Thailand Golf Holiday, Thailand Tours, Golf Resorts & Vacation Information

The Best Way To Bring Your Golf Clubs To Thailand

Often, I get questions from clients of my golf travel company firstly as to whether to bring their golf clubs with them or to hire when they are here; and secondly, if they bring their clubs with them, what sort of golf travel or carry bag should they use? I have dealt in a previous posting with the question of rent or bring your own clubs.

Actually, I too wrestle with the second question. When I pack to leave on a golf trip, the main conundrum is always which travel bag should I use for my clubs? Should I take the hard case, the one that looks like a portable coffin, the soft sided case which runs the risk of club damage from the gorillas that seem to work in airport baggage handling, or the soft-sided hybrid?  The problem with these options is that they each require that I pack my clubs into a travel bag that I will have to later remove and store after reaching my destination. 

Golf Travel History

We all need to get away occasionally and escape the routine of our jobs to find a few days to golf away from the town or city we call our home. Since the early 1800s international tourism has grown from humble beginnings to a multi-billion dollar industry that spans the globe. Even the Romans needed a break and the first documented examples of holidays show wealthy families getting away to coastal villages and towns such as Baiae; albeit with no mention of any golf being on offer.

In the 17th century it became common practice among aristocrats for their children to embark upon a ‘grand tour’ of Europe to gain experience and achieve maturity. Again, it seems unlikely that golf clubs were included in the vast quantities of baggage they carried with them.

It wasn’t until 1841 that the seeds of today’s package holiday empire were sown. Thomas Cook organized the first package tour in July 1841, even if it was a fairly understated affair. He joined forces with a rail company to charge one shilling each (about ten cents US) to a group of 570 temperance workers traveling from Leicester to Loughborough for a rally.

Narai Hill Golf Resort & Country Club Review

Another pleasant surprise for those of you looking for a course with challenge, variety and rolling terrain is the very scenic Narai Hill Golf Resort located around 140 km north of Bangkok. It is a little long for a one day drive but they do have rooms and villas at a golf resort where you can overnight and make it two days of golf and have loads of fun overnight.

The course was designed by Major Veeryot Pethbuasak and opened in 2006. Although the Paspalum fairways are still a bit thin, especially with the recent dry season, it has a very nice design with plenty of doglegs, bunkers, uphill and downhill holes. Khun Veeryot also designed Suwan Country Club and Phokeethra Country Club in Cambodia, both also excellent courses. Distances on this course are well established at 7357 from the black tees, 6825 from the blue tees and 6378 from the white tees. Thus all golfers can select a set of tees which will present them with a good challenge.

Fairways are generous and often gently sloping so Thai golfers should listen to their caddies and play to the appropriate side of the fairway in order to take full advantage of the terrain. An interesting feature of the designer on this course is that many fairways have a tree right in the middle but players should be able to hit around or over the trees with little problem. It actually functions as a directional target.

Call For Golf Course Reviews

Throughout this Thailand Golf Zone blog you can find numerous reviews of many of Thailand’s almost 300 golf courses. These have been posted by myself and other regular contributors. You can also find brief reviews of all of the Thailand golf courses used regularly by my Thailand golf vacation company on our website.

Now it’s your turn!

Yes, I would really appreciate it if you could let me have your comments on any of the golf courses you have played recently in Thailand, whether you are a visitor to Thailand or an expatriate living here or a Thai national. I will feature your reviews on the Thailand Golf Zone. To help you, here are some of the topics you could comment on:

Name:
Home Country:
Date:
Course:
Location:
Distance/Time From/To Town:
Checking In / Locker Rooms:
Tees Played Off:
Yardage:
Course Strong Points:
Course Weak Points:
Star Hole:
Caddies:
19th Hole:
Overall Verdict:

Golf Caddy Selection In Thailand

One of the great pleasures of playing golf in Land of Smiles is the availability of walking and having your own caddy. Having your own “assistant” to hand you water, clean your clubs, hold your umbrella, track your ball flight and “carry” (though virtually all caddies pull a cart nowadays) your clubs really enables golfers in Thailand to truly focus on their game.

Often you can book a caddy that you have used previously, however there is no guarantee that she will be available when you arrive at the course. The more common option is to select a caddy when your car pulls up to the bag drop. You will be given the next caddies in the queue, but you can request one that speaks a bit of English.

Thai golfers find that their caddies read greens pretty well. It is best to have her read your putts during the first couple of holes and you will confirm she is accurate and a great help.

If you can develop a rapport with your caddy, golf in Thailand will be much more enjoyable. Personally I have been able to salvage a round by my caddy being able to settle me down and uttering the standard Thai phrase “mai pen rai” (interpreted as never mind, no problem). Try to get to know her if she speaks a bit of English.

