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Roughing It In Thailand Golf

The golf courses in Thailand have some very thick rough. For example, off the fairway at the Nicklaus designed Springfield Country Club in Hua Hin can wreak havoc for even the most accomplished golfers in Thailand. If you lie is near the green, the shot becomes even more critical as it can mean the difference between making a par, bogey or worse.

To score low, you must know how to get it close from the really deep stuff. Blue Canyon in Phuket and Thai Country in Bangkok are two Thailand golf courses known to sometimes keep the rough very tall, especially when the course is being prepared for a professional tournament. Knocking it close from these lies chops one or two strokes from your score and often saves par.

Here are four ways that I have found that work well from the deep rough:

1. Use one extra club and choke up
2. Position your hands in front of the ball
3. Play the ball slightly forward
4. Use a descending blow

Some Thailand golfers like to use short irons from the deep rough. But that's hard. It requires a strong grip and strength. Plus, your release has to be perfectly timed. Release the club too early and you'll end up hitting a lot of grass and no ball.

Instead, I use a longer iron, with my hands in front of the ball, and the ball slightly forward of center. The ball will come out of the rough lower and with a lot of top spin (roll), but that beats a flubbed shot or a complete miss. 
   
Before your next round of golf in Thailand head for the practice green and drop a few balls in thick stuff. Practice hitting from some tough lies. You'll be glad you did!

Lagging It Close Golfing in Phuket and Hua Hin

My approach shots often stop 20 feet short of the hole when I play the hilly Phuket golf courses like Blue Canyon and Red Mountain or the new Banyan Golf Club in Hua Hin. These golf courses have many elevated greens compared to my relatively flat home Bangkok golf course, Thai Country Club. 

Therefore, my lag putting becomes extremely important to achieve a good score and avoid three putting at these Thailand golf courses.

I have found that good lag putting is a function of my ability to gauge ball speed. If the speed is off, I end up way short of the hole, go flying past it, or worse right back down the front of green if its fast and my ball is above the hole, like many of the greens at Alpine Golf Club.

Controlling ball speed is a matter of stroke length, not speeding up or slowing down your motion. To get the ball close on a lag putt, I change my stroke length while maintaining the same rhythm and tempo as I do on other putts. Here's one way to use stroke length instead of rhythm and tempo.

Find a green with a long flat putt. For example, there is a great practice putting green at Palm Hills Golf Club in Hua Hin. Settle into your normal putting stance. Take the putter head back as far as your big toe using your normal rhythm and tempo. Strike the ball as you normally would. When it stops, measure the distance. For me, it's about 20 feet.

Repeat the process. But this time take the putter back until your hands are even with your big toe. Measure the distance. Normally, it's about 30 feet. Repeat the process a third time. But this time take the putter back until your hands go beyond your foot. Measure the distance. Magically, it's 40 feet.

Measure your own putts to see your distance when you do this drill to get your true range. To fine-tune your stroke for in-between distances, take the putter back a little farther or a little shorter depending on the putt's length.

Practice this drill until you have the distances down pat and you'll dramatically improve your lag putting, regardless if you play flat courses like the resort layout at Laguna Phuket Golf Club, or the more challenging courses with loads of elevation changes round the green like Red Mountain Golf Club.

You'll also cut down on how often you three-putt and end up with better scores no matter what course you golf in Thailand!

Become An Expert At Reading Thailand Golf Greens

Probably the most important thing to learn about golf in Thailand is how to read the greens.  While Thai caddies can tell you where to hit a putt, it is always helpful to understand why putts break the way they do.  Grass in Thailand is mostly Bermuda and very grainy.  Grain, or the direction the grass blades grow, is many times just as important to the line and speed of a putt as is the slope of the green itself.  To read the grain, there are a couple of things to pay attention to. 

First, look at the color or shade of the grass between your ball and the hole.  If it all looks the same color, turn around and look in the opposite direction.  You should be able to see that in one direction the grass is a lighter color or shiny and in the other direction it will appear darker.  The light shade means the grass is growing in that direction, or “down grain”.  If your putt will travel over mostly light shaded or shiny grass, it will be much faster than normal.  Conversely, if the grass is a darker shade, your putt will be slower than normal, as it is “into” or “against” the grain.  Grass is darker because you are actually looking under the blades of grass and the small shadows they cast as it grows toward you.  Grass is shiny because you are looking at the top of the blade as it grows away from you.  If grain is growing to the right or left, you will have to play more or less break depending on slope and grain direction of that putt.

The second trick you can use to determine grain is to look at the hole itself.  All of the better Thailand golf courses like Alpine and Amata Spring will relocate the hole each day. After it has been cut in the morning, as the day goes on, one side of the hole will turn brown.  This happens as the grass blades die around that edge of the hole, where the roots have been cut.  Only one side or portion of the hole will turn brown and this will tell you the grain is growing in that direction.  Again, if you are putting toward the brown side of the hole the putt will be slower than normal.  Remember, this trick will only tell you where the grain is growing at the hole.  You must look at the entire putt to able to judge accurately.  Also, how the grass is growing near the hole will have slightly more influence on a putt, as the putt will typically be moving slower the closer is gets to the hole and be more vulnerable to the grain. 

Once you get the hang of reading grain, you will be good at putting on your Thailand golf holiday!

Thailand Golf Tips

Golfers travel from thousands of miles away everyday to enjoy Thailand golf courses, tourist attractions and cultural experiences.  Tour guides can answer many questions and provide necessary insights regarding the sights.  Likewise, golfers in Thailand benefit from the help they get from the delightful caddies at all Thai golf courses.  Still, there are some things all golfers should learn about golf in Thailand, which will make their rounds more enjoyable.

Thailand is in the tropics and while that affords all year golfing weather, the heat, especially in the sun, can be quite taxing. Drink lots of water before you play and keep drinking during the round.  Isotonic drinks, such as Gatorade, M Sport and the locally made B-Ing are available at drink huts every 3-4 holes on all Thailand golf courses. They are quite helpful for keeping up your stamina. For food, bananas and boiled eggs are good choices on the Thai golf courses as they will replenish many of the minerals that your body looses during the round. Beers and fatty meats will do the opposite and should be avoided, at least until the end of the round.