Toasting RP’s oldest golf course

There’s a golf course in Iloilo that’s not only a tough challenge for parbusters but also a historical landmark and a tourist attraction.

And next year, the course will celebrate its centennial anniversary with a series of events including the Joint Centenary and sixth Mayor Jerry Trenas Cup on Jan. 9-10, a Celebrity Fun Cup on Jan. 26-28, the Southern Ladies Amateur Golf Tournament on Feb. 7-10, the Philippine Seniors Open on Feb. 21-24, the Centenary Corporate Cup on March 14-18, the Philippine Junior Golf Vis-Min Regional Tour on May 18-19, the National Team Shootout on May 25, the Rotary Golf Foundation Fellowship Cup in September, the Antonio Chan Flag Tournament on Nov. 3 and the 10th Bamboo Tee and Centenary Thanksgiving Cup on Nov. 14-17.

That’s more than a truckload of activities lined up to toast the 100th year of the Sta. Barbara Golf Course, which was developed in 1907 by Scottish engineers to play their national pastime.

To mark the centennial milestone, the National Golf Association of the Philippines and the Federation of Golf Clubs of the Philippines are proclaiming 2007 as the Centennial Year of Golf in the country.

Today, the Sta. Barbara Golf Course is managed by the Iloilo Golf and Country Club, backed by 268 members and a larger number of corporate stockholders. Sta. Barbara has evolved into a premier golf destination and tourist hotspot, making the 6,056-yard, par-70 course a popular recreation haven in Iloilo.

Sta. Barbara’s history dates back to the 1850s when the Iloilo-based British vice consul Nicholas Loney actively promoted the trade of Filipino products, particularly sugar. He was recognized for enhancing foreign access to Filipino goods and fueling the local economy.

When the Americans arrived here at the turn of the century, they saw the progress of the Visayan economy and encouraged even more trade by laying the groundwork for an infrastructure of roads and railway systems. British expertise was tapped to assist in the construction efforts, leading to the recruitment of Scottish engineers as employees of the Panay Railway Company in Iloilo.

During their leisure hours, the Scottish engineers thought of playing the sport they love and found a track of rolling fields in the Sta. Barbara hills, reminiscent of Scottish glens. They carved a nine-hole course out of the terrain and built nipa huts around the area to shelter the expatriate golfers from the sun.

In 1907, the Sta. Barbara Golf Course was inaugurated.

In the 1920s, the nipa huts were replaced by a much bigger "clubhouse." The destruction wrought by World War II claimed the "clubhouse" as a victim and when peace was restored, nipa huts were rebuilt and the course was brought back to life after a year.

In 1947, Wallace MacGregor Davies of the British trading company Strachan and McMurray and architect Zafiro Ledesma supervised the construction and expansion of the "Quonset Hut" clubhouse.

In the 1980s, the course was expanded to 18 holes. And in 1998, the present, modern clubhouse was constructed out of membership funds.

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Visiting the course is an experience by itself.

You can still find original sandboxes on the fairways. A course historian said the sandboxes are a reminder of how the golf ball was played off the tee mound "with a handful of water scooped from the holder, poured on the sand in the adjacent box with the ‘niblick’ or the iron wedge then used to scoop the wet sand to ‘tee up’ the ball on the ground."

You can find the remains of the stone stairways built during the early years to protect golfers from the dangers of a muddy and slippery descent and century-old acacia trees, some whose trunks measure diameters of two meters – all preserved to stamp the course’s historic identity.

You can find items of interest displayed in the Golf Museum. There are, for example, late 1800s golf balls excavated from the course ponds, no doubt brought and lost in play by the Scottish founders of the game in the country.

Of course, playing the course is an exhilarating experience for golfers. Through the years, the Sta. Barbara management has worked wonders to transform the club into a challenging, environment-friendly, attractive and world-class facility for golfers and tourists alike.

Here’s a message to competitive golfers from the club historian: "Since its early years, the course layout has followed the natural terrain of the land and continues to pose a challenge to golfers of all handicaps. Familiarity with the natural slopes and undulations of the fairways and greens will dictate the options off the tee. However, a good short game is a necessity to conquer tricky approaches to the green."

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No less than British ambassador Peter Beckingham has promised to play on the course during the centennial celebrations.

"I am delighted to support Iloilo Golf and Country Club’s plans to mark the centenary of the first golf course in the Philippines," said Beckingham. "I look forward to playing on the course. I am in no doubt the Philippines has some of the best golf courses in the world. Friends visiting from the UK and the US have already vowed to return to play more of them."

You don’t have to wait for next year to enjoy the course. There are tour packages now being offered by various Iloilo travel agencies in collaboration with the Iloilo City Convention Bureau, the Iloilo Business Club and the Iloilo Resort and Restaurant Association.

Among the sites to visit are museums (at least eight, including the Museo Iloilo, Maritime Museum, the Newspaper Museum, Sta. Barbara Golf Museum and the University of San Agustin Museum), ancestral homes, churches (including the Jaro Cathedral, the St. Anne Church and Convent in Molo, the Miag-ao Church) and the Panaderia de Molo.

Tours linking Iloilo to Guimaras, Boracay, Kalibo, Antique, Capiz and Bacolod are also in the menu.