Hole 2 Acacia
Travelling golfers to and within South-East Asia are well familiar with established multi-course tourism destinations that each attract tens of thousands of foreign players each year – Danang, Dalat and Nha Trang in Vietnam; Phuket, Chiang Mai and Pattaya in Thailand; Johor Baru, Langkawi and Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia; Bogor, Bali and Bintan in Indonesia. And numerous others.
Now there’s another: Clark in the Philippines, which has emerged as a quality, easy access destination with an appealing selection of courses, direct flights from five Asian and two Middle East cities and abundant entertainment and leisure activities.
Boasting 12 courses within an hour’s drive of newly upgraded Clark International Airport with at least three more planned or under construction, most of Clark’s foreign golf visitors choose the twin-layout Mimosa Plus complex, the only integrated resort in the region, as their stay-and-play base. Its 304-room Quest Plus hotel and conference centre, named as the Philippines’ best golf hotel in last year’s World Golf Awards, is only 10 minutes’ drive from the airport and a few minutes from a new twin deck 48-bay driving range and teaching academy adjacent to the Acacia and Mountain View 18-hole layouts.
Hole 3 Mountain View
Designed by renowned North American duo Nelson & Haworth and originally opened in 1992 as military courses for a US Air Force base there from 1903 to 1991, Mimosa Plus Golf Course is now a key destination inside the Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone, 80 kilometres north of Manila.
After the US military departed, Clark’s redevelopment was initially slow but picked up steam when Philippines conglomerate Filinvest Development Corporation assumed ownership of Mimosa Plus in 2016. The region has since been transformed into a multi-purpose upmarket location to live, work and play.
The twin Mimosa Plus courses were redesigned by the original architects in 2018, opened to public play and are now favourites of international golf tour operators.
Mt Pinatubo from Mountain View
For the past three years running, Mimosa Plus has been named as the Philippines best golf course in the annual World Golf Awards. New facilities, including the driving range and academy under the tutelage of PGA pro Stuart Hurstfield and night golf on nine holes of the Acacia course add to its appeal.
Now firmly on the international golf tourism radar, director of golf, Rory Young, is keen to entrench Mimosa Plus and Clark in the priorities of foreign golfers travelling to and within South-East Asia.
“We aim to host more international amateur events,” he says, while emphasising that attractive stay-and-play packages are available for individuals and groups. “As well as golf there are numerous other events and leisure opportunities including marathons, cycling and running. So it is a one-stop shop without any real need to leave.”
Mt Pinatubo
The first of a four-stage Golf Ridge condominium development with 112 units will open on-site by year’s end, about the same time as a new strip mall, Filinvest Shoppes Mimosa featuring several themed restaurants, and Filinvest Malls Mimosa will welcome customers. The condos come with a range of exclusive perks from neighbouring Mimosa Plus Golf Course.
It is predicted that Clark will become a popular international golf destination in its own right as It has all the right ingredients. Many golf visitors to Thailand and Vietnam are looking for something different and Clark is not only easily accessible, it is less expensive.
A recent multi-course amateur event staged in February featured Mimosa Plus with Pradera Verde and Subic Bay International and attracted 56 golfers from 13 countries. Already, 30 players have signed up for 2026 and a field of 100 to expected to participate.
Clark’s upgraded international airport currently receives direct flights from Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, Dubai and Qatar and in two years a new rail link connecting the region with Manila will open.
It’s little wonder that Mimosa Plus general manager Michael Gapin is enthusiastic about the immediate future.
“Our goal is to become like Danang,” he says, referring to Vietnam’s coastal city which has exploded with golf (and other) tourists in the past decade.
“A new top-of-the-line hotel, Crimson Clark, is coming to Mimosa Plus with an adjacent casino in 2027.”
Michael Gapin says Mimosa Plus aims to help grow the Philippines’ base of talented junior golfers through its golf academy and sees the introduction of night golf – the only night golf facility in Clark and just the second in the Philippines – as other attractions for visitors, ladies, juniors and aspiring locals.
He names Singapore and Australia as especially attractive targets for visiting golfers and points to the arrival of international corporates including Yokohama, Texas Instruments, UPS and DHL as well as Philippine government departments as examples of Clark’s upward growth spiral.
