This posting is the latest in my series about the world’s golf course architects and their presence on the Thailand golf scene. Today, I feature Jack Nicklaus, probably the most prolific of the Thailand golf course top designers.
The name Nicklaus has long been associated with greatness on a golf course: twenty major championships, electrifying finishes and the sheer will to win. Jack’s achievements are legendary. However, the name Nicklaus transcends his dominance as a player. Today, Nicklaus also stands for superior golf course design, a result of Jack’s more than three decades as a renowned golf course designer.
The result is over three hundred golf courses worldwide. Each design shares the Nicklaus’ philosophy of enhancing the natural environment and creating courses that are both challenging and enjoyable for players of all levels.
Certainly, you know straight away when you are at a Nicklaus golf course in Thailand: fairways predominantly doglegging right to left, vast expanses of waste bunkers mainly on the right side of the fairways, bailout areas for the shorter hitters, and elevated well-guarded greens that require soaring, faded approaches. If you naturally draw (or hook) the ball, or if your fade is not under control, you are likely to struggle at the Nicklaus golf resorts in Thailand.
57 Nicklaus Design courses have been ranked in various national or international Top-100 lists, and to date at least 83 Nicklaus courses have hosted a combined total of more than 500 professional tournaments worldwide or significant national amateur championships. Of these, there are seven Jack Nicklaus golf courses in Thailand.
1. Mission Hills Golf Club, Kanchanaburi
2. Legacy Golf Club, Bangkok
3. Laem Chabang International Country Club, Pattaya
4. Mission Hills Golf Club Khao Yai
5. Springfield Golf Resort, Hua Hin
6. Kirimaya Golf Club, Khao Yai
7. Mission Hills Golf Resort, Phuket
In the next 2-3 articles I will review each of the Nicklaus designed Thailand golf courses and focus on their unique features and provide updated playing conditions.
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Left to Right surely ?
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