Golf in the Kingdom of Thailand
Exploring the unique world of Thai golf
There is no doubt that golf travel to the far east can be a mystery for many who are unfamiliar with the language, the culture and the huge numbers of new golf courses spread throughout the region.
Sandy Bain, VP sales for Athlone Golf Tours, travelled to Thailand with a group of golf writers and international tour operators to explore the region with Athlone ground agent, Mark Siegel of golfasian tours. On the tour was Anthony Pioppi, a well known travel writer and blogger. With thanks to Anthony and Sandy, we report on one of the most enthralling new destinations in the world of golf.
By the time everyone checked into the Hilton Hua Hin Resort and Spa some 150 miles Southwest of Bangkok, many were very tired from driving, flying or waiting to drive or fly. Many wondered if the journey would be worth it. It took less than one day in Thailand for the answer: an emphatic, “Yes!”
The golf is great, but it’s not solely about the golf. As their tour guide Mark Siegel said so often during the 12-day excursion, it’s about “the experience.”
On the first day, we were introduced to Thai golf via Banyan Golf Club, a layout that sits comfortably on rolling terrain and presents tests and delights for a variety of skill levels. It was here, though, that we got our first taste of the Thai “experience.” It begins with the clubhouse. Of the 260 golf courses in Thailand, only two are truly private and all others welcome outside play. For the guest, the treatment is hardly that of an interloper or guest, but that of a member.
Each golfer is warmly and sincerely greeted and the assigned a locker — not some cubbyhole in a back part of the building, but a locker in the same area used by members. After the round, all golfers have access to the private showers and, in some cases, Jacuzzis, saunas and small heated pools. After finding my locker and donning my shoes, I headed out to find my clubs and was greeted by my caddie, a petite Thai woman dressed in an official uniform. In Thailand, all golf courses have a mandatory caddie policy and all caddies are women. Thai women people prefer to shield themselves from the sun so caddies wear bonnet-like hats, long sleeve jerseys with their official number on the front and their name on nickname on the front, long pants and often times gloves. For those wishing to ride, it is one caddie and golfer per cart. For the walkers, the caddie pulls the clubs along in a trolley. Their English is always at least good enough to get the major points across. To help convey their meaning on the greens, caddies often use hand gestures — for example, to convey where they want your aim to be in relation to the cup. For instance, they’ll form a circle with one hand (signifying the cup) while using the finger of the other hand to indicate the target — right edge, just outside or just inside the hole.
What most surprised me about these women, who ranged in age from early 20s to mid-40s, was there skill level. Almost all were excellent readers of greens and a few were clubbing me by the fourth hole. On one notable occasion came at Chiang Mai Highlands, in the north of the country, where my caddie refused to hand me the 7-iron I requested, insisting I hit the 8. After three attempts at getting the club I wanted, I gave up and hit the 8 — to four feet and made the only birdie of the day.
The caddies are polite and can, with a little encouragement, show their more talkative and funny sides. One of my golfing companions, Michael Dabrowski, from Travel Golf in Poland, set the tone for nearly all his rounds by telling the caddies he wanted a kiss for each birdie he made. It invariably produced giggles from all the caddies in the group and lead to animated and humorous exchanges throughout the round. It’s just part of “the experience.”
We had flown into Bangkok and immediately headed southwest to Hua Hin, on the Gulf of Siam. After Banyan, our next round came at Black Mountain Golf Club, host of the Asian Tour’s finale event, the Black Mountain Masters, and, starting in January 2011, The Royal Trophy, the Ryder Cup-style event pitting Asia’s top touring professionals against those from Europe.
Nestled amongst jungle-covered mountains and designed by Phil Ryan of Australia-based Pacific Coast Design, Black Mountain is a flashier course than all the others we played: man-made stone-walled waterfalls that dot the course, and thousands of plantings to go with a real estate component that was substantial and classy but never intruded on this core golf course. All in all, it’s a facility that would make Donald Trump smile — Michael, too, our Polish compatriot. He made the kiss-for-birdie proposition to his caddie well before we teed off. By the time we were heading up the fifth fairway, he was being invited for a night of whiskey and dancing by a caddie in the group behind us! For all its flash, though, green fees at Black Mountain were just 1,500 Thai Baht, or $50 U.S., just another welcome part of “the experience,” affordable green fees ranging from $25 to $100, in a scant few places. Most average around $50.
Next on the itinerary was Suwan Golf and Country Club, perhaps the biggest surprise of the trip. Costing just $25 a round, it ranked as one of our favorite Thai layouts. Making my round even better was the fact I went out in a five some that included Sandy Bain from Athlone Golf Holidays in Canada , Mikael Drabrowski, Paul Guarino from Punta Cana Golf Tours in the Dominican Republic and Chayuda (Toom) Singhsuwan, a 20-year-old, newly minted Thai professional golfer who counts Golfasian as one of her sponsors. After shooting even par on the front side, Toom came home in four over for the last nine. It was a delight to watch Toom navigate her way around the course, playing bold when she could and cautious when she had to.
