Golf Courses

The aristocrat of golf courses in Thailand, the Royal Hua Hin Golf Course was designed in 1924 by Scottish railway engineer, A.O. Robins. While perhaps not possessing the skills of a Jack Nicklaus team, Robins” creation has impressed golfers from all over the world for decades. As one local English expat says, “This is like an English country course, if it wasn”t for the temperature, you could be playing in England”. With an area of over 180 acres, the RHHGC sits at the base of the Khao Hin Lek Fai hill, just across the tracks from the Hua Hin Railway station.

As you walk the course, you”re afforded views of the hills, temples, and the sea, and some very good golf–with not a water hazard to be seen!
Only a 5 minute walk from the beach with the most natural surroundings of any course in the country, complete with resident monkeys, this is truly the course in Thailand for any visitor to try.

About 2 km north of Hua Hin, in Cha Am, next to Blue Lagoon Resort, Palm Hills, was designed by Max Wexler and opened to the public in 1991. Two distinct nine hole sections are separated by the beautiful clubhouse and an outcropping from the hills around which Palm Hills has been constructed. There is plenty of water on this course that winds around lakes and escarpments but not so that the average golfer should stock up on balls.

Greens at Palm Hills can be Augusta fast and those who hit their pitch shots hard should be very careful. Last year”s problems with the roughs on the front nine have all been solved and Palm Hills is once again a beautiful garden course. The fairways are in good shape and have been widened and many new trees have been planted on some fairways that will be giving even serious hitters a problem in a few years.
This is a very popular course, probably due both to its beauty and its easily reached location midway between Cha Am and Hua Hin on Petchkasem Road.

Take in the stunning views of Hua Hin”s newest golf course, The Banyan Golf Course. Designed by Pirapon Namatra, opened for about a year now, Banyan Golf Club has beautiful views of the Gulf of Thailand from the hills just south of town. The teak clubhouse has a fully stocked pro shop and changing facilities and a restaurant overlooking the 9th and 18th greens. The club”s signature hole is the par 3, 15, with a dramatic sea view and a sleeping lion island. Nothing can compare with the initial impact of the natural environment, as the course has been built around the lie of the land with the trees and rock formations as nature intended.

The grass has been laid in many areas and is already looking dense and green, pineapples have been planted and the whole area imparts a feeling of peace and tranquility. With spectacular far reaching views this course will certainly be one to have on your list of golf in Hua Hin. Other facilities available are the, 2000sqm clubhouse, an International cuisine Restaurant, luxury locker rooms, Pro shop, and a view point veranda.

Designed by Jack Nicklaus, Springfield is considered to be one of the finest golf resorts in Thailand with amenities as good as anywhere in the world and a course designed to meet the demands of a recognized championship venue. With Kelly Cherkowski as the resident professional, there are few courses with the professional services of Springfield.

There are five tees for each hole but only the brave will dare the gold distance. This course will challenge the expert but not overwhelm one who does not play so regularly. With such a beautiful clubhouse and the Jack Nicklaus name, this golf course is so beautiful and so well maintained, Springfield is a true pleasure to play.

Looking over the site of Black Mountain Golf Club now, it is hard to believe that December 2006, this was a lush jungle and pineapple plantations. Now with all of the construction completed and the final grassing has been done. The course is now open to the public, and what a joy it is for golf lovers. The course is located just 5 kilometers from the Blue Lagoon seaside resort of Hua Hin in Thailand, which is fast becoming the choice retirement area of Thailand for Thais and expats alike.

The aim of the designer, Phil Ryan, was to create a golf course that looks as natural as possible and maintains many of the features of the site. The most important features are the natural creeks that run throughout the course and the natural rocks that have been used as design features on many of the holes. As many of the original trees, as possible, have been kept and many new trees have been planted to frame the holes. Very important in the design concept, was to create a course that could be a test for the top golfers in the world but also very playable and enjoyable to the average golfer. All the holes provide the golfer with a safe route but for the more adventurous player there is a higher risk option with a potential greater reward. The design offers generous fairways for the shorter hitter but becoming narrower for the longer hitter.

