Are you thinking about playing a new course this year on your Phuket golf holiday? Well my friend Dr. Glenn just returned from Phuket where he played at the Red Mountain Golf Club. Here are some of his comments.

The Phuket Red Mountain Golf Club course layout is friendly for shorter to medium length hitters, but requires good control from the tees.  Long hitters from the tees that do not perfectly execute their drives will be in immediate trouble and will require many extra balls to complete the 18 hole layout.  However, the benefit for short tee shots comes to an abrupt end, as most second shots to the greens have to navigate through heavily bunkered or water surrounded putting areas.

The Red Mountain course is further characterized by many elevation changes and a lot of water. The greens vary from large layouts to challenging small greens located at the top of hilly areas and not easily seen from the fairways.  Most greens are well protected by sand and strategically placed fairway bunkers are found on almost every hole. There are several short par 4 holes, but they are not easy, not one of them since their fairways are very narrow.

The par 5 holes are probably the easiest holes on the course, except for the aforementioned warnings for long hitters. The par 3 5th hole has an elevation drop from tee down to green of more than 500 feet and is one of the prettiest golf holes in Phuket, if not all Thailand.  The par 3 16th hole is protected by a large sand bunker, a forested ditch in front, and trees and hill around the back of the green. Fortunately the green is quite large, and it plays easier then at first sight.

Some green to tee distances are quite long.  Therefore, the course is not a walking layout, unless one is a mountain goat! Anyway golf carts are included in the green fees so this is not an issue. The Red Mountain clubhouse facilities are shared with Loch Palm and remind me of Navatanee Golf Club in Bangkok. There is a nice open air restaurant serving some great local Thai food and ice cold beer!. There is a new club house under construction to support the needs of this very challenging and picturesque layout which should be finished for next season. The kiosks on the course are temporary tent facilities and have basic supplies. The caddies are well trained and my caddie knew the course very well. Even better, her English was quite good which helped me navigate this demanding Phuket golf course. I shot a 93, which was pretty good considering 7 lost balls!

All in all this Phuket golf course is probably the most demanding layout on the island, even more so than the famous Blue Canyon Golf Club, Canyon Course. The golf course conditions are excellent, and since it is part of the Loch Palm Golf Club group, I would expect this to continue for the foreseeable future. I recommend that you include this course in all of your Phuket golf packages and I am sure all Phuket golfers will enjoy the course.

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