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 events in Vietnam’s seaside resort of Danang and the last event returns to Pattaya in November.
All the dates and venues are shown at https://www.golfasian.com/events/
For many of the players, the competition is fierce and so having a good caddie on your bag is vital.
In Thailand and Vietnam, all the caddies are mainly female and according to PGA Champions tour player Thongchai Jaidee choosing a good caddie could be your “secret weapon” to success.
Over 1,000 golf vacationers have already registered so if you would like to take part there are a few slots still available.
Oh, and by the way everyone has a lot of fun too with parties held every night.
Eat your heart out PGA and DP World Tours, it’s all happening in SE Asia.
Over the weekend PGA Club professional Michael Block has been an inspiration to all of us mere golfers that dreams can come true.
Heading into his final round at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill on Sunday, it seemed like Michael Block’s week couldn’t get any better.
That is until he hit his tee shot on the par-3 15th hole.
Block, the 46-year-old PGA playing pro at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo, California, took aim at the green and hit a beautiful shot that was right in line with the pin.
As the ball came down, it dunked into the hole for an ace, and the crowd went ballistic.
Block has now started to get invitations from other tournaments and US$288,000 is already heading to his bank account.
Maybe a certain Mr Norman might be calling soon too.
It just shows it pays to keep competing in tournaments and you never know maybe it will be your turn to tee up next to Rory McIlroy.
Closer to home over 1,000 amateur golfers are preparing to fly into Thailand and Vietnam to participate in several tournaments organised by Golfasian. https://www.golfasian.com/events/
Maybe they will not walk away with US$288,000 but you never know a few holes in one could be on the card, and they sure will enjoy a lot of golf on championship courses.
They may not qualify for this week’s PGA Championship however many international golfers are already preparing to compete at the DoubleTree by Hilton Phuket Golf Invitational 2023 in July.
Golf vacations are booming and the trend to play in well organized tournaments is growing according to Golfasian, the leading SE Asia tour operator.
Brendan Cunningham, Business Development & Events Director at Golfasian said, “ Out of 15,000 international golf vacationers heading to Asia with us this year, over 1,200 are coming to compete in several amateur events in Thailand and Vietnam.”
Orangnised with major sponsors and hosted by the top championship golf courses, the competitors are treated like professionals. Even their caddies bibs have the players names and countries printed.
Only these caddies are a lot more attractive than the professional caddies on tour!!!
The Phuket event will take in Blue Canyon, Laguna Phuket and the final round will be hosted by Red Mountain once a thriving tin mine. They even have a par 3 down a mine shaft!
If you want to join in the fun, there are still a few slots available in Phuket so head over to https://www.thailandgolftournaments.com/phuket-invitational-july-2023/ for more details.
Thailand was the champion team at the 2023 International Crown in San Francisco on the LPGA tour this afternoon.
Jutanugarn sisters plus Pattaya and Atthiya were dominant against Australia in the final.
Hopefully, the LPGA will bring this team event to Thailand in the future.
As Golfasian’s many international customers know Thailand has some of the most challenging and exciting golf courses in Asia and the LPGA would be spoilt for choice to find a worthy venue.
Congratulations to these four Thai superstars.
Great for them, and fantastic for Thai golf.
This week Taylor Gooch won his second LIV Golf event in the space of just two weeks winning a staggering US$ 12 million.
Spare a thought for his lucky caddie Australian Mal Baker who would be getting around US$ 1.2 million if he was taking the usual 10%.
Good work if you can get it, but for us mere mortals who take in a round of golf in Thailand often wonder how much to tip their beautiful female caddie.
Mark Seigel CEO at https://www.golfasian.com/ recommends after your round-tipping them US$15, although if you get a hole-in-one or a fistful of birdies maybe it would be a lot more.
At least they are a lot prettier than you average professional bagman!
The IAGTO European Convention (IEC) closed last night in Marbella on Andalucía’s Costa del Sol in southern Spain after three very busy days.
The IEC replicated their successful Asia and North American conventions with meetings between buyers, suppliers, tourism organisations, and service providers.
Over 250 companies and organisations from all over the World participated including Golfasian and Fenix XCell from Bangkok.
Pascal Orczech, Business Development Director for Golfasian said, “The event was very successful and we met many tour operators keen to bring their clients to play golf in SE Asia”.
At the convention, five different countries were proclaimed Golf Destinations of the Year for 2023 including Thailand.
David George, Sales Director at Fenix XCell added, “We displayed our new collections of golf apparel and private collections MADE IN Bangkok and reaction was very positive.”
Many of us were glued to our TV’s and mobiles this weekend to see three great days of crazy and spectacular golf at LIV Adelaide.
The 12th hole known now as the watering hole erupted when Chase Koepka holed in one and for 5 minutes the place was covered in beer!!!
Check out this link https://twitter.com/i/status/1649981131469488128
Over on the Golf Channel if you still managed to stay awake they were awarding the winners of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, namely Nick Hardy and Davis Riley two American journeymen…..wow!!!
