on clever design and diabolically fast greens to provide resistance to scoring. The fairways are narrow and precise placement of the golf ball off the tee is imperative for a good score. This is a golf course on which you’ll have to think your way around for the best results. The Palmer is a fitting counterpoint to the original course at Forest Hills: the Nicklaus, which is long and offers generous landing areas better suited for those who like to bomb it off the tee.
I’ve always said that you can tell a lot about a golf course from the opening hole. Standing on the Palmer’s first tee, you get that. The relatively short par 4 plays completely uphill. The fairway is generous but get used to playing from uneven lies. Those nice, even lies you’re used to at the driving range will feel alien to you after a full round here.
I’ve played a few Arnold Palmer designs and the one thing they all have in common are blind shots. A blind shot is hitting a golf ball to a target that you can’t see. All the golf courses that bear his signature in this country ask you to hit shots like this. The track at Forest Hills is no exception. The tee shots on four and five are blind, as is the one on 16 but more on that later. Suffice it to say, if you’re not comfortable with them, you’ll have to trust your skill and alignment to put the ball in play here.
There are a lot of memorable holes here. Four is a simple hole on the face of it. The fairway is a long way below the tee box and only part of it is visible from up top. The best line is over part of the forest below. The fairway is ringed by the hazard so it’s essential to keep your ball in the fairway. Having found the fairway, the next task is to club appropriately for the approach into the elevated green. This green, like many others, sits at an oblique angle to the fairway. Only be best shots will hold, others less than perfect will trundle off the back of the green.
Five is a gorgeous par 4. A good drive up the left side of the fairway just over the right side of the bunker there will put you in the mayor’s office, the perfect place from which to attack the flag. The rolling fairway gives you a great look at the green framed by bunkers and the forest beyond.
The 602-yard par-5 ninth hole is the one handicap. It plays shorter than you might expect since it plays downhill all the way. The green is best approached from around 150 yards away; this gives you the flattest area from which to play to the elevated green. Once on, the green is small and straightforward.
The first and last holes of the Palmer course are closeted in the most scenic part of the golf course. The juxtaposition of forest habitat with manicured fairway are a visual feast. What an appropriate setting to begin and end nine holes of golf.
They both a challenge to play. Both start from elevated tees and play to elevated greens. The difference is that No. 10 plays uphill all the way while 18 does not. They are not only gorgeous but they will test your skills.
As you would imagine, there are many holes with strong visual impact. The elevation changes on the second nine seem to be even more extreme than on the first. The beauty of the second is that you see some of the other holes from your vantage point on the golf course.
The three finishing holes present the gauntlet; the true test of this golf course. Sixteen is a puzzle that you solve off the tee. The relatively short par 5 shows you just one part of the fairway from the tee box. The tree in the fairway marks a pond smack in the fat part of the short grass. Lay back and it’s work to carry both hazards so you have a reasonable club going into the green. If you must lay up between the water hazards, then hitting the green in regulation becomes almost impossible. Most golfers won’t have a choice but long hitters have another option. It’s a 220-yard carry to the sliver of fairway between the hazards. If you can pull that off then the hole becomes a lot easier.
Seventeen is a real monster. At 447-yard long, it was always going to be a handful but having to play over a ravine to the green while unsighted puts the degree of difficulty of this hole off the scale. It is a ludicrously difficult hole for the amateur. Care should be taken to avoid a really big number.
The finishing hole offers a moderately difficult target from the highest point of the closing nine. The view from the top is just stunning. Once the fairway is found, you can’t relax. You’ll have to club appropriately to the elevated green which offers a good chance for a closing birdie.
The members of Forest Hills Golf and Country Club are lucky to have two fantastic golf courses; each quite different from the other that offer a good variety of golf. The Nicklaus is longer and more open and the Palmer done in the style of a real mountain course. Both will test your mettle as a golfer.
The club has recently purchased new maintenance equipment to replace the current fleet. The effects of the investment are already evident but both golf courses should continue to improve, as the long-term effects of their program become evident. The members of Forest Hills can be proud of the two golf courses at their club. They are a worthy addition to golf in the Philippines and have raised the bar for golf clubs in the North of the metropolis.
Image credits: Mike Besa
1 comment
Love places and courses like Forest Hills, look at first tee and Im in love