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

Thailand's Ryder Cup Once Again

Asian and European Golf Teams will be able to boast their own royal connections when Europe and Asia do battle in the fourth Royal Trophy this weekend January 8-10 at Amata Spring Country Club in Bangkok.

Asia's bid to defend the trophy donated by His Majesty the King of Thailand, will be spearheaded by Ryo Ishikawa, also know to his army of fans as 'The Bashful Prince'.

The European challenge will be led by Colin Montgomerie, who was installed as a Member of the British Empire and awarded the even more prestigious Order of the British Empire.

While Ishikawa's royal link is an affectionate one, born out admiration for the way he handles himself on and off the golf course, Montgomerie is justifiably proud that his talents have been officially recognized by Britain's royal family.

Despite his youth and relative inexperience, Asian Team Captain 'Joe' Ozaki was happy to pinpoint Ishikawa as the man to inspire his team when he made his debut in the 2009 Royal Trophy. As the Asian team's highest ranked golfer and a hugely charismatic figure, the 18 year old Japanese star is certain to take on the role of their talisman again this time.

The Royal Trophy sponsors include Heineken, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), PTT, Sports Authority of Thailand and Siam Commercial Bank. The Championship is also supported by Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and Chonburi Provincial Government.  Anyone in the country on a Thailand golf tour should not miss the event, which is free to the public.

See everyone on Sunday at the event!

Asian Golf Tour Comes To Hua Hin

Thailand’s royal seaside town and one of the best Thailand golf destinations, Hua Hin, will play host what promises to be one of feature tournaments on the Asian Tour. The Black Mountain Masters will be held at the Black Mountain Golf Club Hua Hin from March 23 and 29. It is the first professional golf tournament aimed not just to promote golf in Thailand, but also Hua Hin golf tourism; check out this FREE Hua Hin golf offer.

With a prize pool of US$ 500,000 on offer and an impressive list of  participating golfers, the professional golf tournament should be one of this year’s best. The new tournament is the first Asian Tour sponsored event in Hua Hin and will cement Hua Hin’s position on the map as an exciting golf holiday destination and excellent addition to other popular Thailand golf holiday spots like Phuket and Pattaya.

Along with the other premier area courses, such as the newly opened Banyan Golf Club and the Jack Nicklaus designed Springfield Golf Resort, the course at Black Mountain, voted best new golf course in Thailand, adds to the variety of choice among Hua Hin golf courses.

What I like best about this Hua Hin golf course is the picturesque “Black Mountains” surrounding the course and the landscape incorporating native red grass, which makes for some tough lies off the fairways. A lot of Hua Hin golfers have also provided positive feedback about the great variety of holes and challenge of the layout, especially the back nine par 5’s, several double doglegs par 4’s, and tough undulated greens.  The clubhouse is also of very high standard, serves great European food, and you can see practically the whole golf course while eating and relaxing after golf in the pub area.

Honda LPGA Thailand Ladies Golf Event Comes Back To Pattaya

The Honda LPGA golf tournament will return to Pattaya on February 26. After a 1 year absence, the event will be held once again at Siam Country Club. However, this time the golf tournament will be held on the more challenging Siam Country Club, Plantation Course instead of the 2007 tournament site, the Siam Country Club Old Course. The new venue should make for some great golf, even if the scores are on the high side.

Two young pro golfers from Thailand, Thidapa Suwannapura, and 13 year old Moreeya Jutanukarn have been invited to play among sixty of the world’s top women players over the four-day, 72-hole stroke play with no cut in the field.

Some of the best players gracing the tournament are recent winner of the Women’s Australian Open Golf championship, Laura Davies; golf babe Natalie Gulbis; and Asian golfing stars Mika Miyazato and Shiho Oyama.

The very prestigious golf event, scheduled from 26 February to 1 March 2009, is also expected to make headlines as Rolex Rankings’ world number one Lorena Ochoa of Mexico and world number three Paula Creamer from the USA, two superstars in women’s golf are participating.

The tournament offers a prize purse of US$1.45 million, which makes it the wealthiest professional golf event in Thailand in 2009.

If you are interested in visiting Pattaya on a golf holiday and/or attending the event, please drop me a line at my Thailand Golf Vacation company and I will put something together for you. We have some great deals at other area top courses like Laem Chabang and St. Andrews Hill as well as a golf special at the Pattaya Marriott Resort & Spa.

Siam Country Club, Pattaya: Site Of Honda LPGA Thailand 2007

The new Siam Country Club in Pattaya, a par-72 that will play at 6,469 yards, will be showcased during the Honda LPGA Thailand, October 25-28.This will be the first professional golf tournament held at the Siam Country Club, Pattaya after renovations were completed in 2007.

Siam Country Club, Pattaya, one of the best golf courses in Thailand, has been opened for more than 35 years and is the oldest golf course in Pattaya. It is situated among breathtaking views on an 800 rai land pl only 15 minutes from Pattaya Beach, Thailand.Major renovations to the course and clubhouse were completed in May. The original layout has been preserved, but modifications were made from tees to greens to be ready to host international tournaments.

Thailand Professional Golf Update

Congratulations to the Thailand team that won the Fortis International Challenge at the Kota Permai Golf and Country Club, Malaysia two weeks ago. Thai hotshots Thongchai Jaidee and Prayad Marksaeng put on an outstanding exhibition of golf with a final round eight-under-par 64 to win this prestigious event. Thailand had a great start to the tournament by firing an 11-under-par 61 for the joint first round lead.

The pair then produced a battling two-under-par 70 to take a one-stroke halfway lead, and carded a bogey-free 63 in the third round, thanks to a sparkling performance from Prayad who sank eight birdies. They finished the qualifying event for the Omega Mission Hills World Cup with a staggering 30-under-par 258 aggregate, three shots in the lead.

Prayad Marksaeng, born January 1966 in Hua Hin is one of Asia's finest players. He was a member of Thailand's winning golf team at the 1987 South East Asian Games and turned professional in 1991. He has been a member of the Asian Tour since it began in its modern form in 1995. He has won five events on the tour and was one of the first ten men to reach a million U.S. dollars in career earnings on it.

Eagle Par Birdie Welcome From Thailand

To start the week off on a high note I thought I would let you know about the great golf site which I came across the other day. Eagle Par Birdie is a multi-media blog site devoted to amateur golfers. It’s written by Chris Henry, a veteran Canadian broadcast journalist and golf writer with more than 30 years experience covering international news and sports.

Eagle Par Birdie touches all the bases for the amateur player: equipment news, instruction advice, tour news, course reviews, golf travel destinations  and golf interviews. In the future you may even see some posts on Thailand golf! The audio interviews can be listened to right at your computer by simply clicking the hot link indicated in the body of the text.

In keeping with the openness of this Thailand golf golf blog,the Eagle Par Birdie blog also welcomes feedback, so you can post your comments at will.

Johnnie Walker Classic 2007, A Great Phuket Golf Tournament

Those of you who were in Thailand last week and were lucky enough to be able to get to the Blue Canyon Country Club in Phuket for the Johnnie Walker Classic would have enjoyed a fantastic tournament. The final day in particular lived up to all expectations as a new star was born when South African Anton Haig won his first European PGA Tour event in a dramatic playoff.

Twenty-year-old Haig joined the likes of Greg Norman, Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Nick Faldo to become a Johnnie Walker Champion. Haig’s sudden-death playoff victory over Oliver Wilson and Richard Sterne was spectacular as he birdied the 18th hole in regular play and followed up with a birdie in the playoff to take away the US$404,993 first prize. Sterne and Wilson tied the playoff hole as well, each earning US$213,688.