Even the LPGA’S Chevron Championship was noticeably quieter around the course with a lack of spectators.
With 75,000 enjoying some fantastic golf from some of the World’s top characters in golf it is no wonder the watching public are getting hooked on this format.
Apart from the individual placings going down to the wire the team events were equally exciting.
It is not only the professionals who are enjoying all the craziness, amateurs are also experiencing the fun too.
Over 1,000 players a year are enjoying Golfasian’s amateur golf tournaments in Thailand and Vietnam, where they play as individuals and for team prizes.
Over 500 competitors are already booked for their Centara World Masters 2023 in Hua Hin in June and more events are planned. Check them out at https://www.golfasian.com/events/
By the way they also know how to party every night there too, and the Thai and Vietnamese caddies are a lot prettier as well.
Next week, the LIV Golf tour stars will arrive in Singapore with their “loud” style golf at Sentosa’s top golf course.
Starting from April 28th-30th the stars will be battling it out on this iconic course playing for a mere US$20 million.
Around the corner in Thailand, from June onwards also starts a wave of mega Amateur Tournaments with over 500 competitors playing in the Centara World Masters in Hua Hin from 11th-17th.
This event has been sold out for months but there are still a few places up for grabs at the DoubleTree by Hilton Phuket Golf Invitational 2023 from July 18th – 22nd.
These popular events are organized by tour operator Golfasian https://www.golfasian.com/events/ and many golfers enjoy the feeling of playing in a real tournament.
Here they may not be playing for millions, however, the championship courses have all the sponsor’s boards up and even the player’s attractive female caddies have the competitor’s name and countries.
However, whether you are a mega-rich professional or an international golf vacationer the after-parties are just as fun.
Over the next few months, many international golf vacationers are heading for SE Asia to experience a growing trend of competing in Amateur golf tournaments.
1,000 have already registered with leading tour operator Golfasian and to cope with demand they have just announced the DoubleTree by Hilton Phuket Golf Invitational 2023 to be held on the Thai island from 18-22 July 2023
CEO at Golfasian Mark Siegel said, ‘ Many of our customers enjoy the camaraderie and experience with playing at our tournaments and we try to create a fun but professional atmosphere.
There are sponsors, daily competitions and even the caddies wear bibs with the player and country displayed.”
If you are considering playing golf in Thailand or even Vietnam, check out their golf events pages at https://www.golfasian.com/events/
If you want to conquer Red Mountain, Laguna Phuket, and Blue Canyon Lakes, then register by 20 April and get 10% off!
At least you don’t have to go to Q School to qualify!!!
The inaugural Fenix XCell & Golfasian Charity Golf Day was held on Thursday 30th March 2023 at Ban Rakat Club (Ballyshear Golf Links).
All proceeds from the event went on to support AustCham Thailand CSR initiatives.
AustCham has announced that the proceeds from this event will be going to the Thai Child Development Foundation (https://thaichilddevelopment.org/), which was established in 2004 and supports underprivileged children in their development by making sure that customized medical care and education are also available to children with disabilities, learning disorders or children from challenged families.
Michael Moir, Managing Director of Fenix XCell, said “Between Fenix XCell and Golfasian we are leaders in the golf industry in the region and we wanted to leverage our contacts to provide support to the local community in Thailand”.
He went on to explain “The donations we received at this event and registrations to play were far beyond our expectations and we have already started planning our next two events at Thai Country Club in August and Amata Spring Country Club in November. The golfing community is well placed to continue helping those in need and we are happy to take the lead on this.”
Mark Siegel CEO at Golfasian added, “This tournament at one of Bangkok’s top golf courses was the most successful charity event we have been involved with. An awful lot of funds were raised and we thank all the sponsors who took part.”
Keep an eye out for details on the August and November events to be released soon at https://www.golfasian.com/events/
With less than nine hours before the top professionals and amateurs tee off at the 2023 Masters at Augusta Georgia, many of us will be glued to the TV or watching live coverage on our mobiles.
Now 99.9% of us golfers may never get a chance to play Augusta’s 18 holes in our life, let alone even attend as a patron.
Fear not, because out of Thailand’s 265 golf courses, there are several championship courses up here to test your mettle.
In fact, close to Bangkok, there are several replica courses, one that even lets your experience the challenge of playing Amen Corner.
High season has just finished as well, so what better time to fly here and enjoy some pristine fairways while it is not too busy?
Golfasian https://www.golfasian.com/ Thailand’s leading golf tour operator is having a bumper year, and apart from creating personalised golf vacations, they are also organising several amateur golf tournaments in Thailand and Vietnam over the next few months.
The big difference is you don’t need a personal invitation from the Master committee to enter. It is all about having fun and so far over 1,000 have agreed to enter.
See you all soon in the land of the smiles.
The tournament season for amateurs has just kicked off with the Amari Hua Hin Skins Golf Week in Thailand.
Over 50 payers are taking part in this week’s tournament playing at Springfield, Black Mountain, and Banyan golf clubs.
This event has attracted golf vacationers from eight countries and all the scores are computerised.
