Category Archives: Hua Hin Golf

Indian Golfer Waited Three Years to Play in Thailand

Although he had originally booked to play in the Centara World Masters back in 2020, because of the Covid pandemic it was not until 2023 that he managed to come to Hau Hin. We caught up with him at the Centara Grand Hotel and he explained how he joined this major Golfasian event. Click here to watch the video He came over with his twelve Indian-based friends from Pune and was enjoying the courses, even though it was taking him time to get used to the faster greens. One thing he did enjoy however...

Centara World Masters 2023 starts tomorrow, the biggest Amateur t

While all the golf media are focused on the PGA and PIF outbursts, one major golf tournament is going ahead with a full field and no political issue to handle.   Over 480 competitors will tee up this Sunday, June 11th for the Centara World Masters Golf Championship in Hau Hin Thailand. Now in its  8th year, the seven-day event brings together both male and female golf vacationers from all over the world to compete at two championship courses, Black Mountain and  Banyan. With practice days...

Have you got the Thai secret weapon?

With the amateur golf tournament season about to kick off in Thailand and Vietnam, over 1,000 male and female competitors will soon be heading for SE Asia. Their season kicks off with over 550 gofers competing at the Centara World Masters 2023 in Hua Hin, taking in three championship courses, Black Mountain, Banyan, and Springfield. Also, in June there is the Avani Pattaya 2 Ball. It does not stop there as in July there are events in Bangkok and on the island of Phuket, September sees two event...

Thailand World Masters hosted at the 100-year-old historical hote

Golfers from around the world are in for a special week of competition when they tee off from three top Hua Hin golf courses in June. This year’s Centara World Masters Golf Championship takes place from 11-17th June and is being hosted by the historic Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Hua Hin, home of the original Railway Hotel Hua Hin. This is the hotel’s 100-year anniversary and throughout the year they will be marking this occasion with the “Centenary Celebration: 100 Years of Memories”...

Beating the Low Season Blues

As many of the readers here know, Hua Hin is home to some of Thailand’s best courses, and the best time of year to play here is during the annual Hua Hin / Cha Am Golf Festival, which has taken place every year during the months of August and September since the Tourism Authority of Thailand kicked it off 15 years ago on 31 July, 2004. It has grown to be a very popular event, with courses offering heavily discounted green fees and hotels joining in to offer reduced room rates to entice golf...

Thailand Golf – Golfasian Regulars

Pacific Golf Club, Carindale Hi, my name is Bill Donovan. I have played golf seriously for 34 years. My current handicap is 10 and I am a member of Pacific Golf Club at Carindale in Brisbane. Pacific is an 18-hole championship golf course in a parkland setting, with water on 16 of the holes. It is a very challenging layout. This is my 6th trip to Thailand and my 3rd trip to Hua Hin. Our group, 6 males all from pacific Golf club, have been to Hua Hin 3 times, Pattaya twice and once to Chiang Mai....

Thailand Golf Vacations – A Lady’s View

I am Sally Chappell, a mature Lady golfer. I live in Leeds England, and have been a member of Rawdon Golf and Lawn Tennis club for 14 years.  My handicap is 26, which I consider not bad as our course is a very challenging one, hilly with lots of trees.  My friend Elizabeth Leach and I have played golf in Florida, Portugal, Turkey and Cyprus, and this year decided we would like a trip away in January, so Thailand seemed to be the ideal place for some good weather.  How right we were, the sun shon...

Thailands Royal Resort

Hua Hin is the oldest and most traditional of the Thai resorts. It combines the attractions of a modern holiday destination, 5 star hotels, fabulous restaurants, gorgeous beaches, first class golf courses, with the charm and fascination of a traditional fishing port. Which is exactly what it was like when I first visited, more than two decades ago. While most other Thai holiday destinations cater mainly to foreign tourists, Hua Hin is a holiday resort for foreigners as well as Thai nationals. Be...

Just Do It, The Golfing Way

Everyone likes a good time, right, experiencing new cultures, playing on the best golf courses known to man. Well, I’ve something to tell you, so do we. So much so that we’ve been organizing and holding our own “tournaments” for some time now, and as time has rolled on, these tournaments have turned out to be, not only hugely popular, but sell out events, which are now growing in numbers, venues and countries.   So, what are the advantages to registering for one of Golfasian’s events? There...

