Golfing in Thailand: 250 world-class golf courses
Thailand is highly regarded in the international sport of golf. The country is praised for its beautiful courses, friendly caddies and attractively priced green fees. Thailand is home to about 250 world-class golf courses. Many of these courses have been designed by renowned international architects.
Not only the courses, but also the caddies in Thailand are famous. They are often beautiful young ladies who are very helpful, can give you good tips and of course advise you about the right club. Do you want to go golfing in Thailand choose the early morning or late afternoon because the sun can be quite bright.
Golfing in Thailand has developed into a popular activity for local players and tourists alike. Thailand has more than 250 golf courses spread across the country, with a concentration of courses in tourist areas such as Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, and Chiang Mai. These courses are often of high quality and designed by renowned golf course architects.
A notable feature of golfing in Thailand is its affordability compared to many other countries, making it an attractive destination for golfers of all levels. The golf courses offer a variety of challenges, from simple, relaxing courses to world-class championship courses that challenge even the most experienced players.
In addition to the quality of the golf courses, the golfing experience in Thailand is further enriched by the beautiful natural environments in which many courses are located. Players can enjoy a backdrop of lush, tropical landscapes, mountainous terrains, or an ocean view.
The service and hospitality on Thai golf courses are also remarkable. Many golf courses offer caddying services, often performed by local women, which contribute to a unique and personalized golf experience. These caddies are often experienced and offer useful tips about the course.
Thailand also hosts international golf tournaments, contributing to its growing reputation as a world-class golf destination. These tournaments attract top players and golf enthusiasts from all over the world.
Hua Hin
Especially around the seaside resort of Hua Hin there are many beautiful ones golf courses, such as the Banyan, Black Mountain and Springfield. In addition, this seaside resort of royal allure has much more to offer, such as a wonderful beach and excellent restaurants. Taxi vans run from the better hotels to the golf courses. Hua Hin has already been named the best golf destination in Asia by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO).
At all major tourist attractions such as Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Pattaya you will find excellent golf courses that attract many golf enthusiasts from all over the world every year.
Thailand is arguably the best international golf destination in the world.
Have you ever thought how much nature, both flora and fauna, has had to make way for these "beautiful golf courses"?
Not to mention the enormous “dropsy” of these terrains!
In the 7 years that I cycle in the wider area of Pattaya & Satahip, I have seen 40% forest landscape disappear ... isn't that sad?
That big deer I used to see near Silverlake I never saw again , nor the monitor lizards crossing the road .. too bad ?
I assume you've never played a round of golf yourself. The golf courses are a breath of fresh air. Well maintained flora and fauna.
Dear Willem,
Completely agree with you, OK forests and the like have to make way, but here nature is maintained and not left to its fate. I am a golfer myself and have already had the opportunity to taste the beautiful courses, beautiful obliging female caddies in Thailand. Really a pleasure. Looking is allowed, speaking is allowed, but touching them is a bridge too far and hope that this beautiful woman stays that way.
Golf players are like smokers. It doesn't count that someone else is bothered by their hobby.
Maintenance of the golf courses requires a lot of water, there is already a water shortage, poison against weeds, enters groundwater, etc. etc.
That nature has to be cut down, not important in Thailand, there is enough left anyway.
And then I'm not even talking about the poor people who are bulldozed away with their houses to make way for the elite hobby.
555 yes I also had to laugh last year when I read how cutting down forest/regrnwoud, etc. and replacing it for a large bare grass mat with some sand here and there and a pond is also nature. Or they have to build such a park in a desert… and then again.
It is very easy for the writers to ignore that a lot of people have a job through that golf course. In Hua Hin alone, hundreds of caddies are active every day and earn a good living. Their income is on average better than that of a construction worker. There are also many people working in the restaurant, not to mention the greenkeepers!
I am an avid golfer. I have been coming to Thailand for 12 years and have been golfing there since 2010. I am in Thailand for an average of 12 weeks a year and have played quite a few of the 250 courses.
For me the best golf regions in Thailand are Bangkok and the surrounding area, Chonburi province (Pattaya), Hua Hin is very good but relatively few and especially expensive courses. I also like to play in the Chiang Mai region. there are also soon more than 15 golf courses.
A tip: In May and June there is the Golf Festival in Chiang Mai and in August and September the Hua Hin Golf Festival. During that period you can play on most courses for a considerably reduced rate.
From Pattaya it is reasonably cheap all year round due to the competition and the agreements with Pattaya Sports Club (PSC). Just check the PSC website for participating golf associations/bars.
https://pattayasports.net/sports-2/golf/
Have fun golfing.
If you like golf and come to Phuket you better get one
bring a decent suitcase of money. It's been priceless here for years
unless you are a member, but then you will receive a nice amount
annual maintenance fees around your ears.
All my golf acquaintances don't come here anymore but indeed go around
to play Bangkok and Pattaya annually. You only see Thais here
golf from the government and they pay a fraction of what a foreigner has to
pay. It's nauseating.
YES
Dear Patrick,
I haven't been golfing that long, but I love the nature on and around the golf courses.
We play a lot on the Wangjuntr courses in Rayong and that's where we sometimes have to wait because there are deer on the fairway.
