Hacienda Luisita was once part of the holdings of Compañía General de Tabacos de Filipinas, Sociedad Anónima, better known as Tabacalera, which was founded on 26 November 1881 by a Spaniard, Antonio López y López from Comillas, Cantabria and Santiago de Cuba; and Don Guillermo Rubio born in Santander, Cantabria. The estate was named after Antonio’s wife, Luisa Bru y Lassús.
In the 1950s, the onset of the Hukbalahap rebellion led the Spanish owners of Tabacalera to sell Hacienda Luisita and the sugar mill Central Azucarera de Tarlac. Ramón Magsaysay, then president of the Philippines, blocked the sale of the plantation to the eager and wealthy López clan of Iloílo for fear that they would become too powerful. He offered the vast estate to José Cojuangco, nicknamed “Pepe” through Magsaysay protégé and Cojuangco’s son-in-law, Benigno Aquino. The sale was consummated in President Carlos P. García’s term, a close ally of then Senator Ferdinand Marcos and five years from the day President Magsaysay offered the land.
In the mid-60s, with the game’s popularity in the country nearing its zenith, the Cojuancos decided to build a golf course worthy of the estate. They retained the services of the renowned Robert Trent Jones, Sr. to design and build it. It remains the legendary architect’s only design in Asia. Further, Luisita Golf and Country Club was the first golf course to use modern turf grasses on its fairways and greens with Tifton 419 on the fairways and Tifdwarf on the greens. Of course all-weather construction had not been developed yet but think about it; in the 60s and 70s, golf in Luisita was as close as you could get to playing in the United States at the time.
Stewardship of the estate has passed on again. In a landmark arrangement with the Cojuancos, Martin Lorenzo acquired a majority stake in Hacienda Luisita and has put a new team in place charged with bringing the course back to its former glory. In the short time that the team has been in place, the course has hosted the Philippine Golf Tour and has pledged to support at least one more event in this season. That seems to be proof positive that the club is headed in the right direction.
Luisita was one of the pioneers of the modern park land design. Courses at the time had small greens that were elevated and tilted to one side or other to facilitate drainage. Think about Wack Wack’s East Course which was completed about a decade before. Luisita’s greens, by comparison, are more generous than any other golf course constructed in the country at that time. The bunkering was unique as well and has more in common with today’s golf courses than those built in the same period.
Then there’s the length of the golf course. At 7,042-yards from the black tees, Luisita Golf and Country Club comes in at the minimum standard for a championship golf course these days, but remember this course was completed in the 60s when golfers then played tiny blades and woods made out of, well, wood. Translated into the modern idiom, Luisita probably played like it was 7,400-yards back then.
You learn a lot about a golf course on the first hole. It is customary to make the first hole relatively forgiving to help ease the golfer into the round. The first hole at Luisita is forgiving… to a point. It’s also 451-yards from the tips (still 439 from the blue tees) and will hurt your score if you aren’t ready for it. It sets the tone for your round.
The element that golfers will have to deal with is water. There’s water almost everywhere; it’s in play on eleven of the eighteen holes and you’ll have to deal with it on all the par threes. On two of the holes (14 and 17), there are two water hazards with which to contend. So unless you’re out to challenge yourself, most golfers would do well to play the correct set of tees. It will add enjoyment to your round and lessen the number of golf balls you donate to the hazards. The second hole helps drive that home. It’s a 192-yard par 3 (165-yards from the blue tees) with very little between you and the green but water. Unlike its feared sibling (the 17th), there’s nowhere to lay up. You’re going to have to strike the ball well to score here.
There are so many memorable holes here that it’s nigh on impossible to choose a favorite. The par 3s are all drop dead gorgeous, the second perhaps the most so. The 7th hole is a layup and a wedge if done properly but when the water in the hazard is high, those in the know will skip golf balls across the lake and onto the green.
The ninth is the beast. 623-yards from the tips makes this a par 5 to be reckoned with. The severely elevated green makes the approach shot very difficult to judge. As this is the 1-handicap hole, bogey is a good score here.
But it is the closing stretch that is the most memorable. 14 is a great hole. The tee shot must cross two bodies of water. The hole doglegs to the left and water remains in play with the approach as well. The green is shallow and difficult to hold. It’s just a great golf hole. But as good as it is, 15 is up there with it. This sweeping dogleg to the left is a bit shorter but no less difficult. An array of bunkers guard the ideal landing area off the tee. A miss to the right will result in a long shot into a green that slopes away in the back.
Then there’s the 17th. 214-yards from the tips and just 20-yards shorter from the next set of tees, this is the most difficult of the par 3s. There is scant area on which to miss but shorter hitters will be gratified to know that they can lay up to an island where the forward tees are located. The hole is much more manageable from there.
There is so much to love about Luisita. The magnificent clubhouse takes you back to the time of the grand hacienda. It gives you a glimpse back in time at a genteel time in history and a taste of what it must have been like. The club has become more accessible with the entry of Lorenzo. A current promotion offers two rounds of golf, an overnight stay in the Microtel Luisita and breakfast for just four thousand Pesos. A bargain. Condition of the golf course, while still not optimal, is improving. Time and the proper care will bring the course back around. It should be in great shape by next year’s golf season.
If you can’t already tell, I love this golf course. It is tough but fair. It’s both beauty and beast to the golfer. It requires the golfer to have both draw and fade in the bag but on the more difficult holes, favors the former. I have played both well and poorly and I so desperately want to go back. This is my only criticism of Luisita Golf and Country Club – I live too far away.
Image credits: Mike Besa