Golf In Chiangmai

[VegasVic]

Are there any liknsmen out there who have played the courses around CM and are willing to give some accurate input as to best deals(both in quality layout and price) in the CM area. I am a low handicaper who is thinking of retiring in the CM area and so I would be especially interested in any good courses that offer a annual pass or reasonable membership, because I would like to play often. Thanks in advance for any replies.

[Rinrada]

Although i dont play golf I recon one day will have to give it a go.

Great courses around CM and if your looking for an all in one there aint much to beat the Northern Heritage Resort.

We/wife(incl brother/wife)stayed there for a week last visit and it was beautiful...if you want a QUIET time...also 1 week in Dun2 wan for the noise....

My own fav (and local Bar) however has to be the Highlands.I have watched it being build (on visits) over the last few years and it now looks the bees knees.Our place is on the hillside/mountain overlooking it and on a good day can always guarantee a wave from Tiger or Mr T....

The owner is a real nice guy (also owns another G.G in Bangkok)and will be happy to discuss any requirements......FOUrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

http://www.chiangmaihighlands.com/home.html

[BossHogg]

Although i dont play golf I recon one day will have to give it a go.

Great courses around CM and if your looking for an all in one there aint much to beat the Northern Heritage Resort.

We/wife(incl brother/wife)stayed there for a week last visit and it was beautiful...if you want a QUIET time...also 1 week in Dun2 wan for the noise....

My own fav (and local Bar) however has to be the Highlands.I have watched it being build (on visits) over the last few years and it now looks the bees knees.Our place is on the hillside/mountain overlooking it and on a good day can always guarantee a wave from Tiger or Mr T....

The owner is a real nice guy (also owns another G.G in Bangkok)and will be happy to discuss any requirements......FOUrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

couldnt agree more! the highlands is one of the finest courses in Thailand.Immaculate.there is a large expat golfing society here you maybe interested in playing with.They play at different courses and get some great discounts.Nice guys too....oh yeh its called the chiangmai social golfers club. I think they have a website

http://www.chiangmaihighlands.com/home.html

[Rodger56]

I really enjoy Highlands also. Another course that is very nice is Mae Jo golf club. It is a little closer to Chiang mai and is not as expensive. Green Valley is a country club in Chiang mai and you can buy a life time membership that is not that expensive. I also really like playing Royal Chiang Mai. It is about 45 minutes north of Chiang Mai and is one of my favorite courses. It is the lest expensive of them. They are all very challenging.

Last summer all of the courses in Chiang mai and Chiang Rai ran specials for the people that live in Thailand. Sometimes they let visitors play using the specials also.

I will be in Chiang Mai for the summer so maybe we can play 18.

[Fore Man]

I live at GVCC and building a home there now. Lifetime memberships come with land purchases and that gets you a greens fee of just THB 400 on weekdays year-round and THB 500 on weekends and holidays. I don't know how much longer this will remain so, but for now it is a great bargain and the course is pretty good too. On the downside, it is close to Chiang Mai and gets mobbed by Japanese and Korean tourists during the high season and is the favorite of ex-pat and Thai golfers all year round. This popularity usually leads to long waits to tee-off or between holes while a four-or-fivesome takes their time out on the course. We have seen fistfights and rude behavior erupt between genteel players and often arrogant Northeast Asians who refuse to allow a faster group to overtake them. I played today and had this same problem with a group of 3 Singaporean players who absolutely refused to let my two-some pass through and also refused to allow us to "call hole" on the par 3's. They were strong, young players with long tee shots but nothing to back that up and their play was way too long. The marshals are rarely evident out on the course except during the high season and nobody here wants to tell a high-paying tourist "no". So we members with greatly reduced green fees suffer. GVCC is characterized by a lot of water hazards, strategically placed bunkering and lack of shade.

Mae Jo is also close by and they have a local membership rate that is offered in three tiers. You pay between THB 1,500 to THB 5,000 for the annual fee and this gets you green fee discounts, the size of which depends on the tier. If you play just 10-12 times over a year, it pays for itself in reduced fees. Mae Jo is a much more challenging course but also much more scenic. Don't count on finding too many knowledgable caddies there though. My favorite hole in all of Chiang Mai province is Mae Jo's #14, a 160+ yard par 3 featuring a high, overlooking tee box, requiring you to carry over a broad depression covered in scrub onto the large but weirdly-shaped green. The view from that tee is tremendous.

You can buy a membership at Chiang Mai-Lamphun but it is 45-minutes away from Chiang Mai city. That usually makes it less crowded and the scenery and layout are also superb.

I have played Highlands twice but found it too expensive and no low season discounts were offered last year. Perhaps this year. It is a nice layout and challenging too.

The Gassan Group has three courses now in the province and I like Lake City the best. But be prepared to lose a lot of balls your first time out...the name gives away the treacherous nature of this course. I once played with a 7-handicapper who hit 14 balls into the drink and walked away shaking his head.

