Sports

Among Thailand’s advantages is first of all the weather. Play is possible at almost any time of the year. Even the heavy but short-lived downpours of the rainy season rarely bring a game to a complete halt.

Furthermore, the country has an excellent selection of courses, many of them only opened during the last few years but all boasting lush, tropical surroundings. Almost 50 courses and numerous practice ranges are available throughout the country. Some are located on slopes overlooking the sea or on former rice paddies that have been transformed into green parks while others are neatly tucked into the mountains of the North.

Many courses have been carefully designed to offer interesting and, in most cases, very testing golf. They have also been beautifully landscaped, with an abundance of tropical trees and exotic flowers for the most spectacular visual effect.

Most courses in Thailand boast a modern clubhouse, with restaurants and a pro shop stocking a whole range of new equipment. The trend is for new clubhouses to incorporate additional sports facilities, such as swimming pools, tennis and squash courts.

Low labor costs in Thailand mean that clubs can afford the luxury of a large ground staff to maintain the fairways and greens in tip-top condition. To ensure that the surfaces match those of the world’s leading courses, many clubs have employed the latest techniques to plant the most suitable grasses.

Thailand has the reputation for being a very cheap golf country. But prices for playing golf have increased sharply over the last few years due to the popularity of golf among the Thai rich as well as the many foreign golfers visiting the country. Still, if compared with Europe and industrialized Asian countries, it’s true that Thailand is a cheap golf destination. According to the Market Trends column in Asiaweek, issue of July 5, 1991, the average "cost of playing 18 holes of golf at public course" (probably including caddie) is 19.53 US Dollars in Bangkok.

That’s 115 US Dollars cheaper than in Tokyo, 77 US Dollars cheaper than in Hong Kong, 48 US Dollars cheaper than in Singapore and less than half of what it costs in Kuala Lumpur. Japanese and Hong Kong Chinese golf enthusiasts typically can finance a golf holiday in Thailand from what they save by not playing in Tokyo or Hong Kong.

However, meanwhile the savings would be even larger in some other countries. According to the cited Asiaweek statistics, playing golf is cheaper in Manila (10.80 US Dollars) and Jakarta (7.75 US Dollars). The statistics only compared the costs for playing at a capital site. In any of the cited countries it should be cheaper to play upcountry.

As anywhere in the world green fees are in most cases substantially higher on weekends than what they are on weekdays. Weekday green fees range from 100 to 500 Baht; on weekends they can be 50% to 100% higher. A typical caddie fee is 100 Baht.

Golf balls, like all sports equipment, are fairly expensive in Thailand. Asiaweek of July 5, 1991 compared the prices of Titleist golf balls in various Asian countries - with the result that they are more expensive only in Tokyo and Jakarta (in all three cities between 12 and 13 US Dollars). Prices are just about half in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Manila, while they are about two third in Hong Kong.

Renting equipment is no problem in Thailand. All the major courses have full or half sets of clubs for rent, along with shoes, umbrellas and other useful accessories. A player does not have to bring any of his own equipment.

Many of the leading courses are located within greater Bangkok. These include the Krungthep Kritha, Unico, State Railway Golf Course and the celebrated Navatanee Golf Course. At most times of the day, it is possible to reach any of these courses from the city center in about 30 to 40min.

At a greater distance, the Rose Garden Golf Course is some 35km west of the city near Nakhon Pathum, and the Bangphra Golf Course is about 84km (53mi) to the east. Even the rolling fairways of the Khao Yai Golf Course, set in Thailand’s largest national park, are only a 2:30hrs drive away.

Within the city are several driving ranges where players can practice their swings. Of these, the best known are the Hua Mark range on Ramkhamhaeng Road, and the Soi 18 range at the end of Sukhumvit Soi 18.

Several Bangkok hotels also have driving ranges and practice putting greens. The Oriental’s sports center, set on the bank of the Chao Phaya river opposite the hotel, has a range and resident pro to correct a guest’s swing. The spacious gardens of the Siam Inter-Continental Hotel on Rama I Road have a floodlit driving range complete with sand bunkers and a putting green.

Some of Thailand’s newer courses, as those of the Green Valley and Pinehurst country clubs, are in fact part of up-market residential villages on the outskirts of the city. Although play is in principle restricted to members, they are able in most cases to take in a limited number of guests.

It seems that everywhere upcountry (including down to the south) a golf course is within easy travel distance. The beach resorts of Pattaya and Phuket, the northern city of Chiang Mai and the southern cities of Hat Yai and Songkhla all boast several courses.

For overseas visitors, Thailand has more than enough excellent public courses for a good golfing holiday. Admittedly, tee-off times on weekends normally have to be booked in advance. At all other times, it’s generally a matter of just turning up at the course and beginning to play straight away.