Thailand Golf Holidays, Phuket Golf Packages, Hua Hin Golf Vacations

Phuket Red Mountain Golf Club Review

Are you thinking about playing a new course this year on your Phuket golf holiday? Well my friend Dr. Glenn just returned from Phuket where he played at the Red Mountain Golf Club. Here are some of his comments.

The Phuket Red Mountain Golf Club course layout is friendly for shorter to medium length hitters, but requires good control from the tees.  Long hitters from the tees that do not perfectly execute their drives will be in immediate trouble and will require many extra balls to complete the 18 hole layout.  However, the benefit for short tee shots comes to an abrupt end, as most second shots to the greens have to navigate through heavily bunkered or water surrounded putting areas.

The Red Mountain course is further characterized by many elevation changes and a lot of water. The greens vary from large layouts to challenging small greens located at the top of hilly areas and not easily seen from the fairways.  Most greens are well protected by sand and strategically placed fairway bunkers are found on almost every hole. There are several short par 4 holes, but they are not easy, not one of them since their fairways are very narrow.

Staying Behind The Thailand Golf Ball

The most difficult thing for the golfer on holiday in Thailand to do, in my opinion, is to stay behind the ball. What do I mean by this?

Almost everyone I meet is so excited about playing a new golf course that they have a tendency to swing hard and get ahead of the ball with the body, promoting an over the top swing. This leads to slicing, shanking, and topping. It is particularly noticeable on the tee, where so many on a Thailand golf holiday try to kill the ball. Just yesterday, I golfed with a group of South African golfers at Thai Country Club and one gentleman in my foursome, tried to hit the ball so hard on the first tee he practically fell over!

It is easy to learn how to stay behind the ball. Try teeing up the ball higher than usual. Most of the pro shops at Thailand golf courses sell extra long tees for about $1 US, so buy a pack on your way out to the first tee. When the ball is teed up this high, you must swing from the inside out in order to hit the ball at all solidly. In addressing a ball which is teed higher than usual, set the golf club head about three inches behind the ball and choke down an inch or so, as this will also help hit it squarely.

Suwan Golf and Country Club Reloaded

Last week I and two other American semi-professional golfers had the good fortune to again play Suwan Golf Club. Here is an updated golf course review.

Suwan is a two year old championship Bangkok golf course just west of town. It was designed by the Weeyos Group and although not a top designer name, this is a very well designed course.

The par 72 course measures 7125 yards from the tips, 6721 from the blues, and 6378 from the white tees. It consists of beautiful rolling terrain, some doglegs and plenty of water. The Seashore Paspalum fairway grass presents a nice lie but they were somewhat thin due to the newness of the course and recent verticutting. The lightning fast greens are Sea Isle 2000 Paspalum, an excellent surface. Despite the somewhat thin fairways, the entire course including tees and rough is in great condition.

The green surfaces are firm and roll very true and very very fast.  Many greens have severe undulations, knolls and false fronts requiring golfers to focus on making an accurate approach shot, not merely hitting the green. Unlike many courses, a front pin placement here is of little benefit on a number of the holes as the ball will roll back downhill.  Players will find it challenging to gauge not only the speed of their putts but also the speed of their chips.

After Bangkok Golf Cheap Restaurant Guide

After a long day at a Bangkok golf course where is the best cheap restaurant to eat at? Excluding sidewalk restaurants (the topic for another post) here are four places that you should investigate after your next round of golf in Bangkok, all under $10 USD a head, including alcohol!

1. Steak Lao restaurant is on Chang Wattana in Ram Intra, 100 yards from the outer ring road exit. The restaurant is an ideal place to visit after golfing at Panya Indra Golf Club, Legacy Golf Club, Windsor Park or President Country Club. It has a true rustic Thai feel and the sizzling steak Lao dish is fantastic. By the way in addition to beef “steak Lao” comes in pork, chicken, and fish. Yes that’s right fish and if you have to ask, well just order one of the other varieties!

2. Via Vie is an Italian restaurant on Soi 8.  What better than a pizza and beer after a day at the golf course? Well this jewel of a restaurant has the best wood fired pizzas in all Bangkok, if not Thailand. The other night after dropping off my mates from a round at Thai Country Club, I went into Via Vie for their specialty pizza margarita and a warm spinach salad. Ricardo the owner cooked for me as usual, came over, and we even shared a beer. The total tab, including 2 beers was not even $10 dollars.  As an added plus for those golfing at Santiburi Country Club, the original Via Vie is on Chewang beach and is run by Ricardo’s brother!