A Hua Hin Golf Holiday: 3 Pros and Cons

Hua Hin, located on the Western shores of the Gulf of Thailand is not as well known for golf as Phuket or Pattaya. However there are some very good reasons to plan a Hua Hin Golf Holiday and a few other points to also consider when choosing your Thailand golf holiday destination.

The 3 best reasons to take a Hua Hin Golf Holiday are:

1.    Hua Hin is one of the cleanest and most sophisticated Thailand golf destinations. There town itself is quaint and clean, a stark contrast to many other of the Thailand golf destinations. Moreover, there is little in the way of prostitution or beer bars which makes Hua Hin a great choice for families, couples, and newlyweds.

2.    There are 2 excellent golf courses within 30 minutes of Hua Hin and 1 additional championship golf course set to open in 2008. Black Mountain is a new layout that is as challenging as they come. The venerable Springfield Golf Club, a Nicklaus creation, continues to draw good feedback from Western and Thai golfers alike. Banyan Golf Club, the newest addition to the Hua Hin golf scene will be ready for play for the 2008 tourist season.

3.    Hua Hin is easily reach by land from Bangkok and makes for a nice 2-centered golf package holiday. Playing the 2-3 best Bangkok and 2-3 Hua Hin golf courses, experiencing the Thailand’s cosmopolitan capital city, and lounging at the beach of a quaint seaside village is one of the nicest golf holidays I could imagine anywhere!

Summit Windmill Golf Club, Bangkok Thailand

Designed by Nick Faldo and opened in 1993, Summit Windmill Golf Club is one of the tougher tests of golf in Thailand with a back tee rating of 74.2, slope of 146 and measuring 6964 yards. The middle tees at a more modest 6211 yards have a rating of 70.2 but with a challenging slope of 132. Thus both mid handicappers and single digit players can challenge themselves by playing the appropriate tees.

A unique concept in Faldo’s design is that most of the tee boxes for the back tees are set up on little elevated islands. This course incorporates a substantial amount of mounding, and moguls, another facet not found in the local area courses. A couple of holes have split fairways and golfers may find that a perfectly straight tee shot is in fact in the rough with a side hill lie. Maybe this is a little frustrating, but this is what makes this course interesting and challenging.

Does Your Driver Conform?

Here I am not speaking about the merits of your chauffeur or taxi driver, but rather the golf club you use to tee off on 14 of the 18 holes when playing golf in Thailand.

Recently in the Caltex Masters, Chinese player Liang Wen-chong was disqualified for using a non-conforming driver. Liang was using a driver (Mizuno 300 SII) that contravened the Coefficient of Restitution (COR) rules. Liang claimed to be unaware of the contravention.

The issue of COR was amicably settled in last year when after much discussion, golf’s two governing bodies - the United States Golf Association (USGA) and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A) finally agreed to have a unified set of regulations for golf equipment ensuring uniformity to the game worldwide.

COR means the speed with which the ball jumps off the clubface on drivers. A joint proposal between the governing bodies confirmed from January 1, 2008, the Rules of Golf worldwide will be changed, limiting the COR limit to 0.83. Up until December 31, 2007 a Condition of Competition, targeted at competitions for “highly skilled players” (i.e. Professionals and top Amateurs), enabled the Committee in charge of the competition to apply a COR limit of 0.83 – this was the ruling Liang fell foul of.

How I Conquered Siam Country Club, Pattaya?

The story starts last week when I played the Siam Country Club, Plantation Course. Opened only 2 weeks earlier, this fabulous Schmidt-Curley design will set everyone who plays there back about 10 stokes off their handicap. It is easily the most difficult Pattaya golf course, surpassing both St. Andrews Golf Club and Pattana Golf Club for top honors.

After fumbling around for the front nine I realized Lee Schmidt had only one design trick up his sleeve when he laid out this course; namely elevated crowned fast greens with shaved fringes. This design feature can be very frustrating when you hit an otherwise excellent approach shot into the green and wind up some 20 yards below the bole in a deep catchment area.

On the back nine I wised up and called into action my trusted Texas Wedge on every hole; even as far as 40 feet off the greens. This shot was popularized by Ben Hogan when Texas golf courses had a reputation for very hard fairways, and I used the same principle. When my approach shots stopped short of the greens, my putter was the better choice for the next shot because of shortness of the grass on the collar.

Most Underrated Bangkok Golf Course

Bangsai Country Club is a sleeper course………one that does not make theThailand “A” list by most surveys. Opened in 1996 Bangsai Country Club is about 70 minutes north of the Bangkok, but is a trip well worth taking due to its very low cost and excellent layout.

Upon entering the course one may sense that they will be playing a local municipal course in typically so so condition. However, a surprise is in store as it is a refreshing change from the typically flat Bangkok area golf courses and is similar in terrain to one of the most famous courses, Alpine Country Club.

Bangsai is so remote; golfers will feel they are in a wildlife sanctuary due to the number and variety of birds calling along with many water foul patiently fishing the lateral water hazards (or waiting to be caught by your caddy for dinner!).