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

Best Under $30 USD Golf Course In Thailand

Thailand has many great courses from Alpine Golf Club in Bangkok to Phuket’s Blue Canyon Country Club, both in fact where Tiger Woods won major PGA tournaments.

While these golf courses can be played by all golfers in Thailand at green fees half of what similar courses cost in Europe or the USA, they are still nevertheless expensive for some. Most times I sing the praise for all the upper-end championship courses in Thailand, however in these uncertain economic times, I thought it appropriate to share with you my pick for the best Thailand golf course at the other end of the cost spectrum; that is with green fees under $30.00 USD (25 Euros).

2 Ways To Avoid Hitting Thin Shots In Thailand

Hitting the ball thin, also known as topping the ball, is common among golfers on a Thailand golf tour. It happens allot when golfers do not practice much and then get here ready to tee it up after not playing for weeks, if not months.

It's so sad to see golfer’s top the ball when hitting their first approach shot on their first round at say Thai Country Club in Bangkok. Topping an approach shot not only ruins their approach, but adds strokes to their score as well. Instead of being on the green sizing up a putt, golfers on holiday in Thailand are way over the green considering their next shot, or worse.

There are two things I do to avoid topping the ball. They work for me all the time.

1. Relax before hitting. This helps practically everything as tension is the “devil” in my swing.
2. Swing your arms back wide and make a full shoulder turn with your back to the target at the top of your backswing.

If I have a poor backswing it almost always results in a bad ball strike. A topped shot occurs when I swing the club too steeply into the ball, which results from taking the club back too abruptly in the backswing. This forces me to slide past the ball on the downswing, and requires me to swing the club straight down to make contact. As a result, I cast at the ball and only catch only the top of the ball.
The key to hitting a ball flush is making a full shoulder turn. I take a normal address position, and then a couple of deep breaths to relax. When I find myself rushing, it almost always results in a bad shot.
Also, I swing my arms back wide during my backswing. I make sure I turn my back to the target at the top of the swing, make a smooth transition, and turn completely through the swing. If I do all this, I'll make a more level strike at the ball and never top the ball.

How To Golf At Amata Spring Country Club?

I often get asked about golf at Amata Spring Country Club. Located halfway between Bangkok and Pattaya, Amata Spring is currently closed to visitors. However, there are 2 ways to get on for those on a Thailand golf holiday and wanting to play.
First a little history and update about the golf course. Amata Spring Country Club was opened in 2005 and up until now kept as a private member’s only golf club.  The course was designed by Schmidt-Curley Golf Design from the USA and was initially a good layout, and had the makings of a great golf club.

However, I was surprised to see the conditions so run down the 2 times I played recently. Rough areas seeded with native red-grass have never grown in and are now just barren open waste areas. The greens, while undulating and well-bunkered roll a slow 8 on the stimpmeter with obvious signs of graininess from the strain of Paspalum grass used. A better choice would have been to go with the Eagle Turf found on the areas other premier courses like Alpine Golf Club in Bangkok and Siam Country Club in Pattaya.

On the other hand, the golf course plays to a length of over 7,400 yards from the tips, ensuring challenging play for golf championships. Speaking of professional events, Amata Spring Country Club hosted the Royal Trophy in 2006 and 2007. The Royal Trophy is a unique competition played between the continents of Europe and Asia in a team match play format. The best players from Europe play against the best players from Asia to compete in a series of matches for stewardship over the perpetual Royal Trophy – graciously donated by His Majesty the King of Thailand.

Hua Hin Golf Tour & Courses Update

A group of 48 Japanese American golfers in Thailand last week played a golf tournament in Hua Hin. Here are the tour leader’s comments on the Hua Hin golf courses, which he had last played some seven years ago:

The first day of our Hua Hin golf tour we played we played Majestic Creek Country Club (known to the locals as “Magic Stick”). Whilst it has always been a challenging layout, the course was a bit unkempt, the clubhouse showed signs of age, and there were even rumours from the staff of the club’s imminent demise.  Despite these drawbacks the course was still good enough to satisfy us for the opening tournament round. The 18th hole in particular was among the groups favourite; but don’t, as I did, get into the bunker about 100 yards short of the green. After several attempts at a shot over water to a narrow green with the pin at the front, a quick ten resulted!

Royal Hua Hin was the next venue, a classic layout and a long time favourite. Money has been spent recently on both a new clubhouse and the golf course, which I have rarely seen in such good condition. The injection of funds is understandable. Royal Hua Hin Golf Course is leased for 30 years from the State Railway of Thailand by Boon Rawd Brewery, the producer of the world-famous Thai beer Singha. The third-generation President of Boon Rawd Brewery, Khun Santi Bhirombhakdi, is a keen golfer and the company are committed to improvements in facilities while retaining the original nature and historical royal legacies. One really nice touch is that local children are allowed to practice on the practice range free of charge every evening and also enjoy a low twilight green fee rates.

Top 5 Misunderstood Thailand Golf Rules

Why do people who golf in Thailand often play without following the rules? Do they want to cheat or is it just that they do not understand the rules of golf?  Assuming the later, here  are simple definitions of the 5 most frequently used rules that all Thailand golfers should understand:

1. OUT OF BOUNDS (OB): When you loose a ball in the jungle, say at Santiburi Samui Country Club, you must go back and hit your next shot from the same place that you hit the ball that went out of bounds. No exceptions and that means at all Thailand golf courses!

2. LOST BALL: First of all, forget hazards. This information is for Thailand golfers who lose their ball in the rough or trees and need to know what the options are. Many players think it's all right to drop a ball where they think the lost ball is and go ahead and play.  This is okay if you are playing “American golf rules” (cheating) or if you want to save time.  But really if you play by the rules when golfing in Thailand you have just one option.  You must return to the place where you hit the shot that resulted in the lost ball and play another. 

3. FREE DROP: If you play at many of the more remote golf course in Thailand you will find many areas under repair, cart paths, staked trees, and immovable objects. If the problem area interferes with your stance or swing you get a free drop. A line-of-flight dilemma, the big tree between your ball and the green on the 4th hole at Blue Canyon in Phuket isn't a justification for relief.

Hole-In-One Prize When Golfing In Thailand

 What have you wished for if you could get a hole-in-one on your Thailand golf vacation? Well how about this fitness guarantee?

Last week while golfing in Pattaya I ran across this great hole-in-one prize at Rayong Green Valley Golf Club. What better way could the golf club owners think of  to reward the most accomplished (lucky) golfers in Thailand with a prize to guarantee the winner's longevity and golfing career.

On the other hand, a check up at the most expensive hospital in Bangkok only runs around $200 US dollars. So for those of us who are not so lucky when golfing in Thailand, we will have to spend a bit to get the information about our health and insure that we can golf in Thailand well into our old age.

Have a healthy game!