Welcome...

A quick reminder to download the My Golfasian app, available now on iPhone and Android. From your phone you can:

🗸 Update your profile

🗸 Check your reward points

🗸 View your upcoming and past trips

🗸 Access 'App-only' special offers and promotions

A quick word on timing. We're now in the low season here in Southeast Asia, which means quieter courses, superb conditions, and some of the best hotel rates of the year, the perfect moment to treat yourself to a golf escape. And with the high season expected to be busy, we've already secured special rates at many of the region's leading courses and hotels, so do reach out early and we'll lock in your trip on the best possible terms.

From 1 August to 30 September, one of Thailand's favourite golf towns serves up its best-kept secret of the year: fewer crowds, beautifully conditioned fairways, and big savings on green fees. During the Hua Hin Golf Festival, green fees at many of the region's top courses drop significantly. Combine it with a stay-and-play package and there has rarely been a better time to play the home of Thai golf. 

Finally, a quick reminder that Golfasian is once again nominated in the 2026 World Golf Awards. If you have travelled with us and enjoyed your experience, we would be hugely grateful for your vote. Every single one counts, and we thank you in advance.

If you have any interesting news you would like to share with us, we would love to hear it and would be happy to consider it for a future edition. Thank you for reading, and for choosing Golfasian as your go-to golf tour operator for Southeast Asia.

We hope you enjoy this month's edition.

Mark Siegel,

Managing Director

Double Tree Phuket Golf Invitational 5-10 Jul. 2026, Thailand
Indian Open Thailand  22 - 26 Jul. 2026, Pattaya, Thailand 

Pattaya Men's Open  23 - 29 Aug. 2026, Pattaya, Thailand

Bangkok Golf Championship 30 Aug. - 5 Sep. 2026, Bangkok, Thailand

Vietnam World Masters 6 - 13 Sep. 2026, Danang, Vietnam (SOLD OUT)
Vietnam World Masters Week 2 13 - 19 Sep. 2026, Danang, Vietnam

Cambodia Golf Tournament  25 - 30 Oct. 2026, Cambodia

Pullman Invitational  1 - 6 Nov. 2026, Pattaya, Thailand 

Malaysia World Masters  21 - 28 Nov. 2026, Malaysia
Philippines Golf Invitational  21 - 27 Feb. 2027, Clark, Philippines (SPECIAL OFFER)

Amari Skins Hua Hin Golf Week  14 - 19 Mar. 2027, Hua Hin, TH (SPECIAL OFFER)

Centara World Masters  6 - 12 Jun. 2027, Hua Hin, Thailand
Avani Pattaya 2 Ball  13 - 19 Jun. 2027, Pattaya, Thailand

The Philippines' Most Exciting Golf Frontier

​

Every so often a destination arrives that makes you wonder why you had not played there sooner. Right now, that destination is Clark. Tucked into the wide plains of Pampanga, around 80 kilometres north of Manila and linked to the capital by the smooth Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, Clark is one of the easiest international golf trips you can plan in this corner of Asia. Its own gateway, Clark International Airport, now welcomes a growing roster of direct flights into a sleek modern terminal, which means you can land, clear a refreshingly quiet arrivals hall, and be on the first tee in well under an hour. For golfers who value their time, that alone is worth the trip.

There is a fascinating story beneath your feet here, too. Clark spent most of the twentieth century as the largest American air base outside the United States, until it was handed back to the Philippines in the early 1990s and reborn as the Clark Freeport Zone. That heritage has shaped the place in the best possible way: wide, tree-lined boulevards, generous open space, and a calm, uncrowded feel that you simply do not get in a typical Asian metropolis. Set against the backdrop of Mount Pinatubo and the Zambales mountains, with cooler air on the higher ground, Clark feels less like a city and more like a vast, green resort that happens to have an airport in the middle of it.

The golf is the headline, and the lineup is great. Mimosa Plus Golf Course offers a full 36 holes across its Mountain and Acacia Lakeview layouts, set in the rolling foothills near Mount Pinatubo. Clark Sun Valley is loved for its elevation changes, mountain views, and cooler microclimate, while Fontana Leisure Park delivers parkland golf in a tranquil, beautifully landscaped setting. Add the likes of Pradera Verde and several others within easy reach of one another, and you can comfortably string together four or five rounds in a long weekend without ever retracing your steps.

