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

After Hours Thailand Golf

Here is a new story from Davy, previously the number one golf retailer in Southern California and now a converted Thai golf addict.

When the phone rang it was a Thailand golf buddy all excited to tell me he had a game set up with some movers and shakers that were coming to town; and after a great lunch he had planned we would entertain them with a round of golf.

Lunch was indeed great; authentic Thai delicacies rolled out by smiling courteous servers. Thailand hospitality may be the greatest in the world. But it was getting late so I called him aside and said, “We’re only playing nine holes, right?”

“Eighteen holes,” he smiled.

“Hate to break the news to you but it’ll be dark in a couple of hours. Had no idea lunch would be so extravagant.”

“No problem,” he said, “they have lights.”

Not night golf, I thought. Previous encounters with nocturnal golf had me believing that you had to be 11 Titleist’s short of a dozen to play golf at night. If the almighty had wanted golf played at night we’d have been born with bat vision or golf balls would have headlights.

LPGA Shines In Thailand

Thailand knows how to put on a show, and the top LPGA players will be at the Honda LPGA Thailand this month.

With the worlds 59 best lady golfers in attendance, the Siam Country Club in Pattaya will be the perfect backdrop to kick off the LPGA tour season in style.
This popular tournament was launched in 2006 when a certain Miss Hee-Won Han from South Korea won the inaugural event. Since then the likes of Suzann Petersen from Norway, Lorena Ochoa from Mexico , Ai Miyazato from Japan, Yanni Tseng from Taiwan have all held the coveted trophy.

Add star names such as Natalie Gulbis, Paula Creamer and crowd favourite Michelle Wie, and you can understand why the sponsors are prepared to offer a massive US$1.8million in prize money.

Held at the Siam Country Club’s famous Old Course, a par 72 playing 6,477 yards for the girls, the players all commented on how perfect the fairways and greens were playing.

With most sports suffering during the recent economy down, the golf industry has turned to Asia for its future.  The exposure that the event brings to Thailand is truly global. Meanwhile perhaps the biggest winner will once again be one of Thailand’s number one courses, Siam Country Club in Pattaya.

If you want to follow in the stars footsteps, why not plan to attend the event and then play the Pattaya golf club’s two championship courses? The Old Course and Plantation courses are the 2 best Pattaya golf courses, and by a wide margin.

It’s Not Only Thailand Golf

 
Golf for many of us is a very serious addiction. We have to have our regular fix!

Come rain or shine, family vacations, or business meetings, we all make all the excuses needed to arrange that very crucial meeting which just happens to clash with golf. That is our ‘speak’ for sod it I am going to play golf anyway.

Here golfing in Thailand, a lot of business is conducted on the golf course. Golfers in Thailand often travel with their so-called business associates and in some companies; it is seen as an asset if you play golf.

There are amateur tournaments, club tournaments, Pro Ams, weekday shotguns, and social expat clubs, all where you can join do some serious networking. In fact, I am running a couple of events myself. They are the 2011 Phuket Amateur Week, 1st Team Amateur Championship, and the 2011 Chiang Mai Amateur Week. All three are good examples of how you can make your Thailand golf tour around a  competitive golf events and ‘legitimize’ your Thailand golf holiday to the missus at the same time.

The Asian Tour and One Asia visit Thailand several times a year along with the LPGA. In fact the next event is the Thailand Open at Bangkok’s Suwan Country Club in August. These events are good for Thailand golf visitors to play in the pro-am and rub shoulders with some of the world’s best golfers.

It’s amazing how many slots on the tournament’s Pro Am’s are not taken up by the main sponsors. Case in point, last year’s European Seniors Open at Royal Gems did not have enough amateurs to fill its field. Moreover, 2 years back I managed to get slots for 12 Phuket golf visitors at the Thailand Open at Laguna Phuket Golf Club and this was undoubtedly the highlight of their Thailand golf holiday.  Pro Ams are an experience golfers in Thailand are unlikely to forget.

New Thai Golfers

In many countries around the world, golf is suffering from the global recession, and the industry will really begin to suffer unless it starts to focus on its future. You can play a game of football with friends after school with a ball and a couple of posts for goals. Same for baseball, you can play the game just with sticks for bats and cans for balls.

But for new golfers to enter the sport, they first need to find and get to a golf course, and then they need to rent or maybe buy a set of clubs. All this can be very expensive.

Here in Thailand they have a very good system of encouraging newcomers to take up the game and big businesses are also helping too. For example, Singha and Chang beer both run academies where new golfers are groomed to eventually follow in the footsteps of the Thai legend Thongchai Jaidee. Thongchai even has set up his own golf academy in Thailand to train girls and boys.

True Vision is another Thai company supporting golf. In fact "10 th True Visions International Junior Golf Championships 2011 " was held last month in Pattaya at Rayong Green Valley Country Club and  St. Andrews 2000.  

Lady Golf Stars Shine In Thailand Once Again

Thailand knows how to put on a show, and the top LPGA players were all on display at the Honda LPGA Thailand this weekend. With virtually all the star names in contention, the Siam Country Club in Pattaya provided the perfect backdrop to kick off the 2011 LPGA tour season in style.

This popular tournament was launched in 2006 when a certain Miss Hee-Won Han from South Korea won the inaugural event. Since then the likes of Suzann Petersen from Norway, Lorena Ochoa from Mexico and Ai Miyazato from Japan have all held the coveted trophy.