Every player also has their own smiling Thai caddie with their name and country flag on their bibs, just like the professionals.
These events have been growing steadily over the past eleven years and before covid, their Centara World Masters in Hua Hin attracted over 670 entrants which was a world record!
Travel post covid is now back in fashion and golf vacationers are keen to travel and enjoy the Asian hospitality.
Peter McCarthy from Go Golfing co organisers with Golfasian one of the organisers explained, “Many of our global customers do enjoy the competitive nature of these events, however, the majority come for the camaraderie. Working with our partners at Golfasian, we are now attracting over 1,000 international golfers to SE Asia every year.”
They are organising a further four events this year in Thailand, including the new Double Tree Phuket Golf Invitational 2023 in July, plus two tournaments in Danang Vietnam.
Several of their tournaments are already sold out. For more information check out https://www.golfasian.com/events/
McCarthy added, “ At all our events no one needs to go through the stress of attending Q School. And after each round, instead of going to the gym with their trainers, or talking to their managers, our players just like to party!”
Thailand, and especially Bangkok, have some excellent golf courses, and 60 courses are within 100 kilometers of Thailand’s capital city, all offering a variety of challenges.
How does a golf visitor choose the best courses to play as dynamic Bangkok is spread out over a larger area? Frequent traffic jams can take time to reach the clubhouse.
Last week with Google map navigator as his assistant, Golfasian’s https://www.golfasian.com/golf-courses/thailand-golf-courses/bangkok/ CEO visited 15 courses closest to where he was starting from on Sukhumvit Road.
The courses were between 10 and 40 kilometers in distance, though he suspected the driving time might not be correlated with road length.
Travel time depends on when you leave your hotel, so he started at 9:00 am sharp to avoid most of the rush hour and reach the courses smoothly.
Here is the list of courses he visited.
Ballyshear Golf Links
Siam Country Club Bangkok
Navatanee Golf Clurse
Panya Indra Golf Club
Thai Country Club
Thana City Golf & Country Club
Summit Windmill Golf & Country Club
Krungthep Kreetha Golf Club
Unico Grande Golf Course
Muang Kaew Golf Course
Riverdale Golf Club
Can you work out what is the closest course to the center of Bangkok?
Have fun golfing near your hotel.
Golfasian, Asia’s most popular inbound golf tour operator is currently attending the Asia Golf Tourism Conference (AGTC) which is being hosted for the first time in Japan, specifically in Miyazaki.
IAGTO, the global golf tourism organization, has organized this important event with buyers attending from around the world.
AGTC provides the opportunity for IAGTO member golf resorts, golf clubs, hotels, DMCs and other golf tourism suppliers from across the Asia Pacific region and from around the world to meet with IAGTO golf tour operators from around the world, with some 70% of buyers attending from Asian markets.
The two days of Convention activities include 11.5 hours of one-to-one meetings organized between buyers and suppliers, along with networking opportunities including a Welcome Reception, Business Lunches, Social Evenings, Golf Tourism Seminars and the Golf Tournament.
Asia has become the hotspot on the golf map since the end of covid and therefore many tour operators are keen to talk to local courses and travel agents in order to bring international golfers to Asia including Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, Cambodia Malaysia, and Thailand.
Pascal Orczech, Business Development Director at Golfasian https://www.golfasian.com/ said, “We are glad we are able to join AGTC this year. After the first few hours we have already made some excellent new contacts and everyone is very keen to know more about our golf holidays across Southeast Asia.”
The AGTC is taking place at the Seagaia Convention Centre from 14-16 March 2023 and is supported by the Miyazaki Government and the Japanese Golf Association.
Thailand’s two popular golf courses are closing for vital upgrades.
In pursuit of an improvement plan to be the best golf course in Asia, Blue Canyon Country Club in Phuket is upgrading their famous Canyon Course.
Therefore, the Club will close the Canyon Holes 10-18 from 20th March 2023 onwards. Holes 1-9 will also be closed for renovation from 15th June onwards.
The complete renovation is expected to be within November 2023 depending on weather and circumstance.
Also after 47,000 spectators packed the Siam Country Club’s Old Course to watch the top fifty players in the world compete in the Honda LPGA Thailand, the Pattaya club is now closed until September for general maintenance upgrades, believed to be for the course and clubhouse.
The World’s focus has now switched to the seaside resort of Hua Hin where the Asian Tours International Series kicks off today at the Black Mountain Golf Resort.
HUA HIN, THAILAND: Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand poses for a photograph on Tuesday March 7, 2023, during an official practice round ahead of the International Series Thailand at Black Mountain Golf Club, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand. The US$ 2 million Asian Tour tournament is being held between March 9-12, 2023. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Then on March 19th– 24th over 150 international golf vacationers are taking part in the Amari Hua Hin Skins Golf Week 2023 organised by Golfasian. https://www.golfasian.com/events/
Meanwhile many welcome these upgrades to two of Thailand’s top championship layouts and can expect both clubs to offer an even better golfing experience when they reopen later this year.