Amazing Asia Golf Double-Header: Vietnam & Thailand Combined

Hi, my name is Willy Ma.   I was born in Hong Kong and moved to Canada to finish high school.  I then attended college in the US and made Los Angeles my permanent residence.   I am a member at Lakeside Golf Club in Burbank, Los Angeles, California founded in 1924: Bing Crosby was club champion 5 times. I am also a member at Village Country Club at Lompoc, California in Santa Barbara County. My current SCGA Index is about 14. I started playing golf in the 1980s and take regular golf lessons from ...

Playing and Staying on a Thai Golf Course

There is no better feeling than waking up to the sound of wildlife and knowing that you are about to experience a great round of golf. Many of the 250 golf courses across Thailand offer first class accommodation along, with sports facilities, bars, swimming pools and restaurants. With the high cost of golf course maintenance many clubs now also rely on real estate to help their cash flow, and several courses offer luxury villas and condominiums beside the course too. Banyan Golf Club in Hua Hin ...

Caddie Championship in Thailand

Thailand is well known as a hot golfing destination with over 260 great golf courses and those ever smiling Thai Caddies. Come rain or shine they read the greens, give you the yardage, hold your umbrella and if you are lucky even give your shoulders a quick massage too. After putting up with us holiday hackers, you would have thought they would have had enough of the golf course, but a large number actually like to play a round themselves. Smart thinking General Managers encourage them to play ...

Thailand Golf in the Summer

Now we are well into the summer months, there are real advantages of playing golf in Thailand. The temperature is still bearable, and although there are rain storms, you can cope with a bit of planning. It amazes me how a major downpour back home in the UK can wash out a whole days play, as the British courses just were not built to handle a major storm. In Asia and especially here in Thailand, apart from creating some great courses, the designers spend as much time on the drainage. It obviousl...

Pineapples, Bananas and Thai Golf

Banyan Golf Club in Hua Hin has all these and more, being one of Thailand’s new natural golf courses. Pirapon Nimatra is one of the few top Thai golf course designers who first saw the property as a mountain plantation. I actually started work on the course in 2005 although we didn’t open until 2008. I remember driving up a small road and then we walked the rest of the way, and what I saw was a fantastic piece of property. The contours of the land was excellent, however I was worried about the ...

Why is Golf Different in Thailand?

Thailand’s leading golf course designer and builder, Pirapon Nimatra, is responsible for designing and renovating numerous courses in Thailand. Therefore who better to explain why playing golf here in Thailand different from the rest of the World? ‘First of all we have great weather and you can pretty much play golf all year around. Secondly the caddies do make the experience playing here just that much friendlier and fun,’ said Pirapon. ‘However from my perspective as a golf course designer, w...

Matteo the World Golfer

Matteo Manassero’s been in Asia, the Middle East, off to the States, then to Europe and now back in Asia all since January. I caught up with him this week at the Maybank Malaysian Open where he had arrived on Monday to really taken in playing back on the slower greens. I first asked Matteo what were his recollections of playing in his first Royal Trophy? ‘It was amazing. Nobody expected us to win and we as a team were on a high and felt we could win. Everything went right from the beginning actu...

Major Winners in Asia

Sometimes everything just falls into place and as a journalist, all the travelling and waiting around just pays off. Being based here in Bangkok, the big names on the professional circuit tend to side step playing in our local tournaments, perhaps with the exception of the popular Royal Trophy. Therefore twice a year I need to stock up with pictures and stories by covering the bigger events here in Asia. On Tuesday I therefore flew to Kuala Lumpur. This week was very unusual, as the 50th running...

Westwood to join Jaidee in Asia

Asian golf legend and three-time Asian Tour number one Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand will compete in the inaugural US$750,000 Indonesian Masters next month, joining world number two Lee Westwood of England in the elite field at Royale Jakarta Golf Club. Organisers announced today that PNTS, one of Indonesia’s fastest growing off shore bulk cargo handling companies, Garuda Indonesia, the national flag carrier, and Mercedes-Benz have also signed up as sponsors of Indonesia’s newest Asian Tour tour...