I agree with the earlier poster that Royal Chiang Mai is a wonderful course, with great scenery and reasonable challenges. It is far enough north of the city that it is not as densely packed as GVCC or Mae Jo during the high season. It also has a great veranda restaurant overlooking the 9th & 18th greens; perfect for that post-game beer or lunch. While its green fees are less than elsewhere, they also do not offer low season or ex-pat discounts. I ask all the time and am repeatedly told "mai mi".

For me the best kept secret in the North is Santiburi Golf Course in Chiang Rai. You simply will be enthralled by the lush fairways that look like a giant green carpet at your feet. It is the best groomed course I have played in Thailand but I have not done any in Phuket or Samui so there are probably comparisons to be made there.

Enjoy your game!

Edited May 15, 2007 by skyman

[VegasVic]

I live at GVCC and building a home there now. Lifetime memberships come with land purchases and that gets you a greens fee of just THB 400 on weekdays year-round and THB 500 on weekends and holidays. I don't know how much longer this will remain so, but for now it is a great bargain and the course is pretty good too. On the downside, it is close to Chiang Mai and gets mobbed by Japanese and Korean tourists during the high season and is the favorite of ex-pat and Thai golfers all year round. This popularity usually leads to long waits to tee-off or between holes while a four-or-fivesome takes their time out on the course. We have seen fistfights and rude behavior erupt between genteel players and often arrogant Northeast Asians who refuse to allow a faster group to overtake them. I played today and had this same problem with a group of 3 Singaporean players who absolutely refused to let my two-some pass through and also refused to allow us to "call hole" on the par 3's. They were strong, young players with long tee shots but nothing to back that up and their play was way too long. The marshals are rarely evident out on the course except during the high season and nobody here wants to tell a high-paying tourist "no". So we members with greatly reduced green fees suffer. GVCC is characterized by a lot of water hazards, strategically placed bunkering and lack of shade.

Mae Jo is also close by and they have a local membership rate that is offered in three tiers. You pay between THB 1,500 to THB 5,000 for the annual fee and this gets you green fee discounts, the size of which depends on the tier. If you play just 10-12 times over a year, it pays for itself in reduced fees. Mae Jo is a much more challenging course but also much more scenic. Don't count on finding too many knowledgable caddies there though. My favorite hole in all of Chiang Mai province is Mae Jo's #14, a 160+ yard par 3 featuring a high, overlooking tee box, requiring you to carry over a broad depression covered in scrub onto the large but weirdly-shaped green. The view from that tee is tremendous.

You can buy a membership at Chiang Mai-Lamphun but it is 45-minutes away from Chiang Mai city. That usually makes it less crowded and the scenery and layout are also superb.

I have played Highlands twice but found it too expensive and no low season discounts were offered last year. Perhaps this year. It is a nice layout and challenging too.

The Gassan Group has three courses now in the province and I like Lake City the best. But be prepared to lose a lot of balls your first time out...the name gives away the treacherous nature of this course. I once played with a 7-handicapper who hit 14 balls into the drink and walked away shaking his head.

I agree with the earlier poster that Royal Chiang Mai is a wonderful course, with great scenery and reasonable challenges. It is far enough north of the city that it is not as densely packed as GVCC or Mae Jo during the high season. It also has a great veranda restaurant overlooking the 9th & 18th greens; perfect for that post-game beer or lunch. While its green fees are less than elsewhere, they also do not offer low season or ex-pat discounts. I ask all the time and am repeatedly told "mai mi".

For me the best kept secret in the North is Santiburi Golf Course in Chiang Rai. You simply will be enthralled by the lush fairways that look like a giant green carpet at your feet. It is the best groomed course I have played in Thailand but I have not done any in Phuket or Samui so there are probably comparisons to be made there.

Enjoy your game!

Skyman and Rodger, Thanks very much for the input, sorry for the belated reply to you guys. My wife and I have been back in the states since mid March and we are putting off any thoughts of living in Thailand for a while, or at least until the Chinese stock market unwinds and the baht comes back to a more reasonable level vs. the $, and also waiting to see if this ruling military regime actually does come out with a new constitution and open and fair elections. If we do eventually wind up picking up a place in Chaing Mai and spending part of the year there I would be glad to get together for a few rounds of golf on the various courses in the area.

[ThaiPauly]

I played Gassan Lakes on Monday..breathtaking scenery.

Don't know how well they are doing..we started at 12.30 and were the ONLY players for the rest of the day.

It was the nearest you could get to owning a private golf club !!

But I guess they make a lot out of finding "Lake Balls"...I lost 20 myself !!!

Edited June 1, 2007 by ThaiPauly

[BossHogg]

I played Gassan Lakes on Monday..breathtaking scenery.

Don't know how well they are doing..we started at 12.30 and were the ONLY players for the rest of the day.

It was the nearest you could get to owning a private golf club !!

But I guess they make a lot out of finding "Lake Balls"...I lost 20 myself !!!

Gassan Khuntan was the same a couple of montha ago when i played, we saw NO other golfers for the entire 18 holes. I played at Highlands last week and teed off at two in the afternoon and saw one fourball.We were able to get round in in 3 1/2 hours .(3 ball)

[Fore Man]

Anybody tried Gassan Marina--the new course in CM province? What's it like, green fees, difficulty etc. Thx.