Golfing in Thailand

Fellow golfers,

First time going to thailand to play golf. Appreciate if someone can recommended, the course to play and contact to arrange for these games.

Much appreciate it...

there are many great courses in bangkok. Thai Country Club; Amata Spring; and Alpine are my personal favourites, but quite ex. thaigolfer.com or hotels2thailand.com are our usual points of contact. if you wish to play golf in the company of syts, i recommend panya indra. enjoy.

KK, u can check with the Rage. He plays in Thailand very frequently.

kk,

1)how many days u will be there n how many rounds u wanna play?
2)where u staying
3)budget per round


places like amata, thai cc, alpine all expensive lah, like abt 4000B type, may need members to bring u in as well...... but there are others, not as nice but very affordable n playable

suggestion: take early flight (morning), reach bbk before lunch, instead of checking=in hotel, go play a round near the airport, finish by evening, then check-in, by the same token, when u leave bbk, take the late afternoon flight (like 4-5pm), so that u can have a round in the morning before departing for home.....

go to the golf in thailand website, there will be courses for u to choose, so do your own research, find out the courses u like, then we can comment whether its a good place to go..... there are about 5 courses near the airport n many more within 2 hour driving distance of bbk

better have a good planning for return on last day....

trip from GC to hotel will take time....
trip from hotel to AP will take time....
checking @ AP will take long time!! (hopefully not many tourist)

last but no least, if u returning on sun, i can bet last dollar tht everywhere u go oso jammed....any normal trip will take at least 1.5 times more...

unless u stay ourskirt n near AP... plus the GC is not far......

Bro - Maryet, JT, Siaw and Andrew,

Big thanks for the tips. Have not really have confirm timing to plan yet, I was too ambitiously called up Black Mtn, guess what, they are almost fully booked on a monday... OMG! On a Monday... Must be a really good course and hot on players list.

For now, scaled back. Am looking nearer to BKK with less than B2000 pricing. So far, thinking of Legacy, Lam Luk Ka. I am not even sure if its alright. So far, from what I read seems to be ok courses. Blur sotong.....

Slinger,
Can you to name the 5 courses near Airport? Is Summit one of them?

1) lakewood
2) green valley
3) windmill


only these 3 i can think of, just do a search n u will find the rest.....

btw, i really like lam luk ka..... 2x18 holes, can play both am n pm

this will bring back some fond memories... i wanna share my experience with you folks here
over the years, I have played (in descending preference)

Lum Lukka GC (I tot it has 3x9 holes, A,B and C course)
Alpine Golf Club
Lakewood Golf & Country Club
Pinehurst Golf & Country Club
Summit windmill GC

Panya Indra GC
The Rose Garden GC
Bangkok GC
Krungthep Kreetha GC
Kiarti Thanee Country Club
The Royal Golf & GC

All above apart fr the Alpine GC accept visitors.
A few of the GCs have 'sport day' tht usually falls on Wednesday, GFs are cheap on Sport day, eg, Lum lukka 800Bht, lakewood 1300Bht. so it's advisable to call up. In those days, I was in BKK alone most of the times and i have had no problem playing provide that you call up in advance. I don speak Thai and always get the concierge to make arrangement for me. It's fun joining a group, and I hav met many friends this way. you can get in touch with specialist golf tour company to do everything for you, but I find they overcharge and also because of my usual tight schedule, I couldn't pre-plan well in advance.

be prepared to travel. I usually hire a taxi for the whole week and get him to be sort of my personal chauffeur. Experience has taught me that no every taxi drivers are honest and most either do not know how to get there even they may say they know or refuse to take you to GCs (so, I tend to ask the concierge to write the address in Thai or get the GC reception to speak to the driver directly). Some of the GCs are 1-2 hr out of town and not many taxis would willing to come n pick you up (I had to wait for almost 1.5hr for a taxi at the BKK GC). So, it's easier to just book the taxi for the day and the driver is more than willing to just wait there all day. it's also reassuring if you know he is an honest driver with safety in mind as I tend to sleep on the way back at the back of the taxi and the traffic jam in town can easily extend yr journey by another hr. I have used the same driver for a few years now. I will try to dig it out if anyone wants his tel. no.

I have played in many places around the globe, Not taking account just the quality of the golf course itself, for me, Thailand ranks no. 1 in providing an unique memorable experience. Perhaps it's the combination of the smiles, lay back attitude and the many funny/hilarious encounters I have witnessed.

p/s dont forget to tip yr caddy appropriately. In my experience, 200 Bht is the bare minimum. I usually give 500Bht if she is good, sometimes more if she is exceptional and that only occurred twice.

Have u consider Hwa Hin golf resort?

Where in thailand , Thailand is bigger than singapore. i can recomende you Pattaya but dont bring ur wife ....

Siam Plantation Country Club New and Old Course

Burapha Golf Country Club

One The Nigh Just go to the action

You might also want to consider Muang Khaew as well. Relatively flat but but a lot of water and the greens are very deceptive.

