Thailand Golf Holidays, Phuket Golf Packages, Hua Hin Golf Vacations

LPGA Shines In Thailand

Mark — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 03:27:00 PST

Thailand knows how to put on a show, and the top LPGA players will be at the Honda LPGA Thailand this month.

With the worlds 59 best lady golfers in attendance, the Siam Country Club in Pattaya will be the perfect backdrop to kick off the LPGA tour season in style.
This popular tournament was launched in 2006 when a certain Miss Hee-Won Han from South Korea won the inaugural event. Since then the likes of Suzann Petersen from Norway, Lorena Ochoa from Mexico , Ai Miyazato from Japan, Yanni Tseng from Taiwan have all held the coveted trophy.

Add star names such as Natalie Gulbis, Paula Creamer and crowd favourite Michelle Wie, and you can understand why the sponsors are prepared to offer a massive US$1.8million in prize money.

Held at the Siam Country Club’s famous Old Course, a par 72 playing 6,477 yards for the girls, the players all commented on how perfect the fairways and greens were playing.

With most sports suffering during the recent economy down, the golf industry has turned to Asia for its future. The exposure that the event brings to Thailand is truly global. Meanwhile perhaps the biggest winner will once again be one of Thailand’s number one courses, Siam Country Club in Pattaya.

If you want to follow in the stars footsteps, why not plan to attend the event and then play the Pattaya golf club’s two championship courses? The Old Course and Plantation courses are the 2 best Pattaya golf courses, and by a wide margin.

Panya Indra Excels on Several Counts

Mark — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:26:00 PST

Playing golf in Thailand is an experience every time you tee off, and certainly that is what you get when you step up to the tee box at Panya Indra Golf Club.

Not far from the center of Bangkok, this 27-hole golf club is open for both day time and night golf. The course was designed back in 1989 by U.S. designer Ronald Fream. Fream used only 800 rai of land just outside Bangkok to make you forget that you are on the outskirts of a major city. There are three separate 9-hole courses, with their own individual design aptly named the Lagoon Course, Palm Course or Garden Course.

The Bangkok golf course was so clever that they constructed a man-made dyke around the course to protect it from last year’s floods. It worked and in spite of water in the roads outside the course, the course was kept dry and is now in pristine condition.

The first specialty of Panya Indra is night golf. If you want to experience playing under floodlights, then this is the place do it. Night golf starts at 3PM every Tuesday to Friday from October to April. Of course the golf course is open all year round for daylight play.

Another uniquely Thai concept here is caddy selection. Choosing a Thai caddie here is fun as they all sit next to the bag drop when you check in. There are standard caddies for 400 baht and “pretty” caddies for 1000 baht. I would skip the “pretties” unless you are there for more than golf. Anyway, all of Panya Indra’s caddies rank up there with Thailand’s best. Not all speak fluent English, but they to get by and are all excellent at reading the heavily undulated greens and making sure their “customers” enjoy their round.

The Garden Course which is 2,909 yards from the special night golf tees and starts with a relatively easy par 4, where birdies and pars are the norm. This is followed by a well-guarded 146 yard par-3. The green here is surrounded by boulders in back and a cluster of bunkers guarding the front. Somewhere into your round, night falls and massive flood lights come on. It takes 2-3 holes to adjust to the bright lights. This is where the caddies earn their money as they are expert at seeing where your shots land.

The Palm Course which plays to 3,111 yards and starts with a long par-5 with fairly wide fairways allowing for your daily rip off the tee. What is great is that the floodlights are very well positioned and they even highlight the Palms, making the overall look of the hole almost three dimensional. Thailand golf at its best!
The 4th hole is a par-3 island green and requires an accurate short iron to avoid getting wet.

Overall Panya Indra is a fun round of golf. Everyone and everything is very relaxed, which means the pace of play is sometimes slow, but the course quality and special company makes the time go by fast. This Bangkok golf course is very popular with local players and foreign visitors alike, so advance tee times are a must.

Thailand's Soft Sand

Mark — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:09:20 PST

First time visitors golfing in Thailand often mention to me about how difficult it is hitting good shots from greenside bunkers at many of the Thailand golf courses. What I see when we play together is that their sand wedges dig into the often fluffy sand found on many golf courses in Thailand and these same Thai golfers leave their first shot in the bunker and take two or worse three shots to get on the green.

