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

Golf In Bangkok

Bangkok is an enchanting city with rich golf, culture and attractions. It is known as an international golf destination for its diversity of 60 golf courses, year-round golfing weather, delicious food, numerous attractions, and most of all friendly people. Bangkok was voted “World’s Best City” by Travel +Leisure magazine in 2010. The championship golf courses and vibrant streets of Bangkok never stop to amaze vising golfers.

Courses such as Thai Country Club, where Tiger Woods cruised to a 10 shot victory in the 1997 Asian Honda Classic and Alpine Golf Club where again Tiger Woods won at the 2000 Johnnie Walker Classic exemplify some of Bangkok’s best golf. Nowadays, there is Royal Gems Golf City where golfers can experience August National by day and Bangkok by night.

Not only are the famous golf courses available for visitor play, but also some of the lesser known golf courses are truly gems in their own right. Thana City is Thailand’s only Greg Norman design and is located only 20 minutes from downtown Bangkok. Muang Kaew is similarly located and is one of the best maintained Bangkok golf courses.

Bangkok offers a truly unique golfing experience in its own chaos that defines the city where anything is possible. A place where golfers from the east meets golfers from west, where flat courses configured from rice paddies meet hilly layout designed by the world’s greatest golf architects, where high-rise buildings meets enticing temples and where street markets meets high-end retail shops. There is a Bangkok golf holiday for everyone.

Thailand Really Is A Golfer’s Paradise

We all get bombarded by travel agents jargon or see the Tourist Boards latest TV adverts extolling their countries fantastic features. One such feature here in Thailand is golf!

Well I can safely say that Thailand golf is in a very healthy state here in the Kingdom of smiles with thousand of overseas players playing here every year. But it’s not just the tourists who love it here, so do the professionals who make their living out of the game.

Thailand recently hosted the 5th edition of the Royal Trophy, Seve Ballesteros’s version of the Ryder Cup, with Europe playing the best of Asia. This year’s edition moved down to Hua Hin’s Black Mountain, one of my favourite Thai golf courses. It seems that several of Captain Colin Montgomerie’s team also agree with me too.

Bangkok Dining

Many on a Thailand golf package spend at least a few days in Thailand’s capital during their golf holiday as it offers convenient flight connections to around the world in addition to great golf, high standard accommodation, shopping, dining and entertainment. I am often asked for restaurant suggestions and while I do not claim to be a foodie, I know what I like. Here is a brief list of some of my favorites:


ITALIAN
There are many good Italian restaurants all over Bangkok in various price ranges. The ones at the Sheraton on Sukhumvit and the Dusit Thani hotels are both very good at the higher end. Others I like a lot that are more moderately priced include La Gritta on Sukhumvit Soi 19, Basilico on Sukhumvit Soi 33, Via Vai on Sukhumvit Soi 8 and Limoncello on Sukhumvit Soi 11.  All offer a great pizza and nice wines as well as an assortment of homemade pastas and more.

THAI
This one is almost impossible because great Thai food is served up in so many places. Even the street food can be good though I don’t particularly enjoy sitting in plastic chairs on the sidewalk and dining a few feet from diesel belching busses while dodging the motorcycle taxi boys flying past our table.  For cheap and good, I like the outdoor corner restaurant just a few meters down Sukhumvit Soi 14 from the Asok Skytrain. At the higher end, the better hotels almost all have good Thai restaurants. It’s hard to go wrong with Thai food in Thailand and often the difference in price is more related to the atmosphere than the food itself.

Golf In Australia vs. Golf In Thailand

Recently I spent some time in Melbourne Australia golfing with my good friend Mark Penfold from Thailand Golf Tours in Sydney.  Mark and I got talking about why golf in Thailand is so popular with Australian golfers and what are the biggest differences between golfing in the 2 countries. Here are Mark’s views.

While the best golf courses are similar throughout the world in shot values, landscaping and maintenance, the unique points about golf in Thailand come down to 3 main factors.

1.  Experience and Service
Forget lugging your clubs from your car to the clubhouse. There are not many golf destinations  in the world where as soon arrive your clubs are taken from you and the next time you see them they are on a pull cart with a Thai girl smiling and giving you the courtesy “wai” (hello).

Then, there is something special about having someone give you yardages to the pin, telling you where the trouble lies, and advising which way the putts will turn.

Ever get thirsty when golfing or tired of waiting 1 hour or more for the beverage cart? Well not anymore. During your round there are refreshments stands ever 3 holes full of snacks and beverages to keep you going.

Thailand’s Best Golf Tee Times

A common misconception is that scheduling Thailand golf tee times ‘as early as possible’ is best to both beat the heat and get back to your hotel early.  Actually this depends on where you golf in Thailand and what your priorities are.

When you golf in Phuket humidity plays a big factor on ‘how hot it feels’.  During night time warm moist air over the sea moves over Phuket Island driving up humidity, then during the day the sun comes out and burns off humidity.  If you golf in Phuket, humidity will typically be highest in the very early morning and lowest during late afternoon. The “coolest” part of the day is afternoon, not morning.

