Decades before it was in vogue to use golf as a real estate marketing tool, golf was used as a marketing tool in Alabang.
But with Forbes Park and Manila Golf in your pedigree, how can things go wrong? This is old, rich and nouveau riche combined to create a community that is exclusive and well-off.
Robert Trent Jones Jr is purported to have designed the course, but it appears that this has been disclaimed and Alabang is not on any list of courses he has designed. Clubhouse talk has it that there were some differences in how the design was to be handled so he refused to sign on and the course was left without an acknowledged designer.
Be that as it may, it still is a delightful track built on the rolling hills of Muntinlupa overlooking Laguna de Bay. This may be the course that has the most undulations among the golf courses in Metro Manila, and the terrain and the creeks and lakes are going to be the things to look out for when you play Alabang.
Avoiding the water becomes a recurring theme on a lot of holes because there are a lot of penalty areas in Alabang. In some they lie directly in your line of play like the Eleventh or they crimp the fairways as the penalty area on the right side of the Par 4 Fourth hole does.
The trees have also aged beautifully and tall and with thick foliage so straying off the fairway isn’t going to be conducive to scoring well. Playing out because the trees block your line to the green is always a bitter pill to swallow.
At 6,400 from the Blues, Alabang is not an overly long golf course that demands a lot of power and heroic shots to score well in. It is definitely suited for a gentleman playing the gentleman’s game, the weekend golfer who is not really into competitive golf but plays the game for enjoyment and the internal challenges it poses.
Alabang was also one of the first clubs in the country that really had a “country club” with various facilities intended to become a recreational destination for residents. It even has a Polo Field that can turn into a baseball diamond and other sporting venues if need be.
Alabang should make the list if only for being the only successful Golf Course/Residential development so far in the country.
