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Writer Anita Draycott takes you on a tour of the best golf courses in Thailand, complete with swinging monks and fresh caddies.
My conversation with the taxi driver from the Bangkok airport began with him describing his six years as a novice monk eating one meal a day in a jungle temple. Then he noticed my luggage included golf clubs and began chattering enthusiastically about how he recently broke 90 using his expensive new set of Callaway clubs.
Golf, by the way, is why I went to Thailand. Last year, when a group of like-minded swingers proposed a golf marathon Thai-style, it took very little coaxing before I was packing my own Callaways and sunscreen.
Thanks to an economic boom during the 1990s, Thailand boasts about 250 courses dotted all over the Kingdom. I have highlighted some of my favourite courses scattered around the country, but should you choose to stay in only one or two areas, rest assured there are plenty more courses nearby, so you can play somewhere different each day.
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Best Golf Courses in Thailand
Thai Country Club near Bangkok
Just 45 minutes from bustling Bangkok, we enjoyed the serenity of the Thai Country Club (owned and managed by Peninsula Hotels), where Tiger Woods won the 1997 Asian Honda Classic.
As is common all over Thailand, a spirit house is located at the entrance. To ensure harmony and prosperity, the spirits should be placated with offerings of incense, candles, and flowers. I was tempted to light a candle and pray for a few pars on this manicured championship course, formerly a rice paddy.
Caddies are an integral part of the Thai golf experience. Each course has its own team of tiny Thai women dressed in pajamas and kerchiefs in club colours. If you’re a high roller, you can hire three—one to select and clean your clubs, one to carry a parasol and stool, and, if you smoke, one to light your cigarettes and give shoulder massages. One caddy is really all you need.
My first was named Kid. Soaking wet, she probably weighed about 30 kg (67 lbs). I fastened a Canadian flag pin on her lapel, and she gave me a big hug. After a few holes, she asked my age. “Old enough for me to be your mother,” I replied and then hit a whopper drive. Kid clapped. At the end of our round, she patted my butt and exclaimed, “Very healthy, madam.”
The kid was not only entertaining but also an excellent caddy. When I asked for a three-wood, she handed me a seven-wood, explaining, “Three-wood goes to Canada.” Once I figured it out, my score improved.
Not speaking another’s language, except for a few words, can sometimes be the most direct and honest way of expressing oneself—like it or not. By the end of the round, Kid remarked that I was old with a fat butt. For this, I tipped her about $8 and headed to the clubhouse for a cold shower.
Award-winning clubhouse at Thai Country Club. Photo: Anita Draycott©
A tribute to Tiger Woods at Thai Country Club. Photo: Anita Draycott©
Posing with our caddies at Thai Country Club.
Best Clubhouse in Asia
Thai clubhouses often resemble glitzy five-star hotels. Certainly, the one at the Thai Country Club was worthy of being named the Best Clubhouse in Asia. In the marble and mahogany spa, we made full use of the sauna, steam room, hot tub, and Vichy showers. Would we like our shoes cleaned? Why not?
Thai Massage
How about a Thai massage? Thus began the start of a new fetish—the profound pleasure of the ancient Thai massage. Lying on a mat on the floor and wearing a pair of supplied loose pajamas, your masseuse takes you on a two-hour series of contortions and stretching movements patterned on the “Asanas” of Hatha Yoga. Don’t be alarmed when she flips you over and walks down your spine. (Like the caddies, she too weighs about 30 kg (67 lbs).
What is the average price for this royal treatment? About twenty dollars. You can understand why it’s addictive.
Cool Off at the Royal Chiang Mai Golf Resort Chiang Mai
In Chiang Mai, north of Bangkok, the air is cooler and cleaner. En route to play golf one morning, we found ourselves on a street filled with saffron-swathed Buddhist monks carrying alms pots. Outside the shops, vendors had set up small tables and were selling offering baskets. Their religion forbids them from asking for food, so the tradition is to buy a basket containing some rice and fruit and offer it to a passing monk. For doing this, he’ll bless you.
Whatever your beliefs, it’s a happy and peaceful way to start a day, especially if you’ve got a game booked at the challenging Royal Chiang Mai Golf Resort, 7,200 yards from the tips, designed by Peter Thompson, a five-time British Open champion.
Set in a lush valley and surrounded by mountains, the scenery is magnificent with waterfalls, streams and looming temples. But this is no walk in the park. It’s tough. Hole number four is an uphill battle fraught with bunkers. From the clubhouse, the vista of emerald fairways dotted with yellow-clad caddies carrying bright parasols was like a scene from Madame Butterfly.
