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

Best Place For a Thailand Golf With Nightlife Holiday

Depends on what you are looking for.  For raw and wild “in your face’ action Pattaya is the place for many. Golf lovers can play the 2 excellent Siam Country Club courses in between visits to the infamous Walking Street.  Be prepared though, for some the action is just too much and it spoils the otherwise wide selection of reasonably priced Pattaya golf courses

For those Thailand golfers who can do without the bar scene but a Jazz Festival sounds appealing?... Hua Hin is it. Many consider golf in Hua Hin to be the best value in Thailand at the moment with championship courses like Black Mountain Golf Club and Banyan Golf Club leading the pack. In fact, this year Banyan Golf Club was voted the best new course in all Asia. Hua Hin town itself, while much more subdued than other Thailand seaside resorts, still has its share of nightlife. Most hotels have in house live bands and I can think of no other better way to unwind after golf than listening to live Jazz under the stars during the Hua Hin Jazz Festival.

If a street with a zillion beer bars does the trick than Phuket might be your choice (Bangla Road in Patong).  Many also visit Phuket to enjoy its white sandy beaches and golfers will find plenty of both beach and nightlife for sure. Add to that top courses such as Blue Canyon Country Club where Tiger Woods claimed one of the best come from behind PGA victory’s in 1998 and Red Mountain Golf Club, arguably the most spectacular course in the island, and you have a recipe for the best golf and nightlife holiday destination in Thailand.

Best Place For A Thailand Golf and Culture Holiday?

Chiang Mai, the “Rose of the North”!  Elephant camps, mountains, hill tribe villages, a 900 year old city with over 500 temples, gentle people, arts and crafts, a moated ‘old city’, a popular night market, a Sunday walking street and a vibrant riverfront scene.  Gourmets can feast on tasty local Lanna cuisine, which is generally less spicy than the more famous southern Thai dishes. Chiang Mai attracts nature enthusiasts, history buffs, lovers of fresh mountain air, and golf enthusiasts.

Chiang Mai is a city built on the roots of a traditional culture and heritage. It’s a city with a beautiful cultural personality of its own. In addition, it’s been blessed with much natural beauty. The Thai people themselves look to those hailing from Chiang Mai as the most cultured in the country. Handicrafts of silk, silver and wood are timeless souvenirs for golf visitors. Along with all this, a wide variety of accommodations, restaurants, and entertainment all help to make Chiang Mai one of Thailand’s prime golfing and tourist destinations.

Chiang Mai has 2 excellent (Chiang Mai Highlands and Alpine Chiang Mai) and 3 very good courses (Summit Green Valley, Mae Joe, and Royal Chiang Mai).

Plus it is the best value for money Thailand destination. Hotel and golf prices are much lower than for Phuket or Koh Samui for example.

While the southern beach resorts can feel a bit too westernized at times, in Chiang Mai you will still know you are in Thailand.

Chiang Mai is easily reached in 1 hour from Bangkok by air with over 20 non-stop flights daily. There is also one daily nonstop flight to/from Phuket which opens up numerous multi-destination options for those looking to combine their Thailand golf with the best in culture and beach resorts.

Best Place In Thailand For A Golf and Beach Holiday?

Phuket wins this one easily with eight championship golf courses, some of most beautiful beaches anywhere in the world, first class resorts, and unsurpassed Thai hospitality.

Phuket is the largest Thailand island and is located in the Andaman Sea. Spectacular scenery, tropical sunsets over palm lined clear blue water beaches, luxurious accommodations and a vast array of nightlife are what made Phuket famous with Europeans looking for a warm weather winter getaway.

Golfers will find eight top courses on the island. Several of the Phuket golf courses are of PGA standard. For example, golfers in Phuket can follow the footsteps of Tiger Woods where he won the 1998 Johnnie Walker Classic at the Blue Canyon Country Club. Also the Jack Nicklaus designed Mission Hills Country Club is a top draw as it is the only course in Phuket that plays along the Andaman Sea. Finally, the recently opened Red Mountain Golf Club is gaining in popularity as it is one of the most spectacular golf courses in Thailand!

Greenwood Golf Resort, Pattaya

Playing the Greenwood Golf and Resort for the first time in several years last week I was pleasantly surprised by the improved course conditions, locker rooms, and halfway houses on the course. Courses A&B were the only 9’s that were open, so it was an easy choice of which of the 27 holes to play for my group.

To make a long story short, Greenwood Golf is the best Pattaya golf value for 2009. Green fees of only 20 Euros qualifies the golf course for the low budget category, but course design, challenge, and most of all improved conditions put it smack in the middle of the Pattaya golf courses in terms of quality. While not as polished as Siam Country Club, Greenwood is certainly on par or slightly above the likes of Khao Kheow, which is just down the road in fact. Green speed on the day I played was quoted at 10, and while fast, seemed to be more around 9, at least to me.

Designed by Peter Thomson, 5 times British Open champion, and Michael Wolverine, Greenwood Golf is a British style course with many unique American woodland features.

Each hole is dotted with characteristic pot bunkers, undulating fairways, and areas of native grasses, both more often found on links courses. However, do not be fooled, this is no links nor even links styled golf course. Heavy forests line the fairways and wayward balls result in difficult recovery shots or worst, balls lost to the jungle.

Victory Park Golf & Country Club

“Oh Give Me a Home, Where the Buffalo Roam… “

(Nong Khai / Udon Thani) Talking Issan & Khao Yai here, not on the range.

Issan, Thailand’s northeastern agricultural heartland known for producing the world’s best rice (Thai Jasmine), may not be economically wealthy though its culture is rich and its people happy and proud.  The water buffalo like it just fine too.

What you may not know though is that Issan has some of the world’s best country clubs.  Seriously.  And there are many, many of them everywhere you go.  OK, so most don’t have a golf course but the Luk Thung (Thai country music) is good stuff and a lot of fun.

One place though that does have a nice course is Victory Park Golf & Country Club, just outside Nong Khai on the road from Udon Thani and about 20 km from the Laos border.

The final 5 kilometers getting there will have you thinking you’re lost in the middle of nowhere, as the road is a bit rough while you make your way through small villages, cows, chickens and dogs.  But just when you’re wondering if you should turn around, the majestic entrance greets you and you know you’ve found a real golf course in a most unlikely place.

The course itself sports tree lined fairways, firm brown sand bunkers (the kind you find at older courses in the U.S. Midwest) and a well designed variety of holes.  Like the surrounding area, the terrain is mostly flat though the fairways have been contoured and mounding is used to help define them.