Lakewood Golf Club, Bangkok Thailand

Here is a Bangkok golf course review from my friend Greg Haney, an American scratch (well almost!) golfer in Thailand. Greg has significant playing experience and will be writing for the Thailand Golf Zone from time to time.I think you will find his writing style interesting and informative. Greg likes to focus on the technical aspects of golf and as such provides unique insight into each golf course.

Lakewood is a J. Michael Poellet (California based) designed course located at the 18km mark of the Bangna Trad Highway. JMP Design’s other Thailand course is Rajpruek.

The course has 3 nines, Rock, Wood and Lake and plays from approximately 6200 yards from the white tees, 6679 from the blues and 7100 from the tips depending on which rotation one plays. All three nines are similar in design with subtle doglegs, slightly undulating greens and water. Fortunately the water (as any OB) should only seriously come into play on a few holes.

Most Improved or Ruined Thailand Golf Course?

I golfed at Muang Kaew in Bangkok last week and after not playing there since last season I have to say that this is the most improved Thailand golf course by far while at the same time may also be ruined for good. How can that be?

What is so good about Muang Kaew now? Someone, probably the course superintendent, is doing great work. The greens and surrounding areas are in near perfect condition. Adding to the already challenging design that was put into play in 2003 when Lee Schmidt and Brian Curley remodeled the entire course, the first and second fringes around the greens were cut as short as most greens on other Thailand golf courses. I forgot to check the stimpmeter ratings for the putting surfaces, but estimate green speed to be around 9.5, and this is in the rainy season where wet conditions make for slower rolling greens. This high season expect conditions to further improve with greens rolling over 10, if not 11 or 12 during the dry months from November to March. This will rival the greens at Alpine Golf Club, which are regarded as the fastest in Thailand.

Happy Birthday Golf America From Bangkok!

Being an American golfer in Thailand I thought to devote this post to a good cause. First of all, to all golfers in the USA, Happy Independence Day!

American golfers celebrate this day not only with a morning round of golf, but also with afternoon family outings like backyard barbecues, picnics, trips to the beach, summer concerts and hot dog eating competitions, and of course glamorous fireworks displays held in both major cities and rural towns alike..

Second for those American golfers serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other combat zones thank you for all your efforts. And what relaxes a golfing soldier after hot sweaty duty better than a round of golf?  Well most can not afford the time for R&R in a golf oasis like Thailand, but they can do some driving at several makeshift ranges in Baghdad or even play at the TPC at Mosul South, the only golf course in a Middle Eastern combat zone.

The golf clubs used in Iraq have been scrounged from many sources: people's personal collections as well as donations. Besides clubs, a whole lot of golf balls are used, as it is easy to loose balls in the desert setting.

Can you imagine that, a driving range and a golf course in the desert? Well these patriotic golfers need a little relaxation, exercise, and recreation and as such need your help. Read on!

Cars, Kids, and Pets in Thailand

Today, the third and final part of the “living in Thailand for golf” series will cover Thailand car options, Thailand schools, and for those of you who like pets: how to bring your dog or cat to Thailand?

Bringing your car to Thailand is not a good idea. Cars can be shipped, but it very expensive. A more practical solution for getting wheels in Thailand is to rent, lease or buy your own car. Buying a car is around 10% more expensive than in Europe or the USA. I recommend that you look at the new Toyota Fortuner, an excellent SUV and the first automobile designed in Thailand. A popular choice for a sedan is the Toyota Camry. The new model resembles a Lexus and has many standard features of its more expensive cousin. If you are an outdoors type person and like trekking in the countryside you could also consider a pick up truck. Popular models are available from Isuzu, Mitsubishi, and Toyota.

Driving in Thailand is a lot easier for you if you have an automatic transmission, especially if you will live in one of the main golf destinations like Bangkok, Chiang Mai,or Phuket. Whatever car or truck you chose make sure you purchase first class insurance, which runs about US$600 per year. That way you will be fully insured, whether any accidents are your fault or not.