Public school golfers, anyone?

After playing a tournament round last week at Camp Aguinaldo Golf Club, a military golf course in the middle of Metro Manila that takes an enormous traffic of golfing everyday, I was in a state of shock.  Never did I imagine that a course whose greens and fairways are made from local grass could be this good.

It brought me back to my early years when I used to play tournaments at Villamor Golf Course and Manila Golf Club. They had the local Zoysia on their greens and carabao grass on their fairways, which were maintained impeccably.

Credit for Camp Aguinaldo Golf Course being the way it is today should go to its golf course supervisor Roger H. Hisarza and his team, the general manager of the club, Brig. Gen. Abraham F. Bagasin (AFP) and the entire golf council, who have presented to the public a golf course with conditions that are at par or better than some of the best private courses in the country.

Camp Aguinaldo Golf Club is also known to have been the breeding ground of many of our top golfers today who did not have access to the private clubs.

This brings me back to my “impossible dream” of having a grassroots development program that will include not only caddies but also public school children who have no access to any golf course in the Philippines.

To me, golf has always been the ultimate sport because it covers all age ranges and the length of one’s playing years only stops when one can no longer walk.

This may help solve the problem of idleness of school children of all ages and out-of-school youth by keeping them out of trouble.

There are military courses located all over the country. Perhaps looking into what Camp Aguinaldo has been able to do will inspire provincial military camps to begin to do the same.

Hoping that sports development in the country will be rejuvenated this coming year.

Wishing all a Happy New Year!