Baguio Country Club: The ultimate family club

We sent a survey sheet to some 100 shareholders of Manila Golf, Wack Wack, the Tower Club, Southwoods, Sta. Elena, The Country Club, Makati Sports Club and other similar fraternal associations with the question: “What would you want most from your club membership?”

Eighty out of the 100 respondents (80 percent) said they would like a club that is professionally managed, with very stable financials, which can provide a variety of recreational facilities for the entire family.

“Give us an ideal vacation home for family bonding, with facilities to make every family member enjoy without any hassle”, they said in effect.

The survey results showed that Baguio Country Club (BCC) offers the closest match to what members would expect from their club affiliations.

The BCC is possibly the only club where entire families meet and stay together for a renewal of personal relationships. Many well-known families like the Romulos, Jose Mari Chan, the Palancas and Yupangcos, the Magsaysays and the Aranetas, like to spend their family holidays at the BCC, away from their hectic schedules in Metro Manila.

Some career professionals like PR consultant Charlie Agatep, for instance, would take his entire brood to BCC at least twice a year, usually during Holy Week and the Christmas holidays.

Charlie recalls: “Since the 1970’s, my children literally grew up at BCC. They still keep in touch with the friends they met at the Club when they were not yet in their teens.”

For those who find pleasure in outdoor sports, the Club offers its par 61 championship golf course which is as exciting to play as it is to behold. The narrow fairways are guarded by tall pine trees that require extreme precision.

Then there are the Club’s covered tennis courts with indoor lighting for day and night playing. Or the glass-encased outdoor swimming pool with heated lap pool, a kiddie pool and an adjoining spa for family relaxation.

For the children who prefer indoor activities, the Club offers table tennis, darts, billiards, interactive video games, and a modern eight bowling lanes with an automatic scoring mechanism. The Club has also opened a state-of-the-art health and fitness center where the wives and adult children can keep shapely trim while the husbands play golf the whole day.

The BCC is ideal for business conferences, team building sessions and workshops. It can accommodate 50 to 1,000 persons for private functions or corporate events. There is a renovated Business Center adjoining the private meeting room called the Butler Room, and a newly-built President’s€Room€for top level conferences and meetings from where one can have a spectacular view of the golf course.

The Club is most likely the only membership club in the country that is debt-free and very liquid. Unlike most membership clubs who are beleaguered with mounting financial obligations, the expansion programs of the Club have been implemented using the BCC operating income and membership dues. Furthermore, R150 million of the original R240 million proceeds of the Club’s 1997 share offering remain intact.

The solid financials of BCC may be attributed to the way it is being run by club president Atty. Rico Agcaoili and general manager Anthony de Leon. They are well supported by a professional staff and a dedicated board of directors who are all determined to maintain the club’s world-class standards.

Despite setbacks suffered in the July 1990 earthquake that left a great part of Baguio in ruins, and the fire that razed the Club in November of the same year, the BCC has risen from the ashes through astute financial management.

Given its wide range of recreational facilities for the entire family, the BCC is regarded as the ultimate family club and vacation destination, making every member feel it is indeed a privilege to be a part of the Club.

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