The cause of this is that many of these same Thailand golfers don't open the clubface enough on bunker shots. When I ask why? They mention that they are afraid that opening the clubface will cause the shot to go right. This is a very common mistake when golfing in Thailand, especially after a long layoff during the cold winters at home, it is totally wrong!
The good news is that this error can be easily overcome, even during your first round of golf in Thailand.

Here is what I suggest.

1. Open the clubface: With bunker shots from soft sand, Thailand golfers need to use more bounce. Otherwise, the club digs into the sand and ball go nowhere. The more open the clubface, the more bounce and the less chance of digging in. Opening the clubface also gives more of a margin for error.
Poor bunker players like to grip the club first, and then turn their hands to open the clubface. When this is done, the clubface tends to close during the swing. Instead, open the clubface, and then grip the club. To get the clubface open enough, visualize the flange of the club right under the face.

2. Dig In, grip down, and take an open stance: Dig in the feet slightly for a solid foundation. Grip down on the club a little to improve club control and make up for digging in. Take an open stance by pointing feet, hips, and shoulders left of the target line.

3. Aim Right and swing down: Aim the clubface right, placing it in line with the target. Swing down and through along the foot line.

Bunker shots from soft Thai sand are tricky. Just remember that the softer the sand the more you need to open the clubface. Give this tip a try at any Thailand golf course and you will be out in one every time!

How To Organize A Successful Group Thailand Golf Trip (Part 3 of 3)

Mark — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:00:00 PST

In my last 2 articles I covered the first 4 steps towards a successful group Thailand golf trip. They were group leader and date and location selection along with requesting quotations. Here are the final 2 steps.

5. Communicate and Build Consensus

After you’ve gotten the Thailand golf package quote(s), distribute the information to your group and call a meeting to discuss (maybe over a beer after next Saturday’s round). Then it’s time to build consensus – sometimes easy / sometimes difficult. The consensus may be ‘let’s go with it’, or it may be ‘we need to request some changes/options, get another quote and have another meeting’. This is a KEY time. The importance of giving everyone a chance to share opinions, and directing the group toward building a consensus cannot be overstated.

Also be sure everyone is aware of any terms relating to the Thailand golf tour offer validity, payments and cancellation terms. If unclear ask your tour operator to provide more information.

Once the itinerary is more or less set, you’ll need to get into details regarding the flights if you have not already done so. For international flights I find it is almost always best to arrange then in your country of origin for the best prices and options. Don’t be fooled by a local golf tour operator who states differently as he maybe just wanting to make more money from you and not have your best interests in mind.

6. Make a Decision and Commit

The next stage is to get commitments for your Thailand golf trip. Group members often need to check with employers / family members to ‘get the final OK’ at this point. Hotel, flight and course availabilities will also need to be verified. The tour operator will likely also request a commitment in the form of a deposit (ask their terms regarding changes / refunds / credits if your plans unexpectedly change).

Set a specific DEADLINE for group members to make a decision and commit with a deposit. This is where you separate the talkers from the doers, and shake out anyone still ‘on the fence’. The nature of some people is that they just don’t like making any commitments until they are absolutely forced to do so. If you wait for them to decide on their own timeline, the trip will either never happen, you may well find your preferred hotels / flights / courses no longer available, or maybe the price has gone up.

Once the commitments are in you can have your tour operator confirm the booking. After that there will surely be additional details, though the hard work is over and it’s time to start concentrating on your game … so you can give your mates a good whooping they won’t soon forget and thereby earn trash talking rights till the next trip.

So there you have it, the six steps to insure that your next group golfing in Thailand has a great time and successful trip.

How To Organize A Successful Group Thailand Golf Trip (Part 2 of 3)

Mark — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 11:45:00 PST

In my last article I covered the first 2 steps towards a successful group Thailand golf trip. They were group leader and date selection. Here are the next 2 steps.

