Play the world’s best golf holes in Lipa

Want to try the world’s best golf courses? Now you can – without leaving the country.

American golf course designer Robert Trent Jones Jr. is making this possible with his new creation, the Summit Point World 18, in cool Lipa City, Batangas, just an hour’s drive south of Manila. With holes inspired by those found in well-known courses in the United States and Europe, Summit Point World 18 is expected to attract all sorts of golfers, from the serious ones to the plain curious.

"This will surely be an exciting course," the 63-year-old Jones said after inspecting the partially built course recently and trying out some holes. "It would be challenging for players to guess which famous hole inspired each of these holes."

Having designed more than 200 golf courses in 38 countries the past 40 years, Jones is undoubtedly the most qualified to recreate what to his standard are the world’s best holes.

Among the holes he picked for Summit Point World 18 were those that composed the so-called "Amen Corner" (10th, 11th and 12th holes) of Augusta National in Georgia, USA; the 12th hole of Sotogrande in Cadiz, Spain (a course designed by his father, RTJ Sr.); three holes from three different courses in Pebble Beach, California; and the classic 14th hole of the ancient Saint Andrews course in Scotland, the birthplace of golf.

"These are holes that I love," said Jones, who has designed six other championship golf courses in the Philippines including those in Canlubang, Laguna and the one inside the Ayala Alabang.

He clarified, however, that he did not copy these holes for Summit Point World 18 but merely "borrowed their spirit."

"It is impossible to copy a hole completely because you have to deal with the climate, the topography and dozens of other factors. But you can borrow the spirit, the karma, of the hole: This is the thing that makes a hole great, the thing that gives it character," he said.

For Jones, the spirit of a hole comes from how the tee, the fairway, the green and the bunkers are laid out. In designing each of Summit Point World 18’s holes, he utilized his time-tested philosophy of "listening to the land" so as to match the design to the true nature of the land.

"There are designers who impose their will on the land. I’m different. I work with the land. I listen to it as I mold it to the design I want," he said.

Started two years ago, the Summit Point World 18 is a project of the Leviste family of Batangas and Sta. Lucia Realty, the country’s biggest golf developer. Aside from the championship course, Summit Point World 18 will have a residential estate, modern clubhouses and top-rate amenities.