Bulacan

Let’s Play at the The Royal Northwoods Golf Club in Bulacan

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THE ROYAL NORTHWOODS GOLF CLUB

Photo from: golfph.com

Not many have heard of Royal Northwoods; blame its relative isolation. It’s roughly 80k from Makati; to get there take the NLEX and get off at Sta. Rita. Then turn right and head towards Cabanatuan, NE. When you get to San Rafael, look for the signs to the club. You’ll turn right on a small concrete road which you’ll follow seemingly into the middle of nowhere. It’s about ten minutes from the highway. Nestled among the rice fields lies a real gem of a course. Once you see it, its beauty and playability will quickly make up for the effort involved in getting there.

Photo from: royalnorthwoods.com

A Graham Marsh design measuring 6,989 yards from the tips, it is short by modern standards. The predominant features of the course are its bunkers. Numerous, often large and quite deep in places, the bunkers sit in front of you; intimidating but posing no unpleasant surprises. They are to be avoided at all costs. The greens are a tricky affair; they’re not overly sloped but their subtle humps and hollows are precisely the reason they’re difficult to read. You have to be aware of the direction of the prevailing slope to properly decipher their secrets (hint: the clubhouse is the highest point on the course; everything falls away from there).

Photo from: golfph.com

The par-5s are the scoring holes; all of them are opportunities for birdies. The par-4s are your keys to a good round, a mix of shorter, tricky holes and long, brutal ones will add pain and pleasure to your round. Manage yourself well here and a good score is in the bag.

Photo from: pinoygolfer.com

The toughest hole on the course is the par-4 second. The 1-handicap, it measures just 417-yards from the tips. A good drive is the key to the hole and must be perfectly placed. OB lurks just left of the cart path on the left side of the fairway, too far right and a growth of giant bamboo will completely obscure your view of the green. A stream running across the fairway complicates matters further. The green is large and runs diagonally away from you, making it imperative that the approach hits the correct quadrant. Conquer this hole and you’re on your way to a good scoring round.

Photo from: royalnorthwoods.com

Every course has a tee shot that you look forward to or dread. At Northwoods it’s on the 5th hole from the gold tees; it plays over the largest of the club’s lakes to a fairway running diagonally to the right, daring you to cut the corner which is guarded by a phalanx of very deep bunkers. If you can achieve that, getting on in two is a breeze and a chance at eagle or birdie waits. The rest of the front side is fairly benign until you get to number nine. A brutal 427-yards from the tips, it plays a good thirty yards longer up the hill and into the prevailing breeze. To the average golfer this will play like a par-5. The back side starts with another monster par-4, this one 437-yards that, thankfully, plays down hill. Avoid the bunkers in the dogleg at all cost; they negate any chance for par on this hole.

Photo from: pinoygolfer.com

All in all, this is a very, very good golf course that presents something for everyone. It’s pleasant to play but can pose quite the challenge from the back tees. It’s been a while since I’ve been there, but on my last trip down, the course seemed to have matured quite nicely and the greens were rolling at about 10 on the stimp; a sure sign that the course was in superb condition.

Source: pinoygolfer.com