Add star names such as Natalie Gulbis, Paula Creamer and crowd favourite Michelle Wie, and you can understand why the sponsors offered a massive US$1.8million in prize money. Held at the Siam Country Club Old Course, a par 72 playing 6,477 yards for the girls, the players all commented on how perfect the fairways and greens were playing.

With most sports suffering during the recent economy down, the golf industry has turned to the East for its future.  Mike Whan, the LPGA Commissioner said, ‘The LPGA has gained several events in Asia this year, and seems to be headed in the right direction. With the support we get in Thailand, we really can bring over the big stars. The coverage the event gets for Thailand golf is truly global.’

Thailand featured nine players in the tournament and in fact 15-year-old Thai amateur Ariya Jutanugarn turned in the best round of the final day with a 4-under-par 67.

Perhaps the biggest winner will once again be all of golf in Thailand and especially, Thailand's Golf In A Kingdom.

My Take On Golf Carts At Thailand Golf Courses

While most of my Thailand golf is played walking, there are times when a golf cart (buggy) is also useful.

For example, for corporate days and golf tournaments carts are more versatile, suit a wider variety of players, and help keep the golf speed of play moving along at a reasonable pace for all.

Then there are the Thailand golf courses with extreme elevation changes that are better left for walking by mountain goats as opposed to golfers in Thailand. These include the incredibly hilly Santiburi Samui Country Club and Red Mountain Golf Club in Phuket. The compulsory golf carts at these two Thailand golf courses are truly a needed to prevent golfers from passing out before they finish their rounds.

Three Ball Golf Thailand

In my view, and I am sure many of you will agree, the best form of golf in Thailand is a ‘friendly’ four-ball, better-ball with three like-minded pals. The amicable banter and gamesmanship all go to make for a fun round, especially if there are a few bucks, or even the post-match round of drinks, riding on the result – in particular, in Thailand, if the caddies are encouraged to join in the wagering, say by doubling the tip of the caddies carrying for the winning pair.

Sometimes people are nervous about venturing on a Thailand golfing holiday when they are single travellers, particularly if it is their first visit here. Don’t worry: firstly, most of the golf courses will try to match you up with other players – indeed, many golf courses will not allow singletons to play because they know a customer who has to wait on every shot will, most likely, be an unhappy golfer. If you are travelling with a Thailand golf vacation company, they also will do their best to link you up with other clients of a similar level. I know of golfing visitors who have made life-long friends in this way., myself included

Thailand Golf Zone Gets New Authors

I bet some of you are getting tired of reading my Thailand golf articles, right?

Well I have good news for you. I have enlisted the help of some of my friends, colleagues, golf professionals, and even a reader of this blog to liven up the Thailand Golf Zone. Now, in addition to my own views, you can read about the experiences several Thailand golf gurus.

Over the coming days, weeks, months, and hopefully years various guest and expert Thailand golfers will all be contributing to these pages. So sit back, relax, and get ready for the best original Thailand golf and Thailand golf vacation content you have ever read!

In the meantime, remember one thing. It is not only the golf, but it is “Golf In A Kingdom: The Thai Golf Experience” that is unique world over and keeps golfers coming back year after year after year to Thailand! In fact, take a look at this site and you will see what I mean.

Thailand Adds Another Golf Event

Thailand will launch its newest golf tournament on the Asian Tour this season with the establishment of the inaugural Queen’s Cup in August. The Queen’s Cup presented by Bangkok Airways and Sports Authority of Thailand will be staged at the Santiburi Samui Country Club on the holiday isle of Samui from August 13 to 16, 2009.

The US$300,000 tournament, sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Thailand PGA, will be held in honor of the Queen of Thailand.

The Santiburi Samui Country Club provides a great venue for the event with extreme challenge and charm with a lush tropical setting. It is located on a hillside of northern coast of Koh Samui, amidst old coconut gardens. The golf course has a commanding scenic panoramic view of Maenam Beach and the nearby island of Koh Phangan, site of the famous full moon parties. In fact, the golf professionals participating in the Queen’s Cup will have a hard time to concentrate on their rounds with these magnificent views of the ocean and beaches from every hole. Expert high scores, even for the leaders!

Bangkok Airways will mark its sponsorship involvement with the Asian Tour for the fifth consecutive year by coming on board as the event’s presenting sponsor. The launch will reinforce the growth of golf in Thailand and Asia and continues to place Thailand on the world’s golf map.

Fake Golf Clubs & Golf Balls in Thailand

Counterfeit golf products in Thailand are becoming increasingly troublesome for the Thailand golf industry. I know of one Phuket golf course that has stopped selling clubs in their pro shop as a result. Chris Faxon, an anti-counterfeiting consultant and one of the leading attorneys in the Thailand golf industry, estimates the counterfeit golf industry is valued at more than $100 million US worldwide on an annual basis, including Thailand.

That figure has increased steadily over the last five years. Though no one can say how big the problem is within Thailand, I know of one recent raid on a Pattaya golf club fitter that resulted in seizures of counterfeit golf equipment. Additionally, at least 3 golf tour operators (1 in Bangkok, 1 in Hua Hin, and 1 in Pattaya) use only use fake golf clubs for their rental sets. Besides being illegal, this is also highly unethical.

A client who visits for a Pattaya golf holiday every six months told me the other day at Laem Chabang that he has started seeing Titleist Pro V1 balls being sold at the second hand golf ball shops in front of the course. In the past, I never saw any counterfeit balls in Thailand until early this year, certainly not at any retailer, so I will have to check this out for myself.