Eagle Ridge Golf & Country Club

Four courses, four styles, one Cavite estate.

When it was finished in 2003, Eagle Ridge was described as the only 72-hole golf complex in the Philippines: four 18-hole courses, each named after its designer. Nick Faldo, Greg Norman, Isao Aoki and Andy Dye each built one, on a 700-hectare golf and housing estate in General Trias, Cavite. Golfasian dates the opening to 1996, and Philstar reported the completion of the whole complex in 2003. It is about 55 km from Makati, close enough for a day trip from Manila, and the choice of courses means a group can play two contrasting rounds without changing venue.

Eagle Ridge Golf & Country Club green fees and tee times.

Visitors usually book through an agent rather than turning up. Golfasian arranges confirmed Eagle Ridge rounds for groups of up to four, and KKday carries a prepaid green-fee voucher for the estate. Tell the agent which course you want, as availability differs between the four. Green fees change with the season and between weekdays and weekends, and no rate card is published online, so ask for a quote. Clubs and carts can be rented. Sta. Lucia Land lists a main country clubhouse, two satellite golf clubhouses and a shuttle station linking them.

The courses at Eagle Ridge Golf & Country Club.

Aoki Course

At 6,990 yards, Isao Aoki’s course is the shortest of the four, and Golfasian says it was designed with the weekend golfer in mind. Golfasian also mentions a clubhouse with a sushi bar and fishponds, a nod to the Japanese designer. It is the obvious first round for a mixed group.

Norman Course

Greg Norman’s 7,123-yard course is the one Golfasian picks out for its carefully planned landscaping. On length it sits between the Aoki and the two longer courses, so it suits a group with a wide spread of handicaps.

Dye Course

Andy Dye’s 7,323-yard course is known locally as the Beast of the East because of its deep and deceptive bunkers. Pick the forward tees unless your sand play is sharp.

Faldo Course

The longest course at 7,443 yards, and Golfasian notes its tight driving holes. With that length and narrow tee shots, Nick Faldo’s design asks the most of your driver of the four.

The round, in perspective.

All four courses are par 72 and differ in mood. Golfasian’s descriptions are the best guide to choosing, and the yardages below are theirs.

Know before you go.

Group size

Up to four players (Golfasian)

Courses

Four par-72 courses; confirm which one when booking

Rentals

Clubs and carts (Golfasian)

Make the trip work.

Golfasian advises an early tee time to beat Manila’s rush-hour traffic, which is sound advice in both directions. If you have two days, play the Aoki or Norman to settle in and the Faldo or Dye on the second. The changing rooms have a Japanese-style bath and sauna. Sta. Lucia Land lists a fine-dining restaurant and a golfers’ lounge on the estate, so you need not rush back to the city.

From Makati, the route runs down the Metro Manila Skyway and South Luzon Expressway to the Carmona exit, then west through Cavite. Sta. Lucia Land puts it about 55 km and 1 hour 29 minutes from Makati; Golfasian says up to an hour in light traffic. Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL) is the nearest airport. A private car or hotel transfer is the practical way to get there.

Where it is.

Nearby: 1. Hallow Ridge Filipinas Golf (Hollow Ridge Pilipinas Golf) (16 km) · 2. Tagaytay Highlands International Golf Club (20 km)

Somewhere to settle in.

Golfasian lists no hotel on the estate, so plan to stay elsewhere. Alabang and Filinvest City in southern Metro Manila are about 40 minutes away and have international hotels and malls. Tagaytay, less than an hour south, is cooler, with ridge-top hotels and views of Taal Lake, and makes a good base if you plan to play there too.

Make a trip of it.

Southern Luzon has a cluster of courses within an hour: Manila Southwoods in Carmona, Tagaytay Highlands and Tagaytay Midlands on the Taal ridge, and Hallow Ridge in San Pedro. Off the course, the Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, northern Cavite, is where Philippine independence was declared in 1898, and Tagaytay’s ridge has views across Taal Lake to the volcano.

Find your season.

Cavite’s dry spell, from November to April, gives the firmest fairways. Inland Cavite gets hot from March to May, so start early in those months. The monsoon runs from about June to October; summer rainy-season promotions at Eagle Ridge have been reported in the past, so ask about off-season rates if you travel then.