One thing you also need to factor in is that there allow up to 5 balls for each flight and if you are 'lucky' enough to be on the flight behind them. Be prepared for a long day.

Lakewood is a good course. Very well maintained.

Ironhead, I will be heading there this weekend, would appreciate the driver's number if you don't mind.

Thanks bro.

I recalled that 5 balls in a flight is permissible on weekdays only. My flight was caught once behind a 5 ball-flight, each player of the front flight has 2 caddies! 1 to carry the bag, the other to carry the chair, and umbrella. So, in between shots, the golfer can have a seat, and the caddy will give him a massage! when the entire flight is on the move, its like a PGA entourage. Lucky for us, at the next par 3, they allowed us to call-on, and overtake.

I agree that you should not plan for your departure flight time to be too close to your completion of your game. Bangkok is 1 of the favourite golfing destinations in Asia, most courses are of good standard but the ones that charge higher green fees are of a higher standard in terms of challenge, layout, design, scenery. hv fun bro.

wah lau we might well have a tournament in BKK next week...

i will be in BKK from 10 to 13. anyone wants to visit the supernice shop....





please PM me for my thai cell...

DGman

Adding my portions. Apologies for the pix intensive, tried to keep it small.

This is Lum Lukka. Its near safari world, abt a good 1.5hrs drive from city. It so remote that if you miss a turn, you would probably drive to nowhere. This course is fantastic by my standard. The green condition were slow in the morning but later in the after it became faster but still rated as slow by Thai standard, green index 9. Fairway condition were good, well trimmed and kept. Putting green were well above average.

Next, we have Panya Indra. This course is near the airport. For me, this course was one of the most memorable ones. We just landed and had itched for a game. I rate this course above average in terms of challenge and greens were good, bunkers were slightly hard. In comparison to JB Legends, this course way above it. Lotsa bunkers and the par 3 signature hole were a test of yr mind and guts, like as MBGC's. It has 210 yd par 3.

Next, Unico. This is a public course, Unico Grande Golf Course. Tucked next to Krungthep kreetha Golf Course. By its standard, it is average golf course and fairways were slight worn out. The condition on putting green is above average and reasonably fast. The club house, newly renovated and comfortable. The only way to play this course, is hit straight..... Its left right water,.... water galore... Luckily for me, we played white, if blue, I would have suffered...

Finally, we have Windsor. Located abt 8km from President golf course and reasonably near airport. This course have a mixed of old and new. Built near power cables and have a mixed of tight and generous fairways. The green were average and putting green condition were abt 9ish. Well kept especially in new course. Relatively easy course and not too many treacherous pits to trap you. This course test you on your course management skills and will tempt you go for it in 2 but lays trap on your foolishness.

I have nothing but respect for the Thai golfers and their interest and commitment for golfing. The way to play in Thailand is to walk and I dont mean walk to the ball but walk all the way. You will be able to enjoy the greens and the game more. This is where we at SG/MY lack off. The caddies in were committed to their roles, they act as good as the Marshall, repairing the greens, ensuring fairways were well kept and buggies entering and parking at right place. At times, I wanted to park my buggy underneath a tree for shades, my caddy refused and insisted that I park on the cart path.

In one of the post above, I took pictures of the golf junior school. This is one of the international school setup to prepare kids for their future in golfing careers. The only words in my mind, wow... Which country in the region would have actually do that, only the Thais. Now, you wonder the Korean and Japanese goes there huh.... I have only respect for the Thais, no wonder why they are Asian's best.

Oh ya, most important to bring to Thailand.... An Umbrella.

khorkar,

glad u found a willing taxi driver. i guest now u r going to make it as an annual pilgrimage 2 play there huh?
caddies generally treat their jobs very seriously, it's good pay for them by local comparison.

Generally, the course condition there is a whole lot better than MY and SG. Even their worst was better by comparison. Would love to go there and try more courses. I learn to love the game more and walked a whole lot more too. The week that I was there, it was hot. Really hot but not a humid as it here. The food was fantastic, will try to post them here.

Pilgrimage to TH, Yes... that is a sure given.

where did you guys stay? how much? (or did u all camp outside Lumlukka, u guys started even b4 sunrise! )
from mid november to february is winter months in BKK, I'm surprised tht u feel hot there! try playing there in April, May.... I guarantee you will get heat stroke without an umbrella.

Stayed in center BKK, Grand Sukhumvit. Price B3.1K. According to the folks there, it wasn't suppose to that hot, it was to be a start to lighter weather. I thought I was a goner with heat stroke. Luckily, I was wearing skins. For LLK, we start our journey abt 4 plus, reach there abt 6. Roaring to start by 630. First flight of the day. By the time we're done, it was only 10 ish, the place was already crowded.

Anyone tried the Royal army course?
Will be staying in bangkok for about a year but no car, what is the best way to move around for golf?
Hiring a taxi for whole day what is the cost like?
If ant catch a quick game in bangkok, how is the Royal Bangkok golf club? Is it only for members?

What about Royal dusit ? anyone tried?