5 ball thai groups playing at your golf club - Phuket

[ThaiGolfer1958]

this is a very annoying topic for many golfers but doesnt seem to worry thai players.

 

at our club in Phuket BCCC (Blue Canyon) which is supposed to be a members club and members pay a yearly fee of 70,000

the club has now opened it doors to all and sundry who are interested to play and now allows 5 ball groups to play which

are mainly thai players. this has infuriated members as the 5 ball groups are slow, most are non members and turn up to

play golf dressed as clowns (or likely got dressed in the dark), we were initially lead to believe that 5 ball groups would only

be allowed to tee off at 1.30/2pm and not interfere but this has just opened the door and now they play and book tee times

as they please.

 

one of the main reasons is because the club offers a cheap 5 ball group rate thb7,000 all in buggy fee/caddie fee/green fee

so cost reduces to around 1,400 per player, whereas guests would have been paying about 3,200/3,500 all in prior covid,

so obviously its the cheap cost of rounds which is bringing them to the clubs, the ones i question if they will continue to

play when and if the green fees increase again due to high season, they tell me no its to expensive. so what benefit is

the club getting, to me the only real benefit maybe for the caddies as they are getting much more work in the low season

but the courses are taking a beating, the greens at BCCC (lakes course) now are in such horrible state and condition and

this is mainly due to the increased traffic at a once members club which has opened its doors to anyone. because of the

damage on many of the greens on the lakes course we have had to start a local rule amongst members of allowing them

to move the ball on the putting greens so that they are not putting through sands or big ruts or cracked muddy areas.

 

the other issue is the loudness of them playing, seems they have inherited a bit of chinese in them and when they talk 

it is like a screaming match... very excitable people it seems when you put a little white ball and golf club in their hands,

constantly having to stop play and waiting for them to quieten down before you can play your game.

 

there also seems to have crept into BCCC the two rules system, seems thais can do as they please and members cannot.

 

now i have been playing golf for many many years and in many many countries and i have never seen or heard of 5 ball groups

being allowed to play,  you dont see world wide tournaments played as 5 ball groups.

 

or maybe as members at BCCC we have been spoilt as generally we could book tee times as pleased and had a good run of

the club or maybe BCCC just want to get rid of its members... members dont have any priority at BCCC anymore and we are

still the ones funding the club paying 70,000 for yearly dues. 

 

at the time of writing this the canyon course is being upgraded, all greens and tee boxes have been removed and new turf laid

this was inevitable as the greens were becoming full of cow grass and different grades of grass so putting was always different.

sometimes putting through 3 different grains of grass which made it impossible to gauge the speed. but in 6 months time

when the greens and tee boxes should be finished the canyon course should be in an excellent condition to play again.

 

so what is my point - BCCC always had a strict policy of max players per group 4, and 5 ball groups played at other clubs like

Phuket Country Club or Loch Palm or Mission Hills, please change back to this policy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[topt]

23 minutes ago, ThaiGolfer1958 said:

now i have been playing golf for many many years and in many many countries and i have never seen or heard of 5 ball groups

being allowed to play,

Really? Then you have been very lucky. I can remember playing behind a 6 ball group of locals in Bali about 17 years ago and have played in 5/6 balls with locals in the Philippines over 20 years ago. 

 

I agree it is not great being behind a 5 ball, especially if you are a 2 or 3 ball, but around Pattaya on many courses it is the norm. Thai Navy course even has a sign in the lockers saying 5/6 balls must have carts. One course we play regularly has 8 balls............and no I am not exaggerating. So welcome to the new normal......

 

If the greens deteriorate as much as you say then that is another issue entirely as that does not happen on most of the courses here even in high season January/February when the course are literally flooded with Koreans playing 36 holes a day.

I know you don't have as much choice there in Phuket so guess you have to just suck it up.........or get a load of "members" together and make your collective voice known. It may not be more useful then ranting on here but you never know.

 

 

[scubascuba3]

5 balls are quicker than a 3 ball then 2 ball, yes they dress like clowns but they hate the sun, they just need the big clown shoes

[Big Joke]

[ThaiGolfer1958]

4 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

5 balls are quicker than a 3 ball then 2 ball, yes they dress like clowns but they hate the sun, they just need the big clown shoes

not at BC or even at Phuket Country Club once you get stuck behind them they are never courteous and allow you to pass even thou they can see your re much faster and waiting every hole to play your shot.

 

[ThaiGolfer1958]

4 hours ago, topt said:

Really? Then you have been very lucky. I can remember playing behind a 6 ball group of locals in Bali about 17 years ago and have played in 5/6 balls with locals in the Philippines over 20 years ago. 