3. Pick the Location

Sometimes the group is already set on a particular Thailand golf destination. Other times the group will be interested in considering alternatives - in that case a discussion is necessary to let everyone view their thoughts in an effort to narrow down the list to a few workable candidates. Then an ‘assignment’ is made to get more general information on the prime candidate Thai golf destinations – sometimes the group leader does all that himself, though a shared approach also works whereby different members research different locations, perhaps the Thailand golf locations ones they are already familiar with. Another meeting or two is held to discuss and debate, then make a final decision on Thailand golf holiday location, after which you start working on the itinerary and getting quotes.

Here are four things to consider when choosing location:

a. Accessibility (how far are you willing to travel and how easy is it for the group to get there?)

b. Golf Quality and Quantity within reasonable travel time of hotel(s), typically 1 hour or less for most groups

c. Golf & Thailand Golf Resort Price Ranges (note: price can reflect land and construction costs as much or even more than quality, so don’t mistakenly assume more expensive means better.)

d. Off course preferences (beaches, nightlife, spas, shopping, culture and sightseeing, peace and relaxation, … different groups obviously have different preferences … this aspect can have a big impact on the overall success of the Thailand golf trip and should not be overlooked)

4. Get Quotes

While an individual Thailand golf traveler may find it practical to arrange everything directly himself with Thailand golf courses and hotels, working with an specialist Asian golf tour operator who has local Thai golf expertise is recommended for a group. The tour operator knows the courses, knows the hotels and knows the ins and outs of travel in the region. And while many times everything goes smoothly ‘according to plan’, inevitably there are times when the unexpected arises (illness or injury, a family emergency back home, a problem with the hotel or Thailand golf reservation, etc) – in such cases if you have a local tour operator you can call you can save yourself a lot of time, trouble and often money as well.

Do some research on the internet and talk to people who have been there to locate the tour operator(s) you are comfortable working with. Maybe send out several general inquiries and see what kind of responses you get. Most importantly, find a tour operator you can work with to put together the BEST trip for YOUR group, rather than just sell you a pre-packaged tour or cheapest Thailand golf package sold to the masses. Having much experience in this area, I know that each group is different and what appeals to one may be totally unappealing to another.

My next article will cover the final 2 steps to insure a successful Thailand golf trip for your group.

How To Organize A Successful Group Thailand Golf Trip (Part 1 of 3)

Mark — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 20:44:00 PST

Has your regular golf group kicked around the idea of taking a Thailand golf trip together? Well it’s time to stop talking and take action. Here are the first two of six steps to organize your Thailand golf and insure you have a successful Thailand golf holiday.

1. Pick a Group Leader
One of the key factors in ‘making it successfully happen’ is to pick the right Thailand golf group leader. Don’t just pick the best Thai golfer. Far more important are to designate someone that:

A - Is responsible, has organization skills and can be counted on to take initiative, follow-up and follow through

B - Is a consensus builder the group is comfortable with

C - Has good communication skills to communicate both with your tour provider and all group members on a regular basis

Often someone (usually one with plenty of initiative or who has been a Thailand golf vacation before) will take it upon himself to put together a group trip and recruit participants, perhaps on a regular recurring annual basis. This can work fine.

Another approach that can work equally well is a Golf Society / League or less formal group of friends who take turns passing the group leader responsibility around for different golf trips. Just be sure to pick ONE leader for each trip, or else you will get bogged down endlessly with different members going in different directions, considering endless options and nobody ever making any decisions. The Thailand golf group leader does not need to do all the work himself though, he can get assistance or delegate tasks to others.

Also, ‘Up Front’ you should put a time line around the Exploratory stage, the Quote and Consideration stage, and the Commitment / Finalization stage.

2. Pick the Dates

Obviously this is the first decision that needs to be made, at least in terms of the approximate season / month. It’s best if there is some flexibility as adjusting the exact dates is often necessary due to flight availabilities or other factors. Thailand has 3 main golf seasons.

The best time of year for a Thailand golf vacation is November to February when the weather is cool and dry. May through October is the least expensive, albeit wettest, time to golf in Thailand. If cost is the biggest factor, then this might be the best time of year for your Thailand golf group. March – April is hottest, but dry, and good Thailand golf deals can be had during this time as well.