The greens are large with many pin positions, with different degrees of difficulty, and the course is well protected by beautifully sculptured bunkers. Much thought went into the choice of grass, and it was decided to use seashore paspalum for the tees, fairways and rough. This grass gives a wonderful playing surface and a beautiful emerald green color. It was decided to use tifeagle bermuda grass on the greens. This hybrid bermuda grass is now recognized as the best putting surface in tropical areas. No expense has been spared to make the golf course as good as possible and the same is true of the clubhouse. The view from the clubhouse is truly stunning, and gives a panoramic view of the whole course. The clubhouse facilities on offer include fine dining in the restaurant, a well stocked golf shop and luxurious locker rooms. Black Mountain offers service and dining to a standard that is normally only found in the finest hotels.

The often small and hidden and very undulating greens and sometimes sadistic pin placement will bring you back to reality after the walk down the fairways though. The distance between many greens and tees can be quite long so a cart is necessary for many here. In fact, should you not get a cart, some of the caddies here can get downright surly. On this score, Majestic Creek could learn a lot from Palm Hills. A local Zoysia grass is used on both fairways and greens. This spongy grass provides incredible lies, as long as you stay in bounds, and using a native grass requires less water and chemicals than non-native varieties.

Though located inland from the beach, the Majestic Creek is located just north of the Royal Summer Palace in Hua Hin. The “Creek” offers spectacular mountain views above the Gulf of Thailand.

The Sawang Resort is located in a private valley 3km off Petchkasem Rd just north of Petchburi. In Khao Yoi District, this retreat is great for a family getaway from Bangkok or a day trip from Hua Hin. Sawang Resort Golf Club is a fair test for all classes of players. Lying in perfect harmony with its surroundings Sawang compliments Petchaburi’s rolling hills and is a good alternative to the busier resort courses in Hua Hin iteslf. The lay out looks like its always been there with a mixture of both water and tree lined holes.

Overall Sawang is an enjoyable course that appeals to all standards of player but with a few surprises for the lower handicapper wanting some challenge from the course.There is a hotel with pool, health club and stables and a beautiful course for the golfer. There is a lot of water at Sawang so bring some extra balls. The course is quite challenging but also provides opportunities for those who like to plan their game. The staff are very friendly and the greens and fairways are well maintained. Sawang offers package rates which combine rooms and unlimited golf and complementary breakfast.

The Hua Hin Seoul Golf Club opened in 1987 and undoubtedly started the trend that established the area as a golfing paradise. Formerly known as the Milford Golf Club, this is a par 72, 18-hole course was designed by American, Robert MacFarlane. Set on 300 acres of land in two valleys adjacent to the beach and hotel, players can enjoy spectacular mountain and ocean views.

This course offers a change from the longer championship courses. Fantastic sea views are one of the features of this unique layout where accuracy and placement are more important than length to score well. This course proves to be difficult, and even some of the local professionals have trouble matching par here. Fast greens that are not easily read, will put your putting skills to the ultimate test!

Near the Cha Am-Pranburi bypass, Lake View, is easily accessible from Hua Hin, Cha Am and Blue Lagoon Resort. Designed by Roger Packard in an area originally knows for its pineapple production, Lake View has beautiful fairways often leading to hidden greens. Opened to the public in 1993, Lake View has thousands of palms and native trees on its undulating hills that make one wonder how it could have ever been a plantation–a credit to Packard”s ability.

Lake View also offers a first class hotel with 75 rooms for those on a business holiday or wanting to get in more than a mere 18 holes each day. The hotel offers function rooms, Thai and international restaurants and tennis and squash courts. An ideal place for a day of golf or to schedule a seminar or retreat where work is not the only thing on the participants minds.

Kaeng Krachan Country Club and Golf Resort is part of the 14,000 acre Kaeng Krachan Estate in Petchaburi Province, just about 40 kilometres from Blue Lagoon Resort. Surrounded by the natural beauty of mountains, forests and lakes, the golf course was designed by the Thai designer Cherd Boonyaratavej. A second course designed by Jack Nicholas is now ready to play. A third 18-hole course designed by Greg Norman is also planned.

Kraeng Krachan is an undulating course which requires accuracy off the tee to avoid losing your ball amongst the many trees and bamboo forest which line the fairways. The fairways are beautiful to play off and the greens can be tricky even though not appearing to have a lot of movement in them. Several natural lakes form the basis for the water hazard that come into play on 6 holes. All in all, a test of skill at every level of the game.