| Sherwood Hills Golf Club, Cavite, Manila |
| |
| Address | Trece Martires, Cavite, Manila, Philippines |
| Course Information | |
| Designer | Jack Nicklaus |
| No. of Holes | 18 |
| Info | 7,265 yards (Gold) / Par 72 Course/Slope Rating: 75.1/136 (Gold), 72.9/132 (Blue) |
| Course Transport | Walking Course. Golf carts available. |
| Access | Private Club; visitors welcome. Call +63 (0)46 4192841 |
| Getting There | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| The club is located about an hour and ten minutes south of Manila; about another 30 mins from Manila Southwoods G&CC. If you negotiate with a local taxi driver (rather than booking a car through your hotel) you should be able to get a return trip from Makati for around 2,500 (HK$400-450). |
||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Golf | ||||||||||||||||||||||
 Sherwood
Hills is the most un-Nicklaus Nicklaus course that we've seen. Built on
natural flowing land, the layout is often described as an inland links because
of the hard running fairways and open-fronted greens. Although there aren't
many links courses that require carries over ravines like Sherwood does,
it's safe to say that Nicklaus has eschewed his typical style of wide fairways,
big greens protected by even bigger bunkers when he came up with his plans
for this place. Legend has it that the club was originally going to have
36 holes, with each nine being designed by Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus,
Gary Player and Tom Watson. On a site visit, however, Nicklaus turned to
the owner and said, "I'll cut my fee in half if I can design the whole
course." Even if none of the above happened, this course is, quite
frankly, superb. This is a rugged layout (don't expect to see any fancy
flowerbeds and over-the-top landscaping) that rampages across pretty wild
terrain. The landing areas, although generous, have to be found from the
tee. The nasty cogon grass that flanks
the fairway is almost impenetrable and vegetation filled ravines come into
play on many of the holes as well. The greens, while not outrageously contoured,
are generally small and guarded by the good use of sand. We particularly
like the attractive rain trees that border
many of the holes here. Water comes into play around the turn - most notably
on the incredibly demanding par-4 ninth, a brute
of a hole that averages an incredible 5.9 shot average for members. |
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Course Maintenance | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Caddies | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Good. English speaking so no language barrier. Could read greens too. Bonus. |
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hole by Hole Guide | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
| 007 Rating | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Absolutely fabulous. One of the best courses we've played. Highly interesting - you'll remember every hole long after you play it. Undoubtedly one of the top courses in Asia and an absolute must-play if you're in Manila. A quick word on the clubhouse: It's perfect. Not overly huge, but tastefully decorated and serves great good. Try and tee off early though: the course is popular with Koreans who book package trips to the Philippines during the winter months and it can get very busy. Amazingly, membership here costs as little as US$1,000 - and that's the entry fee. What a bargain! Where's my chequebook? Albatross 1/07 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Like most of the better courses in the Philippines, the conditions are
generally excellent. When we played the greens had been cored just a few
days previously, but, and this is the crucial part, they still rolled
true. Impressive stuff.
