A golf treasure

Every golf course is unique. Especially for the ones that were built before the sport boomed more than several years ago, and technical equipment was not as advanced and modern as it is today, the golf architects had to make the most out of the surroundings.

In those days, it was not yet the fashion to live by the golf course and community real estate developers were not offering this feature in their projects to their buyers. This makes me think that courses built then were designed more for the love and understanding of the game rather than for what the developer and potential buyer could get from their investment.

As part of the generation who grew up and learned golf in courses that were built before the golfing boom and before all the new courses mushroomed throughout the country and world, I find myself being partial to these "older" type of courses.

What a joy it was for me to have played the PAL Seniors last week in Davao at Apo Golf Club and be reminded that there are few such courses that remain in the country and are maintained in tip-top condition.

Here was a golf course, one of the oldest in the country, that stuck to its identity when the others were being swept into doing major face-lifts to keep up with what seemed to be the market need.

Our very own locally grown and bred carabao grass is what they have covering their fairways. And from my experience with grass, unlike the imported kind that needs the usual dose of water and chemicals, what we have in the country and which is what the maintenance staff of Apo Golf Club uses, is the type that hardly needs a weekly, monthly or even yearly dose of chemicals to keep it looking the way it does. The "other" kind would usually need the usual dose of medication to look green but this is actually making the soil underneath less healthy.

A good amount of water and tender loving care seems to be the formula such a golf course uses to give the player a round that will be difficult to forget. Davao is fortunate to have steady rains in the afternoons in certain months of the year. As I played my round, a certain gratitude for our local and natural materials like the ones used in Apo came over me. Today, despite the numerous new golf courses that are being marketed to accompany a residential lot, I believe the future will see such courses like Apo as antiques — treasures and difficult to come by.

I also would like to commend the maintenance staff and the board of Apo for presenting to us such a beautifully prepared golf course for the PAL tournament. I look forward to returning to watch the regular men’s tournament this week.