Caddie and spirit house at Royal Chiang Mai Golf Resort Chiang Mai. Photo: Anita Draycott©
The clubhouse at Royal Chiang Mai Golf Resort, one of the best golf courses in Thailand. Photo: Anita Draycott©
Watery fairway at Royal Chiang Mai Golf Resort Chiang Mai. Photo: Anita Draycott©
Blue Canyon Lakes Country Club in Phuket
Phuket, known for its tropical islands and fabulous beach resorts, is also worthy of a swing south.
Blue Canyon Lakes Country Club is just minutes from the airport. Play a round of golf on the Canyon Couse, and you’ll follow in the footsteps of legends such as Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo, and Ernie Els. Many of Asia’s top tournaments have been hosted on this lush course by Japanese designer Yoshikazu Kato. Eighty bunkers and water on ten of the holes are part of the challenge. The two par threes on the back nine are worth the trip to Thailand.
The 14th features a postage-stamp almost-island green that you must nail from giddying elevated tees, usually taking the crosswinds into consideration. Fred Couples has described number 17 as “one of the best par-3s anywhere in the world.”
There’s water all along the right side of the narrow fairway, and the green slopes from front to back, requiring an accurate approach from the left. I suggest you warm up on Blue Canyon Lakes Course, another winner by Kato.
Signature par-3 on Blue Canyon Lakes Country Club Thailand. Photo: Anita Draycott©
Blue Canyon Lakes Country Club in Phuket Thailand. Photo: Anita Draycott©
The Royal Hua Hin Golf Course
On Thailand’s southwest coastline, kings and queens have summered in the Royal Palace at Hua Hin since it was completed in 1928 by King Rama VII. He named it Klai Kangwol, meaning “far from worries.”
Thailand’s first golf course, the Royal Hua Hin opened in 1924. On the 13th hole, a troop of mischievous macaque monkeys munch on the bordering vegetation and have been known to take off with your Titleist. Players are rewarded with majestic views of the Gulf of Thailand, and on the par-three 14th hole, an exquisite temple looms in the background. The course has no water hazards but lots of large, mature trees and tricky greens will provide ample challenge. Adjacent to the clubhouse stands the vintage wooden railway station where a scene from The Killing Fields was filmed.
Before the royals and tourists arrived, Hua Hin was a quiet fishing village. Fisherman’s Wharf is still abuzz at dawn when the catch comes in, and it’s the place to go at night for a feast of garlic crab and prawns before you saunter through the night market.
Teeing it up at Royal Hua Hin Golf Course. Courtesy photo
Caddies at Royal Hua Hin Golf Course. Courtesy photo.
Splurge in Koh Samui
Up until the 1970s, the island of Koh Samui, off southeast Thailand, was primarily the domain of backpackers and a population that eked out an existence from fishing and coconut cultivation. The backpackers are still partying the nights away at Chawaeng Beach, but now Koh Samui boasts several five-star resorts catering to those of us who want four-poster beds and private plunge pools in lieu of hammocks on the beach.
Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui
After a one-and-a-half-hour flight from Bangkok, the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui sent a Mercedes stocked with lemon-grass-scented cool towels, mineral water and silk pillows to take us to the resort. Fans of White Lotus might be interested to know that much of the upcoming season three was filmed here.
The gorgeous beach at the Four Seasons Koh Samui Resort. Photo: Anita Draycott©
Beach massage at Four Seasons Koh Samui Resort. Photo: Anita Draycott©
Golf at Santiburi Samui Country Club
The next morning, after a leisurely breakfast, the concierge arranged for golf at Santiburi Samui Country Club, just ten minutes away. The first few holes play through a mature coconut forest and then your round progresses up the mountain with fairways following the natural contours of the hills, creating an interesting and challenging golf game.
Rock outcroppings on several holes also add to the challenge. Yo, my featherweight caddie probably saved me ten strokes thanks to her infallible putting and targeting advice. Number 17 requires a tee shot that avoids a cliff along the right side of the fairway. A jungle crossing and panoramic views of sparkling bays dotted with islands add to the drama of this signature hole. Pack your camera.
Hilly terrain at Santiburi Samui Country Club Koh Samui. Photo: Anita Draycott©
Caddie at Santiiburi Golf Club. Photo: Anita Draycott©
When is the best time to play golf in Thailand?
If there’s one drawback to playing golf in Thailand, it’s the heat and humidity. However, starting at the crack of dawn, draping cold, wet towels around your neck and wearing two gloves will help. The best time to visit is during the cool season, from November to March.
Visit the Tourism Authority of Thailand for golf package information and brochures.
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