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

Secret Beaches For A Phuket Golf Holiday

To help you make the most of your golfing holiday Phuket Island; here is some information on lesser known Phuket beaches. These are great alternative beaches where you can relax after golf and avoid the crowds. The Phuket beaches are a little off the beaten track, but still offer facilities such as restaurants, chairs, umbrellas, massages, and toilets.

Not far from the hive of activity which is Patong Beach you will find a haven of peace and tranquility on Paradise Beach. From the Amari Hotel at the south end of Patong Beach, take a left fork past Baan Yin Dee, the entrance to Tri Trang Resort and Merlin Beach Resort and follow the road to Emerald Bay (Naik Rang). Keep going on the narrow twisty road until you reach Paradise Beach, a palm tree shaded stretch of sand about 150 metres long with large rocks at each end and a coral reef out to the calm sea which is safe for swimming.

On the main road south out to Rawai, are Ya Nui and Laem Ka Beaches. Ya Nui is a charming little cove set between Phrom Thep and the viewpoint near the white windmills. Follow the signs for Phrom Thep. At low tide, you can walk out to an island called Koh Keyao Noi, explore the coral, or visit to the neighboring Nai Harn Beach where the Le Royal Meridien Phuket Yacht Club stands.

Karon vs. Kata Beach, Phuket Thailand (Part 2 of 2)

After Patong, Karon Beach and Kata Beach are the next likely places you might consider for a Phuket golf holiday.

Both Karon and Kata are some 15 or 20 minutes further south than Patong, so add this on to your journey times for golf at all the Phuket golf courses. Blue Canyon Country Club and Mission Hills Golf Club are both around 1 hour from Karon and Kata beaches. Loch Palm, Phuket Country Club, and red Mountain are all closer, but still will take about 30 minutes to travel to from either Karon or Kata.

Karon Beach, a long stretch of white sand, is smaller and less hectic than Patong, but still offers a full range of facilities, dining and activities. It is quite spread out and rarely feels crowded. Karon Beach  features a number of 5-star golf resorts and is fast becoming the in-place for high end golfers in Phuket. The side sois are worth exploring, particularly the one that leads to a small art community, where some budding Thai painters have built a complex of galleries in which they live and work.

Patong vs. Karon vs. Kata Beach, Phuket Thailand (Part 1 of 2)

Today’s post is the first of a two part article to help you plan your golf holiday in Phuket. It is a comparison of three popular locations to stay: Patong Beach, Karon Beach and Kata Beach.

Patong is the most famous - some would say infamous - beach resort on Phuket. With its wide variety of activities and nightlife, Patong is an ideal place to golf and party. Phuket Country Club, Loch Palm Golf Club, and Red Mountain Golf Club are all just a 10 or 15 minute ride away. Laguna Golf Club is about 20 minutes from Patong; Blue Canyon and Mission Hills about 40 minutes.

When you are not golfing, Patong's long, curved, sandy bay is a hive of activity with parasail and jet-ski operators, boat drivers, beach vendors and masseuses all vying for the attention of the many visitors relaxing on the beach chairs. It is much quieter at either end of the beach where swimming is safe. By sundown the town has a bustling nightlife which includes literally hundreds of restaurants, chic lounge bars, pubs, beer bars and discos. The nightlife is centered around Soi Bangla (Bangla Road), however there are also restaurants and pubs in quieter parts of town.

Singha Thailand PGA Championship June 26-29, 2008

Here is a trip report from Graham Sampson, one of only a few professional PGA golf instructors in Northern Thailand.

Santiburi Country Club in Chiang Rai recently hosted the Singha Thailand PGA Championship. The new Asian Tour event was presented by the Sports Authority of Thailand. Most golfers that have played Santiburi consider it one of the best golf courses in Asia, both in condition and challenge. For the event Santiburi grew the rough to U.S. Open type length and narrowed the fairways. It's remarkable that the winning 72 hole score was 21 under par, by Korea's Mo Joong-Kyung. It snapped a 12 year winning drought for the 36 year old. The sweet swinging Philippines rising star Juvic Pagunsan finished second at 18 under.

The great aspect of attending an Asian Tour event in Thailand compared to a U.S. or European event is the lack of large crowds and the ability to watch the players close up. Santiburi not only offered free admission, but also complimentary Singha bottled water and beer throughout the course every day. The intimate setting and the quality of the players makes attending one of these events very enjoyable.

How I Score Well By Not Scoring

Here is an amazing Thailand golf statistic. My best five out of my last 20 Thailand golf scores were all when I shot over well my handicap on the front nine and stopped counting on the back nice. How can this be?

Here is what I found out.

Normally I track my score hole by hole, but have recently found this to be a recipe for disaster. I determined this to be the case by analyzing my scores and watching my golfing mate. 

At Thai Country Club last month my mate, a 2 handicapper, was not playing well. He got more and more discouraged as the day went on saying things like he wondered why even he came to the golf course that day and blaming his poor shot making on his regular caddie of all people. Needless to say by days end his score mounted to well over 80. I realized he set a specific target score for himself and he got more and more discouraged once he passed that target. Lesson #1.

Then, on another day the same friend and I were playing as a four ball with 2 Japanese golfers at Lakewood Country Club, a very easy Bangkok golf course. My mate was playing well and on track to hit his target score, but blew up and got really upset after one bad putt. This turned his good round into a bad one and it took the fun out of playing golf for everyone around us, the Japanese golfers and all 4 caddies included.  Needless to say, I was really embarrassed to be this guy’s friend and would have even preferred he go his own way on that occasion. Lesson #2.