Always ready to fill in if a host club was needed for the PAL Interclub, which is the long-running amateur tournament that has been called the de facto club championship for local clubs, Marapara is the quintessential city course that served the sugar barons of old.
It is short but tricky and will require a lot of course knowledge to score well in especially since it will be lush in the rainy season and bone dry during an El Nino spell.
Located in Bata Subdivision, just a few minutes from the city proper of Bacolod, Marapara is the more familiar name used to refer to the course as Negros Occidental Golf and Country Club can and will twist your tongue into knots if you said it twice in a sentence.
The course may be on the short side, but there are a lot of penalty areas sprinkled all over the place. Designer Luis “Golem” Silverio, one of Philippine golf’s amateur greats, knew precisely where to place them to catch errant shots and test the players’ shot making skills. The 18th hole with the yawning penalty area that affects the shot from the tee would be a prime example of that.
Marapara is a nod toward disappearing city golf clubs where it is still possible to work in the office in the morning, have lunch at the club and then play a round of golf in the afternoon. As a course to visit and play in, it is also the top destination course for Negros Island.