What truly puts Clark on the map, though, is what is happening right now. The new Hann Reserve development in adjacent New Clark City is a genuine game-changer: a 450-hectare estate destined for three championship courses, the first of which, the Nicklaus-designed Dragon's Landing, has just opened high in the mountains. Courses by K.J. Choi and Sir Nick Faldo will follow, alongside the Philippines' only PGA-affiliated player development facilities. It is all anchored by a world-class integrated resort, including the brand new Swissôtel Clark, the first Swissôtel in the country, plus international hotels, fine dining, premium shopping, and a casino. In short, Clark is no longer just a quiet golf escape. It is fast becoming one of Asia's most ambitious golf and leisure destinations, and you are catching it right at the beginning.

Beyond the fairways, Clark sits in the heart of Pampanga, widely known as the Culinary Capital of the Philippines, and this is a region that takes its food seriously. The beloved sizzling pork dish sisig was born just down the road in Angeles City, and a proper Kapampangan feast of kare-kare, crispy pork, and sweet tibok-tibok pudding is reason enough to visit. When you are not eating, there is plenty to fill a rest day: the Clark Museum traces the area's remarkable journey from Fort Stotsenburg to Freeport Zone, Nayong Pilipino showcases the whole country in miniature, and thrill-seekers can take on the giant swing and zipline coaster at SandBox. For the adventurous, a guided trek to the crater lake of Mount Pinatubo, the volcano whose 1991 eruption reshaped this entire landscape, is one of the most unforgettable day trips in the Philippines.

Easy to reach, rich in history, blessed with cooler mountain air and a golf scene that is expanding before our eyes, Clark has quietly become a must-play. With Hann Reserve leading the charge, there has never been a better moment to discover it, and a better time to say you played here before everyone else did.

High in the hills above New Clark City, around 25 minutes from central Clark, sits the course that has announced the Philippines' arrival as a serious golf destination. Dragon's Landing is the first of three signature championship layouts at the vast 450-hectare Hann Reserve, and it carries an impeccable pedigree: this is a Jack Nicklaus design, opened in 2025, and the opening statement of a development destined to reshape golf in the region. The two courses still to come, by K.J. Choi and Sir Nick Faldo, will join it in time, but for now all eyes are on the Golden Bear's mountain-top masterpiece.

The golf is unlike anything else in the country. Set on an elevated, exposed plateau, Dragon's Landing plays with many of the characteristics of a great links despite sitting high in the mountains: sweeping elevation changes, wide playing corridors, ever-present wind, and panoramic vistas that stretch in every direction. From its tees you look out across the Zambales Mountains, Mount Arayat, and the horizon beyond, and the routing makes the most of every contour the land offers. True to Nicklaus form, it rewards strategy and discipline over brute power, asking thoughtful questions of the golfer on shot after shot while still leaving room to simply stop and take in where you are. As General Manager Tim Neil puts it in our interview this month, "It is not just a golf course. It is an experience shaped by the land itself."

The experience extends well beyond the ropes. Dragon's Landing is supported by world-class facilities, including a full driving range and the Philippines' only PGA of America Golf Academy, alongside a luxury clubhouse, spa, fitness and dining, with five-star resort accommodation and villas all part of the wider Hann Reserve estate. Being brand new, the conditioning is pristine, the greens true, and every detail has been built to an international championship standard from day one.

The course is open daily except Mondays, and Golfasian can arrange confirmed tee times and green fees either as a standalone round or as part of a tailor-made Clark golf package. If you want to play the course everyone in Asian golf is talking about, and to say you played it in its very first season, now is the moment.

Swiss Precision Meets Filipino Warmth - and the Perfect Base for Golf at Hann Reserve.

Every great golf trip deserves an equally great place to come home to at the end of the day, and in Clark that place is Swissôtel Clark. Rising 22 storeys above the Clark Freeport Zone, just minutes from Clark International Airport, this is the first Swissôtel to open in the Philippines, and it brings a distinctly European sense of polish to a destination on the rise. The moment you step into the soaring lobby, the brand's hallmark blend of Swiss precision and genuine Filipino hospitality sets the tone for a stay that feels effortless from start to finish.

The 372 rooms and suites occupy floors six through 22, which means floor-to-ceiling windows framing sweeping views of the city below or the mountains in the distance, with abundant natural light pouring in. The contemporary Swiss design is calm and uncluttered, all soothing creams, greys and warm browns, while every room delivers the details that matter after a long round: a king-size bed with a posturepedic mattress and a marble bathroom with a rain shower or deep soaking tub. For those who want to spread out, the generous Swiss Vitality Suites offer 79 square metres of seamless, light-filled space.

