It’s one thing to admire Luisita Golf and Country Club from afar, and another to actually play it. At least for a so-called “arm-chair golf editor” like myself.
Behind the age-old balusters in the veranda where we took our breakfast, the fairways stretched forever.
Dotted by grown trees. Embraced by meandering bodies of water.
Now don’t get fooled by its dreamy, bucolic lagoons. Because behind that beauty lies its real, menacing nature: A massive golf ball black hole.
That morning it was covered in mist that makes it all the more like a scene from a movie.
“It is a hidden gem,” general manager Bones Floro told Tribune Golf Plus. “Probably it was one of only two golf courses in Asia built by Robert Trent Jones Sr.”
Owned by the Cojuangco family in the 1960s, the estate was acquired by businessman Martin Lorenzo in 2015. And even though Jones’ son, Robert Jr., was tasked to serve as a consultant, Floro said its features mostly remain intact.
“When we took over, we didn’t want to change anything or add to it,” Floro said.
“And that’s saying something because my boss (Lorenzo) has always wanted to add value to the business. Add value to the members.”
‘If we do hole by hole. It takes time. And it’s more expensive because of extended mobilization. All we want is just restore.’
Still, Floro said plans are underway to “refresh” the layout, and “restore” the drainage and irrigation.
But the dilemma is in choosing how they’d begin work: Close it altogether or do it per hole.
“Either do that in one go and close the course, but our members would be up in arms,” Floro said.
“If we do hole by hole. It takes time. And it’s more expensive because of extended mobilization. All we want is just restore.”
You don’t change something that’s not broken, right? After all, Luisita staged some of the biggest events in local golf history, and is often described as one of the “most challenging championship courses in the country.”
Which brings us back to my round. What is challenging for the pros, can be outright punishment for a lowly weekend warrior.
You tend to forget the things that brought you pain but I remember two numbers: Nos. 9 and No. 14.
The ninth hole was a steady uphill whose green appeared to go farther the more you kept swinging. It has a wide, sprawling fairway, but the sheer elevation and uneven lie made it difficult for me finding it.
And don’t get me started with No. 14. You have to carry your drive over two bodies of water. Playing safe and laying up means hitting an island in between the hazards. I can’t do both.
But hey, you don’t complain about golf. You do what Bobby Jones said: Play it as it lies.
Or better yet, follow what John Daly recommends, which is to hit the ball as hard as you can, and if you can find it, hit it again.
And enjoy every minute of it.
