INQUIRER Sports

MANY PLEASANT MEMORIES flashed through my mind over the weekend as I watched my son play in a golf tournament over at TAT Pilipinas, formerly known as Holiday Hills, in San Pedro, Laguna.

As a child, I grew up playing this course with my family.

As an adult, I played there in many of the qualifying events for the Philippine team.

The tight fairways and length that the course offers are good measures for accuracy and strength for any single-digit handicap golfer.

It was a pleasant surprise to see that the course has kept its charm intact after all these years.

It actually feels like you are not in Metro Manila, given the usual manicured and imported grass that most courses in the city are now using.

Here you will find local carabao grass lining the fairways and numerous mango and coconut trees.

Majority of golfers are still looking for the ?American look? when they step onto the first tee.
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It was equally wonderful to know that this is a course that, in its maintenance, is slowly trying to eradicate the use of chemicals and fertilizers.

At present, they are already 70 percent chemical-free.

I consider this a breakthrough given the amount of play they get from the general public.

Their operations manager, Joe Dagdagan, put it so well:
?With the present global warming crisis facing us today, we must try and do our part in any way we can.?

They also make their own vermi-compost in the golf course premises.

(Fertilizers and chemicals used in golf course maintenance are known to be toxic to the environment, a health hazard to the community and use a lot of water to keep the fairways green and the putting surfaces soft.)

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The other golf course that I know is chemical-free is Pueblo de Oro Golf Club in Cagayan de Oro.

We at Calatagan Golf Club have gone the extra mile and are producing and using our own biodynamic compost on the golf course.

We are also planting local biodynamic vegetables and serving it at the clubhouse.

Perhaps in the coming years, more courses can look into taking this unchartered path.

Though it will take a lot of hard work from the golf course maintenance staff and patience from the playing public, it is not as far-fetched an idea as it seems.

Given the present climate changes, the gains of taking this path are long term and the rewards immeasurable.

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