Where Swissôtel Clark really distinguishes itself is in its wellness and leisure offering. At its heart is a resort-style infinity pool with sweeping mountain views, paired with the only alpine spa in the Philippines, the brand's signature Pürovel Spa & Sport, where Swiss-inspired treatments and a fully equipped fitness centre help you recover and recharge. Add a separate children's pool, a sun terrace, lush gardens, and yoga classes, and it becomes a place the whole family can enjoy while you are out chasing birdies.

Dining is a destination in itself. The hotel alone is home to around ten outlets spanning Asian, European and Filipino flavours, led by the signature Markt, where European cuisine and grilled specialities are served in a vibrant market-style setting. The Atrium pours afternoon tea and evening cocktails, Oma's tempts with freshly baked pastries and house-made ice cream, and the poolside Swiss Tropic bar is the spot for a sundowner after golf. And because Swissôtel is woven into the wider Hann Casino Resort, you can wander seamlessly between the connected hotels to discover more than twenty restaurants and lounges, premium shopping, and a world-class casino, with entertainment that runs late into the night.

For golfers, the location is the clincher. Swissôtel Clark sits within the same Hann ecosystem as Hann Reserve, putting our Course of the Month, the Nicklaus-designed Dragon's Landing, within easy reach, along with the rest of Clark's excellent golf. Five-star comfort, standout dining, an alpine spa, and championship golf on the doorstep: it is little wonder Swissôtel Clark has become the natural home for a golf escape to the Philippines.

Clark rewards the curious. Step beyond the resort and the region opens up into something far richer than a guidebook suggests, where 300-year-old recipes, open-cockpit flights, and volcanic spas wait for those willing to look a little harder. Here are five experiences you will not stumble upon by accident.

1. A private degustation at Bale Dutung
Tucked inside a wooden house in Angeles City, Bale Dutung ("house of wood") is the private dining room of celebrated Kapampangan chef-artist Claude Tayag, and it is one of the most sought-after tables in the Philippines. Strictly by reservation, lunch unfolds over ten courses of Kapampangan cooking, including his legendary lechon served five ways, all prepared from scratch with ingredients sourced within the province. Anthony Bourdain famously filmed here for No Reservations, and Tayag is now recognised as one of Hann's own "Game Changers," making this a fitting, and delicious, complement to a stay at Hann Reserve.

2. Bake heritage cookies with the Guardian Angel of Kapampangan Cooking
In the neighbouring town of Mexico, food historian Lillian Borromeo, known to all as Atching Lillian, opens her ancestral kitchen, Kusinang Matua, to a handful of guests at a time. Here she revives all-but-forgotten dishes using implements that are up to 200 years old, and teaches visitors to press and bake San Nicolás cookies from a 300-year-old recipe she unearthed through archival research, using intricately hand-carved wooden moulds that have been in her family for over a century. It is less a cooking class than a living history lesson.

3. Fly an open-cockpit microlight over the Pinatubo plains
Just 15 minutes from Clark, the Angeles City Flying Club lets first-timers take to the skies in an ultralight aircraft alongside a qualified instructor, no experience required. With the wind in your face and nothing between you and the view, you soar over patchwork farmland, lahar rivers, and the brooding silhouette of Mount Pinatubo, dropping low enough to wave to children playing below. It is a perspective on Central Luzon that no commercial flight will ever give you, and an unforgettable way to spend a morning off the course.

4. Stand beneath the "Sistine Chapel of the Philippines"
In Guagua, a short drive from Clark, the 17th-century Betis Church hides one of the country's great artistic secrets behind its modest facade. A National Cultural Treasure, its barrel-vaulted ceiling is covered in breathtaking trompe-l'oeil murals that earned it the nickname the Sistine Chapel of the Philippines. The surrounding town of Betis is the country's woodcarving capital, home to the master mandukit carvers whose intricate work adorns the church's doors and altars, and whose workshops still ring with chisels today.

5. Be buried in a volcanic sand spa at Puning
For the ultimate post-round recovery, the journey to Puning Hot Spring begins with an exhilarating 4x4 ride through the surreal, moon-like canyons carved by Pinatubo's lahar flows. At the spa itself, you are gently buried in fine volcanic sand, naturally heated from deep below, before a traditional barefoot massage and a soak in geothermal pools set among the canyon walls. The treatments are delivered by practitioners from the indigenous Aeta community, the original stewards of these mountains, adding a layer of meaning to one of the most restorative afternoons you can have in the region.

To book your tailored Philippines golf package and find out more information, please email us.

6 Days / 5 Nights · 3 Championship Rounds · from USD 940 per person

​

If this month's issue has you dreaming of Clark, here is the easiest way to make it happen. Our Dragon's Landing Golf Escape packs the very best of Central Luzon's golf into a relaxed six-day trip, built around three of the region's finest championship courses and anchored, of course, by a round on the brand new Nicklaus-designed Dragon's Landing at Hann Reserve.