My next article will cover the next 2 steps to insure a successful Thailand golf trip for your group.

Better Business For Golf In Thailand

Mark — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:02:00 PST

Perception is one thing; reality is often very different. So it was with flooding that affected a large area of countryside near Bangkok in October and November.

To outsiders, the perception was that the inundation – as real and damaging as it was for many communities – had halted play on many of Thailand’s 260 golf courses and that it would take months for courses to re-open. Dispatches declaring that “Bangkok’s airport is under water” failed to mention that the airport was, in fact, Don Muang, replaced in 2006 by Suvarnabhumi on the other side of the city, which was unaffected by floodwaters or disruptions to flights.

The reality is that only a handful of Bangkok golf courses closed, some for just a few days, and often because of difficult road access rather than unplayable fairways and greens. Of all the Bangkok golf courses played by inbound golf tourists, only three remain closed: Pinehurst and the two Royal Gems layouts – its original resort course north-west of Bangkok and the new Royal Gems City course closer to the city that had put a temporary halt to accepting visitors until its new clubhouse is completed. Pinehurst is reopening on December 20 and the twin Royal Gems layouts in February.

Bangkok’s central area hardly saw any water. All hotels remained open and renowned Bangkok traffic jams became less of a problem than usual as many owners left their cars on overhead motorways, fearing the worst. All the while, most golf courses including Thai Country Club and the closest course to the city, Muang Kaew – didn’t miss a day’s play. More important golf in the rest of Thailand also hasn’t missed a beat and apart from the Ayutthaya area, where courses are played almost entirely by locals, not one course remains flooded.

Golf in Pattaya, has also been unaffected, as have Hua Hin, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Khao Yai and Kanchanaburi.

I guess the truth is what matters most and as I can see every day more and more holidaymakers are arriving here making Thailand their winter golf holiday destination of choice.

Don’t Slice It In Thailand

Mark — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 17:00:00 PST

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could hit it straight or better yet with a slight draw when golfing in Thailand? On the driving range before your first round of golf in Hua Hin does your ball striking leaves something to be desired?

If so, try changing grips. Most Thailand golfers use a standard neutral grip. But if you're ending up with shots that go to the right, then you're not making solid contact and you're not helping yourself. The straighter your shots go, the more fun you will have when you golf in Thailand.

Here are two easy things to getting a good score at any Thailand golf course:

1. Turn both hands slightly right
2. Keep your wrists firm when you swing

There's nothing wrong with using the standard neutral grip if it's producing good results. The standard neutral grip is hit with both thumbs on top of the shaft. But I see too many high handicappers golfing in Bangkok that struggle to hit it straight. If this is you, then you may want to do something about it. Using a stronger grip can save you strokes and adds to the enjoyment of your Bangkok golf holiday.

To create a stronger grip, turn both hands slightly to the right and hold onto the club firmly with your left hand. If you're left-handed, turn your grip slightly left and hold onto the club firmly with your right hand.
When you swing, keep your wrists firm, your hands ahead of the clubface, and the back of your left hand facing the target through impact and moving down the target line. Left-handers will want to keep the back of their right hand facing the target through impact and moving down the target line.

If you're not happy with your Phuket golf, you may want to change grips. Using a stronger grip gives Thailand golfers more control over the club head. This is what you need to keep the ball out of the dense jungle that lines so many Thailand golf courses. The golf ball will jump off the club head and run down your intended line.

Try this the next time you golf in Hua Hin. I did the same thing at Banyan Golf Club this week and was amazed at the improvement in my shot control and score.

Hua Hin: The 'Other' Golf Courses

Mark — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 09:25:00 PST

Just about all golfers in Hua Hin want to play the two area 5 star courses; Black Mountain and Banyan Golf Club. Next on the list and a notch below for most golfers are Springfield Royal and Palm Hills.

Then there are the ‘Other’ courses. Some golfers skip them altogether, and if you are one who demands pristine country club conditions, luxurious clubhouses with lots of niceties and amenities and only modern designs, perhaps you should too. For the rest of us though these courses all have something to offer and can make for an enjoyable round of golf.

