Thailand

Yeah, for sure!

Have a great trip!

Can't wait to hear about your trip!

Absolutely!  Hope to get there one day too!

Hello,

The last 2 years during Covid, I went to Myrtle Beach instead of Thailand. I didn't want to jump through the stupid rules that the Thai government set up, but hey, it is their country. I was last here on February 8, 2020. I arrived, this trip, in Thailand on January 20. A little bit of history. I first came to Thailand in 2000, but started playing golf in 2019. I am staying in Jomtien/Pattaya area and there is about 25 golf courses within in 1 hour drive from here. They range from really really bad to very very good. Every year the Siam Country Club hosts the LPGA Honda Classic.

There are many golf groups. For some reason they are called golf societies. Don't know why. Most are run out of a bar, but the one I use is not a bar, but a business just to take people to play golf. I use a service called Thaiger Line golf. A German guy and his Thai wife run the business. When you get to their shop, you will see signup sheets for the next week of courses they will be going to. There are 2 courses per day, Monday thru Friday. The vans leave at 10 am or 11 am and take you to the course you signed up for. They then come back at the end of the round to take you back to the shop. The fee you pay includes green fees, caddie fee, and transportation. If carts are mandatory, then that fee is included as well. If carts are not required then you pay that fee at the golf course or you can walk if you want. The caddie tip is not included. The recommended tip is 300 baht. They would have to be pretty bad if I would only give 300 baht.

In Thailand, caddies are required by law. It was a make work program set up a number of years ago by the government. About 98% of the caddies are women and most are ok at reading the green and letting you know about the layout of the course. Also everybody has there own cart and the caddie does the driving. So if there are 2 groups waiting to tee off, it will look really crowded

My report will be laid out similar to the report I did last year when I was at MB.

One thing to note is that I have not played golf outside since November 30 at MBN Kings North. I do spend a lot of time at the simulator, which helps my driving, but for me, it screws up my chipping.

I am 63 years old and play off a 17 handicap.

Day 1 January 23, 2023

Course: Pattaya Country Club

First Time Playing Course: No

Cost : 2470 baht ($77)

Cart Fee: 700 baht ($22)

Caddie Tip: 500 Baht ($15)

Caddie Name: Pueng. My caddie was the one on the far right in the picture

Caddie Rating: 7/10

Course Conditions: Decent, but to be fair I have only golfed this time of year, so I don't know if these are normal conditions or not

Greens: Very fast and had lots of undulations. 

Scoring: Terrible first 3 holes, then settled down and played ok.

POP: 5 hours

Breakfast: Kungs. There is no shortage of places to eat here

Dinner: Hops House. Large restaurant. Poor service but some of the best ribs I have had outside of USA

Overall Rating: 7.5/10. Could have had a better start.

Tomorrow: Greenwood Golf Course.

Thanks @kano-mike for sharing! It looks like a good start!

Day 2 January 24, 2023

Course: Greenwood Golf Club

First Time Playing Course: No

Distance from golf shop: 55 minutes

Cost : 2470 baht ($77)

Cart Fee: Included

Caddie Tip: 500 baht ($15)

Caddie Name: Yuan. My caddie was the one in the center. Just barely worth the 500 baht tip

Caddie Rating: 4/10

Course Conditions: Decent

Greens: Very fast, very hard and on the smaller side. Would not hold anything

Yardage: 6073 from the yellow tees.

Scoring: Terrible due to hard greens and breezy day

POP: 3.5 hours

Breakfast: Harry's. The English breakfast was pretty good

Dinner: Lee's Diner. Pad Thai was average

Overall Rating: 5/10. No 3 putts, so that was ok.

Tomorrow: Bangpra Golf Club

Great reports.   Thank you!

Interesting read!

Spent a year in Takhli Thailand in 1966-1977, planning bombing missions into North Vietnam.  Didn’t have much time to play golf.  

Would be a cool Trip!

It is a very fun trip. However, I have purchased a house near Conway and won't be going this year. It is the first time since the year 2000, except for during the pandemic, I won't be going. I think I may have one more trip left in me.