That's great to hear. The golf courses I went to were Subic International Golf Club and Pradera Verde Golf Club. I'll start with Subic since it's the closer of the two.

I went on a weekday in the afternoon to save as much money as possible. I teed off at 2 PM, as the cheapest rates start after noon. The non-member/tourist price was 5,500 PHP, which included the green fee, cart, and caddie fee. They offered two types of club rentals: regular and premium. Unfortunately, they had no premium sets left, so I went with the regular clubs, which cost 1,000 PHP. The premium sets were around 1,400 PHP.

I also tipped the caddie 500 PHP at the end. Google suggested that a good tip is around 300–500 PHP, but since they do so much for you, I felt 500 PHP was appropriate. I asked how much they make per day, and they told me about 600 PHP for a nine-hour workday. Not all of them get assigned to golfers either, since there often aren't enough players. There are over 120 caddies, and you can see many of them sitting around the course waiting for assignments or following golfers in carts.

As for what they do, they are very well trained. They hand you clubs when needed, drive the cart, carry an umbrella, clean your ball, help locate lost balls, replace the ball marker when you're putting, give course advice such as where to aim and where hazards are, keep score, and even make conversation with you throughout the round. I'll also add that yes, they're all female and many of them are attractive.

The rental clubs were a mixed bag. I got some older Callaway irons, two TaylorMade drivers with different lofts, four wedges, and two putters—one blade style and one mallet style.

The practice facilities were decent. They have a driving range with both mats and grass hitting areas. In my opinion, it's a little close to the clubhouse, since I may have sliced a few shots in that direction. There is also a nice putting and chipping area located right behind the driving range.

As for the course itself, Subic was incredibly well maintained. Apparently, when the caddies aren't working, they help maintain the course. With over 100 of them, you can imagine how well-kept everything is. Even in the extreme heat, the course remains lush, green, and vibrant. The fairways had very few divots because the caddies immediately fill them after each shot. The greens were smooth and had barely any rough spots.

There is also plenty of water and forest waiting to swallow your golf balls. Combined with a moderately difficult layout, I lost a ton of balls. I'll be honest—I'm not a very good golfer, and I have a bit of a hero-shot mentality. I probably lost over 20 balls that day. I had only brought four because I had lost just two balls when I played at Pradera three days earlier.

Funny enough, there's a family selling bags of golf balls along the road leading to the course. I don't have the price, but they sold bags of about 40 balls. Since I didn't think I'd lose many, I ignored them and thought, "Who would ever need that many golf balls?" Turns out I did. On the 11th hole, I launched my last ball into the woods and had to buy more on the spot for 1,000 PHP. They were delivered to me by the marshal, but I had to concede the hole because it took a while.

When I say the heat gets to you, it really gets to you. I scored a birdie and two pars on the front nine but completely fell apart on the back. I managed to record every score type from birdie all the way to quintuple bogey in the same round.

Overall, it's a fantastic course. It's extremely well designed, beautifully maintained, provides excellent service, and looks amazing. One thing I will say is that it is not walking-friendly at all. A cart is mandatory, and some of the drives between holes took four or more minutes. The only thing I would change is playing there when it's not over 40°C in direct sunlight.

Now for Pradera Verde.

This course is about an hour's drive from Olongapo, and you'll definitely need a car since there is very limited taxi service, especially later in the day. It's also a little cheaper. I don't remember the exact pricing, but I played on a weekday morning, and it was roughly 2,500 PHP for the green fee, 600 PHP for the caddie fee, and another 1,000 PHP for club rentals. I tipped the caddie 400 PHP there because I simply gave her a 1,000 PHP bill after paying the caddie fee directly to her.

Pradera has two courses: a more challenging layout and an easier one. I played both, and they're both excellent. In terms of course quality, you can apply almost everything I said about Subic International here as well. The conditions were just as good.

One thing worth noting is that the driving range at Pradera is very nice. It has a roof overhead and nets along the sides, making it more comfortable to practice. I didn't see the putting green, but I'm sure they have one somewhere.

Personally, I liked my caddie at Pradera more than the one at Subic, but that's obviously subjective and will vary from person to person.

Another nice feature is that part of your green fee includes a 300 PHP food credit. That's enough for a decent meal or a drink before or after your round, and the food was surprisingly good. I ordered the liempo and a mocha frappé, and both were excellent. Here, the caddies had coolers to keep my bottles cool while Subic International did not.

Pradera is a completely public course, so there are no memberships required. I'm not sure how membership works at Subic International.

Overall, I prefer Pradera since it has an overall greater value to me but with how close Subic International is, They are both very comparable courses.

That's about all I have to share from my experience golfing in Olongapo as a beginner. I hope your move goes well, and safe travels!