Another phenomena particularly in and around Pattaya is that there is very little air movement in early morning. Then, in the afternoon, pleasant sea breezes from the gulf of Thailand descend upon Pattaya golf courses by around 2-3PM each day.  The net effect is that the most uncomfortable time of day is 9AM to 1 PM.  If you schedule to golf in Pattaya 7AM the front nine will be pleasant. But, by the time you get to the back nine, the weather can be very hot with stagnant air as you come down the stretch.  I do not know about you, but this often wears me down. On the other hand if you plan to tee tee-off at around midday it will be hot when you start, but much more moderate with pleasant breezes after you make the turn. This makes golf in Pattaya much more enjoyable.

Best Place For A Relaxed Thailand Golf Retreat

Chiang Rai is away from the crowds and still offers a great golf holiday.  Thailand’s northern most city of significance, Chiang Rai may not have a quantity of golf courses but with Santiburi Chiang Rai Country Club it certainly has quality.  And with conditions at Waterford Valley Golf Club having improved in recent years there are now two courses well worth checking out.  A variety of cultural attractions in the area also add appeal with the Golden Triangle, the Queen Mother’s Botanical Gardens, a mountain-top Chinatown, opium museum, and long tail boat upriver excursions.

The Chiang Rai Robert Trent Jones Jr. designed Santiburi Country Club is laid out over vast fields with excellent placement of holes and an abundance of water hazards and bunkers. The golf course is widely regarded as one of the best conceived and maintained golf courses in Asia. Golfers living in Thailand will tell you that Santiburi in Chiang Mai is one of their favorite golf courses in Thailand, and this is no small compliment! Santiburi Country Club was the first Chiang Rai golf course.

Best Place For A ‘Quiet and Peaceful’ Thailand Golf and Beach Holiday?

Hua Hin is the winner here, with Phuket’s north and west coasts posting an honorable challenge.  Until recently the golf in Hua Hin was mostly ‘so-so’ quality, though that has changed with some of newer venues which are up to world class standards. Banyan Golf Club won the “2009 Best New Golf Course in Asia” award, while Black Mountain Golf Club, only 2 years old, was voted as the second best Thailand golf course, just behind Thai Country Club. Both courses are located in the foothills above Hua Hin, which make for spectacular après golf views from the clubhouses overlooking vast and fertile valleys below.

The old favorites like the Nicklaus designed Springfield Royal Country Club and Palm Hills Golf Club along with the newer Hua Hin golf courses mentioned are all only around 15 minutes from town, which makes golf in Hua Hin also the most convenient in Thailand.

Mature couples in particular are drawn to Hua Hin specifically because of the ‘quieter and gentler’ nightlife here, and it continues popular as a weekend retreat for Bangkok residents as well. The “downtown” area is populated by boutiques, shops, and quaint restaurants and in comparison with the other Thailand golf destinations like Pattaya and Patong Beach on Phuket, practically free of beer bars and discotheques.

The Hua Hin golf area is located 2 hours from Bangkok by road or 2.5 hours from the new Suvarnabhumi airport.

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.

Phuket Golf Memberships

Owning a membership at of one of the golf courses in Phuket seems like a good idea to some, especially frequent golfers to the island who shun the idea of paying high green fees.

Thailand golf club memberships may be held by overseas residents and their prices are much lower than what one would pay at clubs in the USA, Europe, and Australia. Generally, the golf club membership secondary market in Thailand offers some even better deals than from the clubs directly. That is the good news.

However, like anything else, buyers beware!

Membership prices have been on a declining trend over the past year. The global economic slow down is apparent in Thailand and many expatriates are returning home and need to sell. There are very few buyers in the market, and Phuket is the worst hit area. I know of 4 high profile Phuket real estate projects that have been cancelled and put on indefinite hold.

Take note of the many Phuket golf club memberships now available and advertised in print and on the internet. The prices shown often do not include the transfer fee, back dues (can be as much as the membership itself), and taxes. These hidden fees are subject to negotiation with the seller. Make sure you check with the golf club in question about any specifics.

Thailand: Golf and My 2008 Ryder Cup Plans

If you are planning a Thailand golfing holiday later this year, you may wish to consider being here at the same time as the Ryder Cup. The 2008 USA versus Europe shootout is scheduled for the weekend of 19-21 September at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. Thailand is a great place to catch all of the action on TV at one of the many sports bars in the main golfing centers. Valhalla is the Jack Nicklaus designed course where Tiger Woods beat Bob May in a thrilling US PGA play-off in 2000 on his way to a sweep of the four majors. Kentucky is 11 hours behind us.

I for one can not wait for this great event to start. Here’s how I plan to spend that week-end:

On Friday, September 19, after finishing work in Bangkok, I’ll probably head for somewhere like The Londoner on Sukhumvit Soi 33 with its super array of large TV screens, a wide selection of beers brewed on site, a good range of both Thai and Western food. Play begins at 7 pm Thailand time and I’ll probably watch the golf through until the early hours.