Beautiful flora and fauna there.
Everything beautifully maintained and affordable.
Green fee, caddy and cart 1700 baht.
Fred
Never seen a monitor lizard of almost three meters in real life until I came to the Phoenix Gold Golf Course, so it walks quietly from one water feature to the other.
Birds galore!
Employment in the golf industry for thousands of Caddy's who have been employed there for years.
The salary in construction or 7/11…..300 Bath per day !
A Caddy gets 300 baht from the golf course and a standard tip of another 300 baht from the golfer.
They regularly have 2 flights per day ………..1200 baht !!!!!
No people, if you really come with comments, it must be well substantiated !!!
An acquaintance of ours has a relationship with a caddy, so she really does not earn 1200 Thb per day.
They all work as freelancers with her and on several golf courses.
Just hope that you are selected, then you have work that day, otherwise unfortunately.
No Bart,
The rule applies on all Th golf courses; that all caddies get their turn daily, and rarely on call. With good golfing weather it is possible that they are 'turned' more times a day.
So, as a rule, a caddy is not selected.
Good thing. The homogeneous caddy community would become a “hate & envy” nation.
The above NOT Golfers do not know what they are talking about in terms of nature, golf courses act like a magnet on animals and that certainly applies to Wangjuntr as Fred already mentioned. Poison may no longer be used, even in Thailand. I've been golfing in Thailand for years and see it as A HEALTHY ADDICTION and not comparable to Smokers. If you haven't read up on Golf, please leave that nonsense and commentary behind. Golf is a great pastime, especially in Thailand. Have been a member of Cha Am golf club for years and golf for a fraction of the normal 'walk-in' green fee.
Played last year at the Mida golf club in Kanchanaburi on weekdays 2 x green fee + Cart and bungalow incl. breakfast THB. 1500,= and weekend THB.1800,= caddy fee THB 350,= per round. Is a Korean group. For less than €60 2 days of golf with bungalow and breakfast is great.
To return the proverbial Golf Ball to the above NOT Golfers; Hanging at the bar at 11 o'clock in the morning where you rolled out the previous night, that's a healthy activity for sure !!!!
Thank you Alex,
I forget what a day of golf costs if you're a member of something.
We play every Monday for 1500 baht (2 persons plus 1 buggy).
If you are not careful you will spend more in a day if you do NOT play golf !!!!
Thinking that golf courses are good for nature is the same as thinking that a new shopping mall with luxury apartments next to it, which has had to make way for an entire residential area, is good for the housing market.
If golf courses are so good for nature, why don't we make 100.000 in Thailand? Then the price also drops and we see elephants, monkeys and tigers on the golf course. You can already see monitor lizards in Lumpini park.
I'm afraid the negative reactions from non-golfers have an (unhealthy!) envious background from TB readers who have a little less to spend.
No, I find the comments that golf courses are good for nature just laughable. Rather a golf course than a shopping mall, but do you know what really good and pure nature is? Forest, jungle, rivers and so on. Or if it has to be artificial: a park or botanical garden. That is nature and good for flora and fauna.
Go and hit a ball if you are happy or happier, someone else might prefer to kick a ball on a football field. Fine, everyone has their hobby. But good for or real nature? 5555 no.
Hello dear golfers
I have been coming to pattaya and jomtien for years
Regularly play Golf ⛳⛳⛳ on different courses.
Around Pattaya there are already about 24 .
Wonderful jobs.
Different price range.
You can make it as expensive as you want.
You may have different opinions about the water consumed.
But the last few days, especially today 4/10/2022. Has so much water fallen (look at the images) that seems to me to be enough for a whole year!!!
But rather a golf course than the towering flats that have been added in recent years.
I hope that in November I can hit a ball again at my favorite course
Plutaluang 25 km south of Pattaya.
Tuesdays and Thursdays sporting days
1250 Bath. Green fee, caddy, Car.
Gr and maybe see you in Thailand
Yes the first time I played golf in my life was on Pluta Luang . (then a golf course for the army). And that was the beginning of the best sports experience (before that football and squash). For a non golfer, that is incomprehensible, but it is addictive and I could not miss it anymore. The social contact is also addictive, you make new friends every time. The 19th hole is also indispensable, you have to pass it. So Thailand remains my first destination, with golf at least twice a week, otherwise I would not have had a holiday. The beautiful courses, the caddies, the shower facilities, it's a party. So here in Belgium it is a little less pleasant but still very pleasant…
Good day, from the responses of Chris and Rob V I gather that they have never been to a golf course. An average golf course consists of approximately 30 percent short cut grass. fairways, tee boxes and greens. Approximately 30 percent also consists of buildings, parking spaces and practice facilities. The remaining 40 percent consists of nature, bushes, shrubs, unmown grass and water features. The percentages differ per job .but this is an average value.source ,NGF.
Kind regards.
Dick Spring.
I have also played a few rounds in Thailand, specifically Phuket and Udon Thani, and share the opinion of others. Alex and Willem.
For enthusiasts: there seems to be a nice, fairly new course in the Udon Thani region. See
https://royalcreekgolfthai.wordpress.com/
I haven't been there myself yet, but perhaps others have.