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

Golf In Thailand Versus Golf In The Rest Of The World

In the next 20 or so posts I will compare and contrast golfing in Thailand to golfing in other countries around the world. Using golf course quality, service, scenery, value for money, and overall experience as the five equally weighed factors I will rank each destination to see how it compares with golf in Thailand and to determine whether or not Thailand is really the best golf destination in the world.

Let’s get golfing!

Drain Putts In Thailand

If you can do only one thing to improve your enjoyment when golfing in Thailand, the making more putts would be what I suggest. Thailand golfers face more putts than any other shot. I have taken the time to master putting in Thailand and I was able to cut 3-4 stokes off my score in the process. Here is how I did it.

1. I think more about the speed than line on my putts. For example, when my caddie tells me inside right or inside left, I just putt to the center of the hole and make sure my speed is enough that the ball will reach the back of the cup. This takes most of the break out of the putt and simplifies the stroke. I putt aggressively, but not too aggressively so as to avoid a nasty lip out.

2. For all putts standing with my eyes over the ball I found to be critical. This simplifies things enormously and makes it easier to sink straight putts.

Santiburi Samui Country Club Review

The course designers have done a wonderful job integrating Santiburi Samui Golf Club into the jungle and mountains that are synonymous with the region.

The Samui golf course plays through an elevation change of over 100 meters – yes 100, which makes Santiburi Samui one of Thailand’s hilliest golf courses! As golf course it really tricked out and really a better creation of panoramic views than easy pars.

There are many aspects to this course that will frustrate, as lost balls can be expected for even the most accomplished golfers. However, accuracy will be rewarded for those who can be humble. Most golfers should only use the driver on only a few holes as distance is not the key, finding the fairway is.

Choose the tee box wisely. If your handicap is over 10, then play from the whites, otherwise you are in for a seriously long round of golf. 

Tips On Playing Thai Country Club

Most of you know that my home course is Thai Country Club. Having played this excellent Bangkok golf course more-or-less one time per week for the past 3 years, my scores have ranged from a few over par to over 90. Looking back on my rounds I can see a few things in common that led to good scores.

1.    Stay out of the rough. Hitting fairways in regulation is the single biggest key to scoring well at Thai Country Club. The rough at Thai Country Club is formed by thick Zoysia grass that is next to impossible to hit from. The best solution when in the rough is to hit sideways back onto the fairway. Trying to advance the ball often leads to the same shot all over again.

2.    Play for less break when putting.  Most of the greens at Thai Country Club are flattish. If you think the ball will break two cups; then putt for a one cup break. If it looks like a one grip break; play half of a grip. The only exceptions are on holes 15, 16, and 17 which do have a lot of movement due to the greens gradually sinking into the adjacent ponds.

Siam Country Club Playing Tips

I had the good fortune of playing at Siam Country Club Plantation Course in Pattaya this week. A usual the course was in excellent condition and in fact just two weeks prior Siam Country Club Plantation Course was awarded the best conditioned course in Asia by the readers of Asia’s largest golf publication.

In order to get maximum enjoyment and a good score at Siam Country Club Plantation Course I realized 4 very important points.

1.    Use your B-game: Why this sounds counterintuitive I found that playing to my weaknesses improved my score. For example, when driving I usually fade the ball off the tee. Rather than trying to fight my fade, and trying to draw the ball, I just aimed down the left side of the fairway and with my fade my drives wound up in the center ever time. This set up reasonable approach shots to virtually every green.

2.    Trust your caddie: The greens at Siam Country Club have many subtle breaks. Unless you play this Pattaya golf course regularly, it pays to ask your caddy to read the line and more importantly; listen to her!

The biggest hassle about golf in Thailand…and how to overcome it.

For many golfers, relaxing on the couch for a weekend of watching sports is one of life’s simple pleasures. Most gladly sit for hours, replenished with suitable liquids and sustenance (beer and chips), watching their favorite teams or players duel it out.

Yet I bet when you tell your golfing buddies that you want to travel to golf in Thailand, one of the first questions you get is, “how long is the flying time”?   Irrespective on where you are coming, the answer is more than likely “it’s long” - anywhere from 10 to 20 hours in the air.  On the other hand, considering how long you watch sports each weekend, it’s not that long. More importantly, once you land I can bet you the hassle of the flight is more than worth it.

Here are a few simple measures that you can take t make the journey comfortable and even enjoyable.

Straight Driving For Thailand Golfing

Lately I have been taking some golf lessons and I have gone from a controlled fade to a pull hook off the tee. I have begun pulling the ball off the tee. What I want is a straight ball flight so yesterday I went out to Thai Country Club and hit two bags of balls on the range with my driver.

To stop pulling my drives I found that I must swing the club on an in-to-out swing path and/or change the clubface's position at impact. I was able to do both by implementing one, all, or a combination of the three tips. It was a case of trial and error for me, but these ball straightening cures work wonders.

1. Strengthen the grip: This was my first change. To do that, I moved both hands to the right until I was able to see all the knuckles on the back of my left hand.

2. Roate the body: Next, I moved the overall alignment of my body a little by aiming my feet, hips, and shoulders to the right of the target and by moving the ball back a little in my stance.

Happy City Golf Resort Update

Happy City Golf Resort now provides Northern Thailand golfers 3 international standard Chiang Rai golf courses; the other two being Santiburi Chiang Rai and Waterford Valley. Happy City boasts a total of 29 holes, with 2 of those closed as ‘maintenance holes’ on any given day. Five sets of tees offer challenges for every level of golfer. I recommend picking your tees carefully and maybe moving up a set from where you normally play as the course is quite long.

The master project includes 5 large condominium buildings that are nearing completion, and long range plans call for adding a 5 star hotel, retirement community and water park. Actually the course itself is a bit of a water park, with H2O in play on almost every hole.

One thing that separates Chiang Rai from Chiang Mai is that Chiang Rai gets a lot more air movement due to its’ geography.  That makes it feel cooler even in the hottest months, though it also means golfers need to factor the wind into their shots at Happy City more so than most Thailand golf courses.

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.

Airlines For A Thailand Golf Holiday

Not a day goes by where Thailand golf travelers ask me the best way to get to their Thailand golf destination.

These days for international flights into and out of Thailand, I am partial to the carries from the Middle East for several reasons. 

1. Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar all have convenient flight schedules from practically every major European, American, and Australian hub city.
2. Luggage allowances are generally more than the Asian national carriers and golf bags may even be carried for free, depending on your class of service.
3. The airfares via the Middle East to Thailand are some of the lowest in the world.
4. On board food, entertainment, and service are all world class.

For domestic connections for golf in Phuket or golf in Chiang Mai, Thai Airlines is by far the best choice. Regardless of advertised price, the low cost airlines like Air Asia are terrible, especially when travelling with golf bags. Moreover, when trying to change flight or if you have a missed connection, good luck in getting any money back. You will be stuck with your originally “low cost” ticket as a costly souvenir!