Royal Hua Hin
Thailand’s first course, dating back to the 1920s when it was constructed next to the Hua Hin train station by a Scottish railroad engineer working on the ‘Orient Express’ route. The rough is rough, the fairways are patchy, and the bunkers are true hazards. However, the Royal Hua Hin Golf Club is a wonderful old style design and the greens and collar areas are usually kept in good condition. The large mature trees lining the fairways make this course at a minimum a great days ‘walk in the park’. The monkeys roaming the course and the surrounding temples further add to the experience and the Hua Hin golf course is so close to central Hua Hin you can walk to the course.

Imperial Lake View
You can expect a warm welcome and easy smile from all the staff at the 36-hole Imperial Lake View Golf Club. The course design is good (particularly the A-B courses) and the greens are well maintained, though fairway conditions were inconsistent on a recent visit. The rolling property is quite large and the course has a park land layout that provides a feeling of isolation with nature on several holes.

Majestic Creek
A good test and enjoyable track for players of all levels, Majestic Creek suffers largely due to its location around 1 hour southwest of Hua Hin. The golf course is spread out over a large and rolling property. With many interesting holes requiring a variety of shots, the better player who has a wide variety of shots will definitely be at an advantage on this track. The clubhouse is aging and has long been in need of remodeling, though the course itself is well worth the drive.

The above courses are easily played from a Hua Hin base.There are a couple of other lesser known courses located roughly 1.5 hours from Hua Hin that fit nicely if you want to golf in excellent settings well away from most Thailand golf tourists.

Royal Ratchaburi and Kaeng Krachan
Royal Ratchaburi and Kaeng Krachan are ‘hidden gems’ with modest greens fees and well worth playing. Don’t expect a lot from the clubhouses and your caddies may not speak much English (most play is from locals Thais), but adventuresome golfers will be well rewarded at these venues for straying a bit off the beaten path.

Golf Pride Of The Royal Thai Navy

Mark — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 19:45:15 PDT

Here is a great story from a good friend in Pattaya.

I was once like you folks—playing all the Pattaya golf courses, tipping those lovely caddies twice as much as I should, riding a la cart rather than do the plebeian trudge that would scuff my alligator Foot-Joys, gamboling over golf courses in Cambodia where the game is just getting a foothold…Then, one by one, my old and now ex-friends in foreign lands started treating the loans I had given them as largesse.

Subsequent penury has separated me from your good golf company. Now I rent a one-room apartment well south of Pattaya. My golf is reduced to Plutaluang, the Navy golf course in Sattahip. I ride to the course on a rented Honda 125, my bag athwart the buddy seat. I almost never get run over by trucks and buses or those tourist vans with bar and movies that haul you, my old golfing cronies, to one Pattaya golf course or another, then back to the diversions of Pattaya City.

Plutaluang has four well-designed nines, built largely on hilly terrain that makes them interesting. The Thai Navy Golf Course is definitely a good value for money with normal green fees of $35 US Dollars or less during the low season from May to September. The greens are not bad at all, though some are huge enough that an “on the green” in a far corner gives you a long rolling shot tougher than you’d have if you were chipping from the same distance.

Most of the fairways are infiltrated with a challenging and low-lying grass that produces a hard and slightly uneven surface. The rough is relatively short, but thick and grabby; traps tend to be coarse sand. Par fours play long. I hit about 210 and still need a fairway wood to reach half of them when fairways are a little damp.

Despite its being a Navy course, the water hazards are not out of line except on the beautiful and tough par 3 signature hole, nearly an island, whose green slopes in all the wrong directions unless you consider water your friend; and a long par 5 featuring a long third shot over an arm of water.

Caddies are good to excellent, in my experience.

Only significant problem is the often long distance between greens and the next tee. For you folks in carts, of course, no problem and, I say this with all respect, as you trundle by; seated in your artificial breeze and plastic shade with resting feet.

Clubhouse facilities are well beyond adequate. The restaurant there has a terrific view over the finishing holes with forested mountains as a backdrop, not a development in sight. Service is good, food is excellent, and prices low. Weekday play is light and 4 hour rounds are the norm.

So next time you are golfing in Pattaya head over to nearby Sattahip and give the pride of the Thai Navy a shot. You will be pleasantly surprised.