Suwan also has the most interesting design history of the layouts we played. The architect is Major General Weerayudth Phetbuasak, still active in the Thai army and director of the Weeyos Design Group. He also laid out Sir James Country Club, Narai Hill Golf Resort, and Bangkok Golf Club as well as Phokeethra Golf Club in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
With their own touring pros and course designers (Banyan GC was also laid out by a local firm, GolfEast), the Thais have created their own distinct golfing culture. This cannot be said for many countries in Asia that count themselves as golf destinations.
Next day, back in Bangkok at Thai Country Club, I found the course extremely enjoyable — made even more so by my on-course company: Radek Jaromersky from Golf Planet in the Czech republic, Natalie Zahn from Olimar Travel in Germany, and our Thai caddies. Natalie’s caddie took a quick liking to her player, while viewing me as perfect target for an abundance of good-natured barbs. When I knocked my tee shot onto the green at a par-3, but well short of the hole, she announced to all that I would four-putt. When it turned out I two-putted, she feigned ignorance of my accomplishment. Cocking her head coyly and delivering a sugary but insincere apology, “Sorry, I did not see.” At another par-3, my tee shot again found the green and Natalie’s caddie responded with: “Old man, big power.” All the while, this 4-foot-11-inch comedian was helping Natalie with her line and club selection, as well as reading her putts with the acumen of a PGA Tour caddie. Throughout the round, she also complimented her play with, “Nice shot, pretty lady.”
Day 6 was a rest day, and we started our respite with a walk through Bangkok’s oldest wholesale market of fresh fruits, vegetables and prepared food. From there it was a tuk-tuk ride (the small taxis converted from mopeds) to the Grand Palace and Emerald Buddha Temple, the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand. It was an amazing experience that is not to be missed; the vastness of the compound, the beauty of its structures and the deep meaning it holds for so many people is quite moving.
Eighteen of Siam Country Club’s 27 holes at the Plantation Course hosted our first round the following day, and it kicked my backside in no uncertain terms. The combination of deep bunkers, elevated green complexes, lightning fast putting speeds and a failing iron game added up to near disaster. As it did in 2009, the Plantation Course hosts the first tournament of the 2011 LPGA season. I think I speak for my playing partners Ryan Reiterman from Golf Magazine in the USA, Robert Paul from S-Guide in the Czech Republic, and Michael Moir from Fenix Golf Apparel in Thailand in saying; we look forward to watching the best women in the world tackle this layout.
We followed up a day later with 18 at Siam Country Club’s Old Course, which played host to the LPGA in 2007 and 2010. I found it a more forgiving layout and rank it at the top of the list, with Suwan. Here our United Nations foursome of Oliver Kinable from Active Golf in Belgium, Mikael Jenson from Krone Golf Tours in Denmark, and Julien Bacques from TGR Golfreisen in Austria was accented by my caddie, Bai, or “James Bond,” as she was nicknamed in honor of her caddie number of 007. She embraced the moniker, telling me shortly into the round: “You good golfer. Play bad, I kill you.”
From there we boarded a jet and headed north to the wonderful city of Chiang Mai, which gave us a welcomed respite from the Bangkok heat. The following day proved to be a memorable one. In short order I found myself atop an elephant plodding along through stream and forest. Then it was on to Baan Tong Luang, or the Hill People Village where some of us spent time with a most remarkable woman, Manna, of the Long Necked Karen tribe, who spoke surprisingly good English that she said he picked up merely by listening to tourists. She also spoke her native language, Thai, and some Burmese. It was an extraordinary encounter.
The day was not done; however, as we traveled up and up and up, well above Chiang Mai to the Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep. As we wandered the temple ground, priests were called to prayer and their chants filled the air as the sun set. After watching two Thai women receive a blessing from a monk, I was invited to do the same. I did not understand a word as he gently tapped my head with sticks that had been dipped in water and recited centuries-old incantations. To be sure this was a non-traditional day for someone on a golf trip and just another example of “the experience”.
The following day found us back on the golf course and I was lucky enough to be paired with three women, Heidi Vössing from Classic Golf Tours in Germany , Hannelore Kraus from Golfcutur in Germany, and Evelyn Gruber from Golf Travel Consulting in Austria and the USA, at Chiang Mai Highlands. It turned into a day beyond my wildest dreams. Between my three playing partners and the four caddies, I had seven women rooting on every drive, iron shot and putt.
My final round of golf only lasted 13 holes but it was a memorable one. My American playing partner turned in one of the best runs of golf in his life, carding 3 birdies on the first nine and lipping out another as he shot a one-under-par 35.
There must be mention of another cultural asset, and that is Thai food. In the ornate dining rooms of the five-star hotels where we stayed, in the more modest restaurants where we ate many meals, in the opulent clubhouses, or via street vendors plying their trade throughout the country, the cuisine is fantastic and ridiculously affordable. A massive buffet that would cost $250 in the United States was $60 in Bangkok’s finest hotels. Three freshly prepared meals and two large beers served on a small plastic table in an alleyway off a thoroughfare of the same city totaled less than $9.50.
Another bit of the “the experience” to soak up. It’s no wonder that golfers return to Thailand in droves. For more information on planning your Asian Golf Tour, contact Athlone Golf Tours on 1 800 488 1857.