city golf Thai treat: the riskreward fourth at Thai CC is one of Bangkok's great parfives; the superblyappointed clubhouse at Thai CC overlooks the home hole (inset) 68
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iven the economic kudos attached to playing golf in China, not to mention the ever-strengthening renminbi, a weekend round on an upscale course in Guangdong can cost the visiting golfer upwards of HK$2,400. Okay, this generally includes transportation, lunch, cart hire and a little something for the caddie, but even so, this seems wrong. This seems especially wrong when you consider the potential rigmarole of actually crossing the border: overzealous immigration officials, cursed health declaration forms and – horror of horrors – that blasted yellow bus. “It’d be cheaper flying down to Bangkok for the day,” I told a similarly disillusioned golfing chum a few months ago, “and probably less hassle.” I had it all planned. Take the early morning flight, grab a cab to Thai Country Club, which has the advantage of being, a) a great course and b) only twenty minutes from Bangkok’s new(ish) international
HK Golfer・OCT/NOV 2009
HKGOLFER.COM
Thai Country Club HHHHH
The HK Golfer Guide to Golf in the City of Angels airport, play eighteen holes, wash down a fiery chicken curry with a swift couple of bottles of Singha and scurry back to catch the last plane home. Judging by my calculations we’d return to our respective apartments just before midnight. It would be an exhausting day but, I reckoned, no more tiring than lugging our clubs over to Dongguan and back. It would have been cheaper too, largely due to the fact that we’d have expunged 20,000 Asia Miles on the flights. Point proven, albeit with an asterisk or two. Flying to the Thai capital for a one-day golfing trip is, of course, hardly ideal. You’d be far too rushed. There’d be no time to linger on the clubhouse verandah discussing that brilliant par-save at the HKGOLFER.COM
The class of the capital, Thai Country Club is owned and managed by the Peninsula Hotel group – and it really does show. The service is magnificent, F&B is first rate, the terracotta-coloured clubhouse, which rises magnificently from a lake overlooking the eighteenth hole, is superbly appointed. But the jewel in the crown is the Denis Griffiths-designed course, which was routinely awarded the Asian Tour’s “Venue of the Year” during its tenure as host of the season-ending Volvo Masters of Asia. Palm-fringed fairways, large, sophisticated green complexes and the almost constant threat of water – resulting in more than a handful of memorable riskreward holes – characterize this most appealing of courses. Sensibly, Griffiths has given width to his landing areas and kept the number of forced carries to a minimum, making this an undoubtedly challenging, yet very playable course for players of average ability. Preferential rates and packages are given to guests of the Bangkok Peninsula (see sidebar), although regardless of wherever you choose to stay, TCC is a must. YARDAGE: 7,157 PAR: 72 DESIGNED BY DENIS GRIFFITHS GREEN FEE: THB3,600-6,000 GETTING THERE: 60 minutes from downtown Bangkok; 20 minutes from airport CONTACT: www.thaicountryclub.com HK Golfer・OCT/NOV 2009
Courtesy of Thai Country Club (course); Charles McLaughlin (clubhouse)
The Best of Bangkok
fourteenth and there would certainly be not time to experience the muscle pummeling and joint twisting that is a Thai massage. But crucially, there would be no time for any more golf - and given the quality of Bangkok's courses, this would be unforgiveable. Thanks to the Thai golf boom of the 1990s the city is almost saturated with courses – and they all have one thing in common: pancake-flat terrain. If you’re hoping for sweeping vistas and dramatic shifts in elevation then you should catch a domestic flight to Koh Samui and try your luck on the island’s only track, Santiburi Samui, a track so mountainous you’d be better off wearing crampons than softspikes. As a result, the capital’s courses work hard on impressing golfing tourists with their strategic design, their excellent conditioning, well-appointed clubhouses or their faultless service. A select few manage all four, while very nearly all offer tremendous value for money. Here is a smattering of the best of Bangkok, places where you really get more bang for your baht.
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