So much of what a golf course is has to do with the piece of land on which it’s built. You can do great things with great land and Sherwood Hills Golf Club on one of the best pieces of golfing of real estate in the country.
Sherwood Hills Vice-Chair Freddie Campos relates that he brought the Great One, Jack Nicklaus to the site while he was working on Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club’s twin courses, to show him the property. The original concept for Sherwood Hills was to be 36 holes of golf with each of the nines designed by Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Tom Watson, the protagonists of the original Skins Game aired on television. After touring the property, Nicklaus turned to Campos and said, “If you let me do the entire property, I’ll cut my fee in half”. What he saw was a natural inland links course just below the surface, beneath the cogon and local scrub that dotted the landscape, waiting to be uncovered; as natural a property for a golf course as can be found on God’s green earth. It was rough but it was there in front of him. It wouldn’t take much to bring the course out either, just some routing and minor shaping.
Nicklaus and his men went to work. Campos relates the passion of the man; they toured the property together on the back of a flatbed truck with the plans on the roof of the cab, he scribbled notes and instructed his staff to make adjustments to the landing areas and location of the hazards to challenge and entertain. When they see each other, Nicklaus never fails to ask Campos about Sherwood the way a father would about a son long unseen; of all the courses Nicklaus designed, he views Sherwood Hills as the most technically perfect. It remains closest to his heart.
Nicklaus eschewed the flowering plants preferred by some designers, opting instead for native grasses to maintain the natural feel of the course and, more importantly, lower maintenance costs. In the course of a round, one is confronted with varied hues and textures of green; patterns created by the bahia, cogon, and other native grasses that border the fairways. Ravines line the left side of much of the front nine increasing the degree of difficulty of play there. The back nine is more scenic and will offer a respite after coming off the harder front. The complex of ten and eleven winding around one of three lakes on the property is particularly beautiful. The clubhouse is an American Southwest colonial design and is one of the homiest, most inviting places to put your spikes up and enjoy a cold beer. The veranda feels more like a large living room than the club’s restaurant. The eighteenth green sits just a few yards over the cart path that fronts the veranda; it’s an excellent vantage point to enjoy the golf come tournament time.
Played from the Gold Tees, Sherwood Hills is a formidable track at 7,265-yards and will play even longer when the wind blows. It is ultimately the stiff Cavite breeze that completes the links experience at Sherwood Hills. The course is friendly without it and an absolute beast when it blows. Sherwood’s strengths are its par fours; eight of them over 400-yards, six of them over 430. Those are extra-large par fours; playing the appropriate set of tees is crucial to your golfing pleasure. Nicklaus makes up for this by providing par fives that are reachable in two. They present the best scoring opportunities at Sherwood Hills.
The outward nine is the more difficult of the two and must be played carefully to post a good score. Number one is 405-yards from the gold tees (a more modest 388 from the blues) but the tee shot is challenged by a ravine and huge bunkers on the right and bunkers and more hazards long of the fairway. The approach is over another ravine with a deep bunker left of the green. With a stroke average of 5.6, it’s not designed to ease you into your round. Best to figure on warming up before you tee off. Two is a 221-yard par-3 and only 19-yards shorter from the next set of tees. Large bunkers lie right of the green to catch the errant shot. Three at 432-yards playing slightly uphill, completes what is one of the most difficult opening corners in Philippine golf. The course turns on itself at number four, a 566-yard par-5. The stretch of holes five through seven borders the ravine that marks the Southern end of the property so tread carefully. The ideal tee shot lies over the bunker adjacent to the cart path on the right side of the fairway, just right of a large mango tree. The distance challenged will have to play around the left side of the tree; a more forgiving tee shot, to be sure, but an option that precludes reaching the green in two.
Five measures 441-yards long and plays to a green that runs away and to the left towards the ravine. The fairway likewise slopes towards the ravine left and a bunker guards the right side of the ideal landing area. Six is the only respite you’ll get on the front nine; a 182-yard par-3 over a ravine to a fairly flat green. At seven the course turns slightly to the East; a 388-yard par-4, it plays even shorter if you can cut the dogleg left of the huge pot bunker in the middle of the fairway but beware of the ravine to the left. The elevated green sits at an angle to the fairway and is guarded by bunkers front and rear. Eight is the best chance for birdie for the long hitter; at 525-yards it’s the shortest of the par fives. Nine is the one handicap hole; the big, hairy monster waiting to spoil your day. It’s a whopping 462-yards from the tips with water in play on both your tee ball and approach shot and to make matters worse plays into the prevailing green. Best play for bogie here; the hole’s stroke average is 5.9!
The opening holes on the back nine are two of the most scenic on the course. Ten is a short par-4 at only 366-yards from the back tees; something other than a driver is appropriate here because the lake on the left runs beyond the fairway and borders the left side of the slender green. A large bunker guards the right side of the green, lying in wait for those who cheat to that side. Eleven is a 196-yard par-3; the large kidney shaped green is guarded by the lake and bunkers short and to the left. Another bunker sits almost unseen to the right waiting to trap the unwary. Twelve is a 558-yard par-5; a tee shot to the front of the hazard that guards the right side of the fairway leaves the green accessible in two. The distance challenged will need to lay up further down the fairway but this shot is complicated by a large mango tree that sits fronting the green. This hole demands a high, soft shot to the two-tiered green.
Thirteen is a 454-yard par-4 that plays slightly uphill to a moderately elevated green with deep bunkers guarding the left side. Fourteen is just slightly shorter at 430-yards; the wide fairway makes the tee shot fairly straightforward but club yourself carefully on the approach; the elevated green adds another variable to your club selection. Fifteen is the last of the par fives and at 532-yards playing with the prevailing wind is reachable in two if you can drive the huge bunker complex sitting across the fairway. Shorter hitters will need to play to the left of this, then over it with the lay up. The green is long and slender and runs away from you. The best approach is one that lands short of the green and bounces on, befitting the links design.
Sixteen is the signature hole; a picturesque 192-yard par-3 that plays around ten yards uphill. The tee shot plays over a ravine and must negotiate two tiers of bunkers lying short and left. Stands of wild bamboo frame all this creating quite a picture. Seventeen is a 447-yard par-4 that doglegs to the left. The hole can be shorted by carrying the large bunker that guards the dogleg. The hole turns slightly to the right at the green which is sits angled to the right of the fairway and is guarded by bunkers and bahia short and to the right. The home hole is the two-handicap; a 462-yard par-4, your approach shot will challenge the smallest of the course’s lakes that sits fronting the large shallow green. Missing long isn’t the answer here; small deep bunkers lie in wait there.
What makes the Sherwood experience so pleasurable is the fact that the course doesn’t demand you play it one particular way; there are usually several solutions to the problems it poses. It’s set up to allow the bump and run and putting from off the green. High ball hitters will feel at home here too; the greens are receptive as long as the wind isn’t blowing too hard. The aesthetics are simple but stunning. Each hole is an adventure unto itself and playing here feels like they just cut the grass, cleared a few trees and the golf course was waiting there beneath the surface.
Sherwood Hills is always, always in superb condition whenever we’ve come to play it, the fairways are fair and drain quickly and the greens always roll fast and true. It is one of my favorite golf courses (firmly in my top 5) and certainly one of the best in the country. This is a golf course truly worthy of the signature of one of the greatest golfers that ever lived.
Image credits: Mike Besa