Bohol Sea

Two islands of the central Philippines and the water between them, played at a scale of 1:100.

Where it is

Cebu and Bohol are neighbouring islands in the Central Visayas, the middle of the Philippine archipelago. Cebu is long and narrow with a mountain spine; Bohol is rounder and lower. The strait between them is a short ferry ride, and the open water to the south, between the Visayas and Mindanao, is the Bohol Sea.

This is where European ships first met the Philippines. Magellan reached Cebu in 1521 and was killed on the small island of Mactan, just offshore. Bohol is known for the Chocolate Hills, more than a thousand grass-covered limestone mounds that turn brown in the dry season, and for the tarsier, one of the smallest primates.

This was the first map course we built, as a trial of the idea: pick real places as pins and play from one to the next.

The map course: 9 pins

The map course is played on the real map, from one real place to the next: 9 pins, par 37, 301 km from the first tee to the last pin. Distances are real kilometres; the pictures of the holes are satellite views.

Route of the map course: the tee (T) and the pins in playing order.

1. Tee · Badian IslandIsland

   The tee is on Badian Island, off the south-west coast of Cebu.

2. 1 · Mantayupan FallsSight · 29.2 km · Par 4

   A waterfall in the hills of western Cebu.

3. 2 · Lauis Ledge LighthouseLighthouse · 43.0 km · Par 5

   A lighthouse in the channel between Cebu City and Mactan. The hole crosses the whole width of Cebu.

4. 3 · Caohagan IslandIsland · 14.4 km · Par 3

   An islet on the reef east of Mactan.

5. 4 · Chocolate HillsMountain · 35.7 km · Par 4

   The famous hills in the middle of Bohol, reached across the strait.

6. 5 · Tagbilaran AirportAirport · 44.4 km · Par 5

   The old airport in Bohol's capital, replaced in 2018.

7. 6 · Bohol–Panglao International AirportAirport · 13.9 km · Par 3

   The new airport on Panglao, a short par 3 across the narrow channel.

8. 7 · BoholIsland · 52.2 km · Par 5

   The island itself; the pin stands in its interior.

9. 8 · TubiganPort · 25.5 km · Par 4

   A port on Bohol's north-west coast, facing Cebu.

10. 9 · Panglao IslandIsland · 42.2 km · Par 4

    The beach island joined to Bohol by bridges, where the round ends.

Par and distances are the game's own course data. The pins are real places listed in Wikidata; what is said about them is kept to well-known facts.

Travel notes

The Visayas are warm all year, with a drier season in the first months of the year and typhoons possible later on. The Chocolate Hills are greenest in the rains and brownest, and most like their name, at the end of the dry season.

For the place itself, see the travel guide on Shake & Talk: Bohol Sea travel guide

More courses

Sources: Bohol · Cebu · Cebu Strait · Bohol Sea · Battle of Mactan · Chocolate Hills · Philippine tarsier · Panglao Island · Mantayupan Falls · Caohagan Island · Tagbilaran Airport · Bohol–Panglao International Airport · Bohol Island · Wikidata (CC0)