Golf is flourishing as the 'in-game' in the Buddhist kingdom of Thailand,especially in the South, and many aficionados consider that the place will soon become one of Asia's golfing capital. perhaps the main one outside of Japan - as more and more land is turned over into beautifully manicured fairways.
Moderate green fees, low hire charges and a booming tourist market means more
and more overseas visitors are playing golf in this South East Asian nation but the
local golf playing population is also increasing in leaps and bounds.
According to recent statistics, there are over 450,000 golfers in Thailand, with about five new ones born
every day. It's not just the players who are getting hooked on the new greens - local and overseas corporations have been quick to see the profits that can be gained from golf course development, and they have started to cash in on the boom. Increasingly too the tour operators have begun to market golfing trail and packages for the affluent Japanese, Taiwanese, Americans and Europeans.
According to one British tour operator, "Thailand has the potential to become one of
the leading golf resorts in the world." This is a view echoed by many expatriate
business men who say golfing facilities are improving all the time and are probably
now among the very best in South East Asia. What is more golf is much cheaper, on the average, than in other emerging golfing destinations such as
Portugal,
Malaysia,
Hawaii and such like.
There are now around 70 courses in Thailand and a large number are being
planned. Of existing courses, golfing buffs say that at least ten of them are
international standard and could stand comparison with some of the best in
the US and Great Britain.
Hua Hin, on the Gulf of Thailand's west
coast, an easy 220 km drive on Highway 4
from
Bangkok, is blessed with miles of beckoning blue water and white, almost
deserted, sandy expanse. It was first put on the map by Prince Chakrabongse,
brother of the Thai King, Rama VI, who in 1910 led a party of international royalty
down the
peninsula to hunt game. The country's oldest beach
resort, Hua Hin, has
also been the Thai royal family's summer residence since the 1920's when the
reigning monarch, King Prajadhipok built a palace there called Kla Klangwon, or "Far From Worries."
He was soon followed by prominent Thai aristocrats who built handsome villas along the shoreline.
Immediately behind the Railway Hotel is the fine 18-hole Royal Hua Hin Golf Course
which happens to be the oldest in Thailand. Designed by a Scot, it opened in 1923
and in those days it was strictly for aristocrats, tycoons and high ranking army and
police to take golf lessons at the Hua Hin Club. It still remains, however, a regular golfing haunt for Thai royalty, and golf experts praise the rolling, natural layout as challenging. Carved from a forest,
many of the holes are set around natural hills, and from some of the higher points
the Gulf of Thailand can be seen.
Phuket, the teardrop island in Thailand's deep south, is fast becoming a jet-setters
paradise: its jungle hills, coconut plantations and beaches teeming with marine life
are drawing an increasing number of Asia's and
Europe's yuppies.
Nowadays
tourism has overtaken tin-mining as the prime economic force in the Island. Golfers, too, are drawn to Phuket - at Suri beach on the west of the Island there is an attractive nine-hole course that is shaded by
pine trees and also provides a favourite viewpoint of very spectacular sunsets. Pride
of place on the Phuket golfing scene must, however, go to the Phuket Golf and Country Club, situated
between Phuket Town and Patong Beach, which played host to its first guests a few
years ago. This 18-hole course is widely expected to rank as one of the best layouts
in the region and is already proving popular with golfers from neighbouring Malaysia
and from places further afield such as
Hong Kong,
Brunei Darussalam and Japan.
The sleepy old town of Songkla, 1300 km south of Bangkok, is not to be outdone in
the golfing stakes for the town's major hotel, the Samita, has an interesting and
beautifully located course, which is pleasant if not too demanding.
Of Thailand's developed coastal resorts, Bangsaen, 100 km south east of Bangkok,
is the nearest one to the capital. Bangsaen is a favourite resort for families and for
golfers. A cool, park-lined promenade separates the resort's long, broad-crescent
beach from the modern
hotels and beachside
bungalows, but the mecca for golfers is some 9 km further south - the 18 - hole Bangphra public golf course nestles in hills overlooking the sea.
The delightfully landscaped, rolling fairways at this thoroughly challenging course are
shaded by flame, mango and palm trees that are well watered by the local reservoir.
Bangphra is a self-contained holiday complex with
motel facilities, a
swimming pool,
a clubhouse bar and
restaurant, and a well-stocked pro shop. It is run by Japan Golf
Promotional Inc, a golf course management company.
A fine course is to be found 10 km from the lively resort of Pattaya, the Siam Country
Club, which will test even an experienced golfer but without making the round a heartache. This is a delightful spot and the course must rank as one of the lovelier anywhere in Thailand. It was the first golf club which could offer accommodations for overnight or longer stays in its 30 rooms. Other courses near Pattaya include the Plutaluang Golf Club and the Green Valley Rayang.
Bangkok, they say, is a four showers a day city : a hot, humid, sprawling city with a
frenetic
life style and eternal traffic jams. It is certainly hot and humid, but there is no
doubt it is the golfing capital of Thailand and currently there are around 25 courses
in the city and its suburbs. The Japanese on golfing holidays arrive by their thousands by charter flights. Golf is rapidly becoming one of the most popular sports for the middle class of
Bangkok and that is exemplified by the Pinehurst Golf and Country Club, on the
outskirts of the city, which sold most of its 1200 memberships a long time before it
actually opened its doors in mid-1988. According to club officials, there is a very
lengthy waiting list even though there are reputed to be plans afoot to raise the
membership fee to US$12,000.
This club is a joint venture between a Thai company and a Singapore-based company.
If you were to ask regular golfers in Thailand about the city's toughest course, the
chances are they would choose the Navatanee course, on the northern outskirts of
Bangkok. The cost of a round of golf at this 6,985 - yard par 71 course is moderate,
but be warned it is a thoroughly challenging affair, designed by
Trent Jones, Jr. This
exclusive course is ranked by many golfing experts as possibly one of the top fifty
courses in the world. The Navatanee club played host Thailand's first international golfing event - the 23rd
World Cup tournament back in 1975.
The Royal Bangkok Sports Club and the Royal Dusit Club are both very convenient
courses for residents of Bangkok and are popular stops for golfers from overseas.
They are, however, both less demanding courses than the Navatanee course, and
since they are flat they are also suitable for older or less vigorous players.
Golf is starting to boom in Southern Thailand and many well-traveled golfers reckon that the
game is going to get bigger and better in this country. There are beautiful courses in
many parts of the world but golfing in Thailand does offer good service, good food,
comfortable and inexpensive accommodations and superb ambiance.
Great for Golfing 