The golf lineup is superb and wonderfully varied. You'll tee it up at Mimosa Plus, a 36-hole layout beautifully redesigned by Nelson & Haworth in the foothills of Mount Pinatubo, then at Pradera Verde, a top resort course known for its challenging green complexes, before the headline act: Hann Reserve - Dragon's Landing, the spectacular mountain-top Nicklaus design that is the talk of Asian golf. A free day midway through leaves plenty of room to explore Clark at your own pace, whether that means a heritage food trail, a volcanic sand spa, or simply a lazy afternoon by the pool.

Everything is taken care of from the moment you land. The package includes five nights' accommodation, three rounds of golf with a caddie at every course, golf carts as per the itinerary, daily breakfast, and all airport, hotel, and golf transfers in a private VIP touring van or sedan. You'll be met on arrival, kept topped up with daily drinking water, and supported throughout by our 24/7 golf hotline and local team, with all taxes and service charges already included. No surprises, just golf.

Best of all, it's entirely flexible. The itinerary is a starting point, not a straitjacket, so we can tailor the hotel, the courses, the length of stay, and the rest days around exactly what you want. To build your perfect Clark golf escape, simply get in touch for a free, no-obligation quote, and we'll do the rest.

​Ericka's path into travel began with a Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management from Sta. Cecilia College, and over the past twelve years she has built deep, hands-on expertise across Operations, Sales, and Business Relations. Now Philippines Manager for Golfasian, she knows the destination inside out, which makes her perfectly placed as we turn the spotlight on Manila and Clark this month. For clients planning a Philippine golf escape, her local knowledge and years in the industry are a genuine asset.

Travel is what drives her. Ericka is passionate about discovering different cultures, traditions, and destinations, and that curiosity shapes the way she works, treating every itinerary as a chance to share the places and experiences she knows and loves with someone new.

Outside of work, she is happiest in the outdoors, whether that is trekking a new trail, camping under the open sky, or stargazing once the sun goes down. She has also recently taken up golf, and is enjoying the journey of understanding the game better, both personally and professionally, a path many of our clients will recognize.

When it comes to food, Ericka doesn't pick favorites. She would rather seek out the local specialties and unique dishes of wherever she happens to be, letting each destination surprise her plate just as it surprises her sense of adventure.

Once again, Golfasian has been nominated for the 2026 World Golf Awards.

If you have travelled with us before and appreciate our service, please be so kind and cast your vote by clicking the following links below. Every single vote counts and we thank you very much in advance.

• World’s Best Golf Tour Operator

• Asia’s Best Golf Tour Operator

• Thailand’s Best Golf Tour Operator

• Vietnam’s Best Golf Tour Operator

• Cambodia’s Best Golf Tour Operator

• Indonesia’ Best Golf Tour Operator

The highly anticipated edition #4 of Asian GOLF & More has arrived! 

We take a focused look at Asia's continued rise as a global golf powerhouse - now home to over 20 percent of the world's golfers and an estimated USD 7 billion in annual golf tourism. This issue highlights Vietnam's transformation into a leading destination, with insights from Greg Norman on the country's long-term vision, plus commentary from LIV Golf's Su Ann Heng on the modern professional game and golf's expanding international reach.

Beyond Vietnam, we cover Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia, alongside practical features on jet lag management, cultural additions to golf trips, and the growing amateur tournament scene. Concise, informed, and forward-looking - designed for golfers who want context, insight, and ideas for where the game is heading next.

Don’t just take our word for it - we encourage you to delve into the testimonials of our satisfied customers. Their firsthand accounts will provide you with an in-depth understanding of the exceptional golf holiday services we offer at Golfasian, and how we strive to create unforgettable golfing experiences. View all recent reviews here.

Update Your Personal Information

A quick reminder to download the My Golfasian app, available now on iPhone and Android. From your phone you can:

🗸 Update your profile

🗸 Check your reward points

🗸 View your upcoming and past trips

🗸 See the latest special offers and promotions

HOME | GOLF HOLIDAYS | GOLF COURSES | GOLF SERVICES | ABOUT US | CONTACT US

Golfasian Co. Ltd - Unit 2701B, 29 Bangkok Business Center, 
Soi Ekamai, Klongtan Nua, Watana - Thailand
www.golfasian.com - [email protected]

TAT No.:  11/08459
VNAT No.: 79-302/2011 / TCDL-GP LHOT

© Copyright Golfasian. All rights reserved.

If you can't read this email, please view it online.
Update your preferences | {unsubscribe_text}