On the tee
The family that swings together, wins together
FILIPINO FAMILIES USUALLY HEAD TO THE CINEMA, RESTAURANT OR THE BEACH TO WHILE AWAY WEEKENDS and share quality time. But for the Magcalayo family, weekends and breaks from school are spent on the well-manicured fairways and greens, hitting golf balls.
“Doon kami nagba-bonding sa golf. Every Saturday, Sunday, pag-out ng school, mag-aayaan na, ‘let’s play golf.’ We’re good for one flight already,” says Joey Magcalayo.
Joey and his sons Jolo, 15, and Jonas, 21, and daughter Jona, 16, are weekend regulars at the courses of Canlubang and Tagaytay and on weekdays after school hours at Ayala Alabang. Mom Lorna, the only non-golfer in the bunch, tags along to watch and sometimes does some putting. “Masaya actually, doon na kami nag-gather together and it’s fun also. Sometimes we put a small bet,” shares Jolo. “For example, si Jolo Philippine team (member) tapos tatalunin namin siya na walang practice, parang ganon,” says the eldest, Jonas. So who wins the side bets?
“Syempre ang Daddy madalas manalo, magulang eh,” Joey says, laughing. Jona, who’s into golf more for the fun in it, relishes being in a family that not only bonds on the golf course but actually gets good at the sport they love.
“I’m very proud to be part of a family that’s becoming famous and like super galing because even though I’m not that good, nadadamay ako dahil sa kanila,” she says. Jolo has made his mark by winning the individual title of this year’s PAL Interclub men’s golf championship in Davao on his rookie stint with Canlubang, following up his conquest of the Cangolf Amateur Open in 2016.
He was also part of the Philippine team that placed fourth in the Southeast Asian Games in Malaysia.
Jonas donned the national colors in this year’s Universiade in Chinese-Taipei while Dad Joey has won the Class A Championship of the Mercedes Invitational.
Jona, for her part, represented the Philippines internationally last year, joining Jolo in the delegation that played in London.
“It’s very nice, my first time to be in Europe and it was so cold. I’ve met a lot of friends there,” she says of her experience.
Although they were housed in separate buildings, Jona says it gave her and Jolo the opportunity to bond.
“Doon kami naging super close ng brother ko. We don’t really talk much before kasi busy siya, he’s always the one (going abroad) representing the Philippines.”
Just recently, the Magcalayos all competed in the 2017 Cangolf Open amateurs. Jolo and Jonas played in the championship division, Jona in the ladies’ class and Joey in Class A.
Jona hopes in the near future, her mom, who’s more into bowling, will finally hit the fairways.
“Someday, she wants to play with us kasi she’s always left out. It’s really fun to play with the family, laging may asaran,” she says. Joey recalls that he got into golf by necessity in 2004. “May transportation business ako, providing shuttle to foreign investors. Every time may meeting kami, ang pinaguusapan nila ay golf kaya nagpractice na rin ako mag-golf. From there, natuto, gumaling and actually nag-2-handicap
ako that time. After that, natuto na rin mag-golf mga anak
ko,” he shares. Joey first tried to get Jonas into the sport but his eldest didn’t like it at first. Later on, Jolo, on his own, told him he wanted to learn golf. Seeing their dad and kid brother going to different places to play golf eventually led to Jonas coming on board, and later on Jona. “Gusto ko golf kasi nakaka-relieve ng stress. Naging passion ko na rin at gusto ko maging career. Dito ako masaya,” says Jolo. Jonas likes what golf teaches its players. “Number one dyan is patience. Kung wala kang pasensya sa golf, hindi ka matututo. And as they say, golf is a gentleman’s game, so wala dapat attitude,” he says. Asked if he wants his kids to take up golf as a career, Joey says: “Depende sa kanila. Kung ano gusto nila, kung gustong mag-professional, susuportahan 100 percent. Pero sa amin lang ng asawa ko, gusto namin makatapos ng pag-aaral.”
Jonas is focused on his Construction Engineering course at Mapua while Jolo is still in Grade 9. Jona is looking forward to studying in the US and wants to become a lawyer or fashion designer in the future.
Joey admits golf is a high-maintenance hobby but seeing the family get closer because of it makes it all worth it.
“Talagang magastos; kung ako lang nga mag-isa, magastos na, eh di lalo apat kami. Sulit naman kasi nabubuo ang bonding namin, at the same time, nagkakaroon ng resulta (getting good at it and winning),” the Magcalayo patriarch says.