PERHAPS there is no need to introduce the Dakak Beach Resort, a mountain and sea paradise kilometers outside Dapitan City in Zamboanga del Norte, which hordes of locals and foreigners have long made a vacation destination.
This is really no surprise as the place, nestled in a cove facing the Sulu Sea, provides nearly everything that spells fun, adventure, and feasting in a tropical setting. It would not be an exaggeration to say the resort is designed for both the solitary traveler and groups of families and friends interested in getting away from the ruckus of every day living.
Unknown to those familiar only with Dakak’s regular fare of sea activities — parasailing, jetski riding, banana boat cruising, fishing, paddleboarding, and off-beach challenges like rappelling, horseback riding, rock climbing, ziplining — the place has another big activity fast catching attention: golfing.
Golf paradise
Golf has always taken a back seat to Dakak’s myriad offerings. But times, as they say, are a’changin’.
Dakak Resort now has a golf course carved from forest and mountain, and built, say its owners, without serious disturbance of the area’s eco-balance. It is magnificent to look at. At the same time, the course has been gaining a reputation as worthy of the sport’s most ardent practitioners, whose quest for a new challenge and a new destination is never ending.
I happen to have been one of several golfers invited to enjoy the pleasures and, if I may add, the perils of Dakak’s golf course, a short but riveting 18-hole, par-72 layout, measuring 6,082 yards from end to end. Regulars take the white tees at 5,684 yards, seniors at 5,273 yards, and ladies at 4,829 yards.
The longest hole is the par 5 18th at 507 yards, with the sea on the right and the forest on the left. Low handicappers will be tested, but should survive the hole. Mid-handicappers will be challenged by an abutting mountain ridge that makes approaching the green very much like navigating a needle. As for other players, a bit of luck should help.
Greg Norman designed the golf course, with construction beginning after his visit in 2012. He visited again in 2014 to inspect its development. The project had a budget of $18 million (yes, we’re talking U.S. dollars), a substantial portion of which went to Norman’s design firm. On July 21, 2017, the first tournament opened with nine holes playable. By November that year, all 18 holes were in play, and the first Dakak President’s Cup was held.
Overall, Norman’s design is par for the course — not great, not bad. His memorable hole is no doubt No. 7, a 329-yard par 4, requiring a towering tee shot that must clear a cliff about 100 feet tall. That is the challenge. If you make it over the cliff, the hole is a wedge to the left. It is an imposing, intimidating hole made dramatic by a man-made waterfall just left of the cliff. As expected, the bottom of that cliff is littered with balls from failed attempts.
Overall, the course reminds me of other mountain layouts — Baguio’s Camp John Hay, Tagaytay Highlands, and Cebu’s Alta Vista, with the latter having the additional dazzle of a view of the sea.
The course has no out of bounds. Players who hit balls into the forest and the sea must play at designated drop zones, with the one-stroke penalty applied, without having to hit another ball. Many fairways undulate, given the terrain, and several holes have blind approaches to the greens.
This was the kind of course that greeted more than 150 players competing in the recent first Dapitan Rizal Cup. Golfers, mostly flying in from Metro Manila, had their work cut out for them.
After the last drive was hit and the final putt rolled in, the collective feeling was one of surprise, relief, and more. The players’ description of the course was nearly all the same: breathtaking, unique, stunning, challenging, one-of-a-kind, with actor and avid golfer Cesar Montano exclaiming “how beautiful” and rating it one of three best golf courses in the country.
History lesson
Celebrity couple Vince Hizon, a former PBA star, and Patricia Bermudez, who also hosted the awards ceremonies, were similarly full of praise, calling both resort and course “a paradise” and vowing to bring the family back.
Jose Rizal’s spirit was tapped by event organizers who spread paintings, murals, and even tee markers with the national hero’s image all over the grounds. To those unaware, Dapitan is the place where Rizal was exiled by Spanish authorities to keep him from stirring trouble, clearly an unsuccessful move.
“This event,” noted Dapitan City Mayor Bullet Jalosjos, “is more than just a golf tournament, it’s a tribute to Dr. Jose Rizal’s legacy of courage, sportsmanship, integrity, and patriotism.”
Jonathan De Leon, general manager of the club, also said the tournament “is not just a battle of birdies and eagles, it’s a pilgrimage through time guided by the indomitable spirit of Dr. Jose Rizal, his courage, his unwavering love of his country that echoes in the fairways.”
Representatives from the Department of Tourism were left impressed by Dakak Golf Course’s promise as a major golf destination for foreign and local tourists.
Others who came to enjoy place’s golf and other amenities were DOT Usec. Ferdinand Jumapao, Golf Projects Director Lyle Fernando Uy, Tourism Promotions Board’s Atty. Gregory Nuega, and Atty. Cocoy Padilla of the Office of Usec. Shalimar Tamano. Also there from the DOT were Paulo Laitan and lawyer Cyra Papas.
Fine thing that the trip included a visit to the house where Rizal stayed, which is now a shrine.
Another stop in Dapitan was Balay Hamoy, a simple, two-story house built in 1893, where Rizal visited frequently and became friends with the owner, Don Mariano Hamoy. Today, the house is open to visitors who will see not just the beauty of the restored house, but also beds, mirrors, chairs, and other items from the Spanish era.
Golf and tourism and a peek into history — what a combination.
(FULL DISCLOSURE: This writer’s trip was under the auspices of the Dakak Golf Course.)
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