Champneys

6 hours ago, jaidam said:

 Well worth having that coup a few years back to clean Thailand of corruption, wasn't it.

yes   Like all the previous coups. 

4 hours ago, Briggsy said:

"Money Laundering" includes "possessing the proceeds of crime".

 

It would appear a Thai court has deemed that Mr Van Laarhoven's wealth is the proceeds of crime.

 

I think in reality this is either because he has upset people here or the vast amounts of money he has brought here have been targetted by a gang involving police and other public officials or both.

You are right on the money Briggsy. It is all about the money and now saving face.

The Kings Cup being played at Phoenix is beyond a joke!. I rarely play there but did last week, the course is 2 steps up from being a goat track. A short goat track at that. That "new" 9 was a good waste of time and money.

It will be the absolute worst course any European players have set foot on as a pro, and I really hope they say that into a microphone.

Spot on Subpar. The Kings Cup will be an embarrassment to the whole golfing community around Pattaya. There are at least 9 greens at Phoenix that are a disgrace and not fit for my dog to play games on. It will take a miracle to get them to even 50% standard in 17 days time. The other greens are barely passable. That is not to mention all the other bad grassed areas. A European Tour Event should never be played on a course in such a state. Craziness.

Already 1 April today ?.................

Every day is April Fools Day here in Thailand. Just part of the brainwashing exercise.

Coming from someone whose preferred method is autocracy, and whose career earnings don't reflect his bank balance..

So many negative analogies to choose from. Why pick only one

It is amazing that this dictator can tell others to respect democratic rule. He must have been miss quoted.

Very easy to demand to be called a leader when you have a gun.

"Please understand that this [impounding vehicles] is the law and will remain so until it is cancelled. I have not yet cancelled it," he said."

Right, that's clear enough then.

Clear enough to show that the Army General is the law

And there thought that driving drunk was a law? So for these 2 holiday periods they will actually enforce that law. What about the rest of the laws and the rest of the year?

Also! If they were actually enforcing this law without prejudice to every person caught drunk driving! Then why did they only impound 2100 vehicles yet 23000 charges for drunk driving were made? Tea money collected maybe? It seems too many got through with only paying off the police and taking a ticket from them instead of impounding their vehicle like they were supposed to do.

Disgraceful isn't it, drunk driving is supposed to be illegal 24/7/365 but no one seems concerned except for publicity at certain holiday times to make it look as if they're actually concerned and doing something.

yeah all a big con. Do the powers really care?

Wonder where the records are kept to remodel a golf course in Thailand? 8 months would probably break the longest time record for 9 holes.And it still opened too quickly.

lol so funny if you drunk and kill pepeoles you paid money and you dont go jail but if you put bottle in basket you go jail only happen in Thaipand Land of smiles :-)

Land of Happiness too.

Appeal time, this isnt done, world media is going to be all over this.

One more nail in the Juntas coffin.

Not so sure about that. 99% of the people are happy with the Juntas performance as happiness has been brought back to the country.

A present for doing the wrong thing. It not make sense.

The Junta can make people happy by returning to democracy.

So are the palm trees!

I wouldn't normally suggest people visit a Wikipedia page, but on this occassion I think https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajabhakti_Park is an interesting read, and the reference sources aren't too extreme.

Thank you Waldroj. An educational read.

The only thing that's disgusting is the attitude of this apology for a so called leader.

Absolutely no tolerance to anything he doesn't like or agree with, his only reaction is to lash out yet how many times has he appealed for time and understanding ?

what a crock.

Yeah a big crock who thinks he can fool the people.

Yes all the groups in Thailand need to stand up for themselves. I am amazed they cannot see what is happening to their country.

Topt:

Phoenix also said that the Lakes would re-open on November 1st. Yet another deception. If they open it too soon,

the golfers will be very disappointed, and the course will deteriorate very quickly. They made this same mistake

when they re-opened the Ocean course in 2013, and the Mountain course last year. Wisdom is severely lacking

at Phoenix, so to generate more money, the desperate Club may open the Lakes prematurely.

Rather than being yet another disappointed customer, would it not be wiser to play golf at one of the many other

local courses that have better playing conditions, and offer better value? It is also annoying at Phoenix, to play at

a snails pace behind several groups of 5, while the marshals are no where to be found.

Re your second para - not sure where you got the idea that I play there regularly as have only played twice in recent memory and one of those was completely free.........(difficult to find better value than that )

Unfortunately it also likely that you will play behind 5 balls on almost any course at this time of the year. Starter put us off the 10th at Bangpra on Wednesday but unfortunately in front of the group in front were two 5 balls of Thai players. Saying that it was not a desperately slow round but could have been so much quicker.

Just to be clear, and agreeing with your general point, I have no plans to play Phoenix unless it was being offered at a considerably cheaper price.

Phoenix has 5 balls on the WEEKENDS. The larger numbers at this time and because of high season result in over 5 hour rounds. Unacceptable. Just money grabbing by the Management which will eventually back fire on them if it has not already. Even if Phoenix offered a considerably cheaper price the condition of the course would still keep people away. The ones that do play will not return. Phoenix needs to take a good look at itself in the mirror.

Doesn't this government and Army understand the more you do these stupid things the more attention it draws to the problem and the those it makes this administration looks.

They have the guns so they think they can do anything they want.

"Maintenance" on a park that has only been opened for a month? Just how frigging stupid do the Junta think people are?

The junta actually know how stupid the people are and use the stupidity against them. Hopefully one day the people will be able to open their eyes from the propaganda campaign. But not in my lifetime.

Gimme a break ........ nothing for ISIS here, when there are so many better targets in the Wes

It's propaganda, they're away with the fairies.

Everything single thing is propaganda

Proof once again that 'foreigners' are the cause of all problems in 'Land of Smiles'.

Yeah kick all foreigners out but impound their money to bring Happiness to the people.

Irrespective of who they are lets hope there is a legitimate reason for their arrest, if there is not we are moving down a dangerous road.

Far down the road already

I am so sad that the club I had chosen to join, of the numerous around the Pattaya area, after playing all the surrounding clubs , before deciding - turns out to be the worst, on a club - membership basis.

All the new owners had to do was talk to the existing shareholder / members, explain their plans and proposals - something that is the norm in business terms - but instead decided to ride roughshod over the existing shareholder / members - without consultation.

The Pattaya Sports Club, whose members are affected by this, chose not to support their members in this dispute. I wonder why?

How difficult is it to engage with shareholders in a company that you are taking over?

The "High Season" that is upon us now, already shows a drop in golfing numbers, and I presume an ever extending of "Privileges" (Free Golf Cart etc) as the numbers decline.

How easy it would have been to talk to the shareholder / members at the outset.

I live in (everlasting) hope !

Yes consultation was all that was needed. Sadly none. No commonsense by the new owners. No idea as to what makes a golf course tick and how to get people on your side. Big and Bossy. All the troubles could have been avoided with both sides winners. It is great to live in hope but never ever forget that the new owners can never be trusted. Some recent changes have only been brought about by financial necessity. The high season will see a drop in numbers as parts of the course are in sub standard condition, greens and tees especially, and the New Lakes Nine has taken longer to establish which will just put more pressure on the other nines. The heart of Phoenix is not beating well.

This is a new North Korea.

Yeah but the Thai people cannot see it YET. When they do it will be too late.

I love the Army Generals choice of clothes. Where can I get a jacket like that?