Story by Mike Besa / Photos by Mike Besa & Jeana Miranda
Of all of the golf courses in the Philippines, the Tagaytay Highlands International Golf Club is the most improbable. Why? Just look at the land on which the golf course sits—few could even dream about a golf course on such a rugged piece of terrain, but Willy Ocier is a visionary that not only conceived it but made it a reality.
Established in 1991 Tagaytay Highlands features the most complete resort facilities in the country today set in an air of exclusivity and absolute luxury. Members and guests have their pick of two world-class golf courses, a plethora of restaurants, all manner of leisure sports and residential developments of various themes, sizes and price points.
The centerpiece of the club is the magnificent Tagaytay Highlands International Golf Club. California-based golf architect Richard Bigler derived inspiration from a ski slope in his design of the golf course; players start at the top amid spectacular views of the Tagaytay Lake and Laguna de Bay and golf their way down to the bottom of the valley. Then, a cable car (or shuttle) takes them back up to the clubhouse so they can start their way down on the back nine.
It was a stroke of genius. I can think of no other golf course in the world built around a concept this unique or on a property this extreme. The result is a golf course that one loves or hates. There seems to be little middle ground in the emotional spectrum of golfers that play here. Given the rate at which one can lose golf balls at Tagaytay Highlands, it is perfectly understandable.
The course is short, playing to a par of 70 and measuring 6,119 yards from the golf tees. It follows the natural contours of Tagaytay Ridge, which means severe elevation changes between tee, fairway and green. The first and tenth tees overlook Taal Lake. Succeeding holes provide unfolding vistas of Laguna de Bay, Mounts Makiling and Banahaw and on clear days, of Manila, Batangas Bay and the island of Mindoro.
The layout is derided by some and feared by many, but Tagaytay Highlands is an entertaining track that asks you to play shots, some of which you have trouble wrapping your head around. Take the tee shot on No. 4, where the tee is at the top of a cliff and the fairway is a hundred feet down on the valley floor below. Or the tee shot on the par 3, twelfth to the green on the other side of the canyon. The shot values are off the chart. A decent ball striker with a good attitude can have tons of fun here.
Playing Tagaytay Highlands is an unforgettable experience. Yes, you might lose a few golf balls, but what golf course will make the sweat flow from your palms just standing on the tee box? The views are spectacular and are among the very best of Philippine Golf.
I first played the course back in 1994 when the course was still quite young. It’s changed a bit over the years and for the better. The fifth hole used to be a par 5 but a few too many golf balls hit into the Family Clubhouse forced the club to shorten it into a par 4
. The ninth hole was a strong finishing hole but again, errant golf balls finding their way into the swimming pool turned it into a par 3 for safety’s sake.
As with all the modern golf courses in the Philippines, the struggle is to keep the imported turf grasses free from the invasive local varieties. Tagaytay Highlands is in a location almost impossible to protect from aggressive endemic grasses but the club had a unique solution that will save the club millions in maintenance costs.
Instead of stepping up the fight against the endemics, the club embraced them. They allowed zoysia matrella, also known as Philippine Bermuda grass, to take over the fairways and greens. Zoysia is extremely hardy and after a fairly lengthy maturation time, provides an extremely durable surface on which to golf. It requires little care besides water and mowing. Perhaps a bit of nitrogen at select times of the year to make the course the shade of green that golfers love, but other than that, you just let it do its thing.
Philippine golf is no stranger to zoysia. It is the staple grass on most of the older golf courses here. Interestingly, it is only recently being appreciated for its viability as turf for the fairways. Anvaya Cove and Southlinks Golf Club were designed from day one with zoysia fairways and apart from some issues with thatch, both remain in spectacular condition year round.
Our group played three days of golf at Tagaytay Highlands leading up to the production of this article and we were universally impressed by the speed and quality of the greens. There was nary a bump or skip on the putting surfaces; just pure, smooth roll as the ball made its way unerringly down the path you send it. What a joy!
The club has had so much success with the change of turf grasses that it is in the process to converting the greens at Tagaytay Midlands, as well. It might take a bit of time but there is little doubt that the end result here will mirror those at the Highlands. It is perhaps, an abject lesson for the local golf industry. Invasive species will always be an issue. Rather than spending time and resources trying to keep imported turf grasses healthy, why not use endemics or endemic hybrids that allow very similar playing conditions?
The move has put both golf courses, Tagaytay Highlands and Midlands, in a favorable position going forward where everyone wins; the club, the members and the environment assuring the club’s place in the future.
Well done.