Eagle Ridge Golf & Country Club

This club offers the largest golfing facility in the Philippines, with an incredible four championship-level courses. It takes only up to one hour to drive there from Makati City, through the South Superhighway and Carmona, Cavite.

You are spoilt for choice here, as these golf courses will suit players at all levels. All four courses are par 72 but with different lengths.

The Isao Aoki course has 6,990 yards, the Greg Norman course has 7,123 yards, the Andy Dye course has 7,323 yards, and the Sir Nick Faldo course runs at a hefty 7,443 yards.

The Andy Dye golf course is known locally as the “Beast of the East,” as it is strategically laid out with numerous deceptive and fairly deep bunkers. Dye used his 18 holes to add difficulty and some cunningly placed sand traps. Initially, his layout took maximum advantage of a spectacular natural canyon that meanders through the course, using traditional and classic golf design with the fundamental elements of risk and reward holes.

The Aoki Course was deliberately designed for the weekend golfer, with its wide-open fairways and negligible rough. The course is not that heavily contoured or bunkered, but some of the greens could pose a problem if you end up on the wrong side of the pin placement. In deference to its designer, the clubhouse has a sushi bar and fishponds, and even the changing rooms have a Japanese-style bath and sauna.

Sir Nick Faldo has designed a long 7,443-yard up-and-down course that will present a golfing test to golfers of any level. There is an array of comprehensive and tight driving holes, where he tests you with bunkers in the most unwelcome spots along the 18 holes. A well-struck drive, however, will most certainly be rewarded.

The greens will test your approach shot and putting touch, as some slope radically away from the line of play. The Faldo course is maturing into one of the most challenging golf courses in the Philippines.

The Greg Norman course has the Norman trademark of carefully planned landscaping, verdant thickets, and water displays. For the top-level golfer, he has created signature holes offering the ultimate golfing pleasure.

Greg Norman has designed a course that has been subtly shaped on the fairways and greens, where accuracy and distance will be put at a premium. It does appear to be a challenging course; however, it would be enjoyed by all.

Their clubhouse facilities are second to none. It might be advisable to book an early tee-off to drive down from Manila before the rush hour traffic.