 

I agree it is not great being behind a 5 ball, especially if you are a 2 or 3 ball, but around Pattaya on many courses it is the norm. Thai Navy course even has a sign in the lockers saying 5/6 balls must have carts. One course we play regularly has 8 balls............and no I am not exaggerating. So welcome to the new normal......

 

If the greens deteriorate as much as you say then that is another issue entirely as that does not happen on most of the courses here even in high season January/February when the course are literally flooded with Koreans playing 36 holes a day.

I know you don't have as much choice there in Phuket so guess you have to just suck it up.........or get a load of "members" together and make your collective voice known. It may not be more useful then ranting on here but you never know.

 

 

yeah its a pain in the <deleted>... 

 

[scubascuba3]

2 minutes ago, ThaiGolfer1958 said:

not at BC or even at Phuket Country Club once you get stuck behind them they are never courteous and allow you to pass even thou they can see your re much faster and waiting every hole to play your shot.

 

a 3 ball and 2 ball won't let you through either, but golfers generally are bad at calling people through

[Lacessit]

I usually hit off between 6.30 and 7 am, most big groups of players aren't even out of bed by then.

[LNKDES1]

9 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

5 balls are quicker than a 3 ball then 2 ball, yes they dress like clowns but they hate the sun, they just need the big clown shoes

This is absolutely incorrect. A 2-ball teeing off first, followed by a 3-ball would definitely finish before a 5-ball would. Time spent on the greens putting would prove this. I've unfortunately played behind 5-ball groups. The problem I have is that they refuse to let you go through. And the marshalls, if there are any, don't have the balls to approach the 5-ball group and tell them to either speed up play or let faster groups go through.

[LNKDES1]

3 hours ago, Lacessit said:

I usually hit off between 6.30 and 7 am, most big groups of players aren't even out of bed by then.

I'm with you. I live about 40 min from my home course. I can tee off at 0630, play my round, sometimes hitting two balls, finish, shower, and be home by 1000-1015. My caddie loves it. She can get 2 customers in a day. The wifey loves it too. She's always got honey dos for me.

[tgw]

3 hours ago, Lacessit said:

I usually hit off between 6.30 and 7 am, most big groups of players aren't even out of bed by then.

wait until they let them tee off at an odd hole

[DJ54]

I recall once in China a 5 ball group we were behind.... painful and we asked (caddie asked) if we could play thru nope ... we were a 3 ball waiting to play at every hole eventually makes it so you can’t enjoy 

the round no matter how much patience you have.

 

if this happens often the course will loose customers... 

[scubascuba3]

8 hours ago, LNKDES1 said:

This is absolutely incorrect. A 2-ball teeing off first, followed by a 3-ball would definitely finish before a 5-ball would. Time spent on the greens putting would prove this. I've unfortunately played behind 5-ball groups. The problem I have is that they refuse to let you go through. And the marshalls, if there are any, don't have the balls to approach the 5-ball group and tell them to either speed up play or let faster groups go through.

Wrong. The 2 ball and 3 ball would most likely be stuck behind groups in front, there is a reason groups join up to make 5 balls

[scubascuba3]

8 hours ago, LNKDES1 said:

I'm with you. I live about 40 min from my home course. I can tee off at 0630, play my round, sometimes hitting two balls, finish, shower, and be home by 1000-1015. My caddie loves it. She can get 2 customers in a day. The wifey loves it too. She's always got honey dos for me.

The guys who play 2 balls are the worse, let's hope no one is waiting behind when you do it

[Thailand]

3 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

The guys who play 2 balls are the worse, let's hope no one is waiting behind when you do it

I am sure they pay double the green fee! ???? 

[Thailand]

There is one club in Chiangmai province that allowed 8 balls provided all

had a cart. Mainly only Koreans in the "high season" but now of course they are not here and unlikely to be coming this year at least.

Subsequently some good deals available for us "locals"!

[mr mr]

will it effect your round of 97 that much ?

 

i played gold 1 time here and almost walked off the first tee when i saw 62 players walking up to play in our group. this thai way i was told...... of course it was. 

[TigerandDog]

Why would you even pay for membership at any golf course in Thailand? There's absolutely no benefit in holding a membership. As for BCCC always having a 4 ball only group rule, I don't believe that as I've played there many times of the past 15 years and there were ALWAYS groups of 5 and 6 on the course. As for not being allowed to play through, did you ever think of asking your caddy to speak to the group ahead? It's worked every time for us when it's looked like we weren't going to get to play through. You need to remember these guys have limited attention span, and when asked by our caddies to play through they've NEVER refused. In short your approach to golf in Thailand is all wrong. Suck it up buddy, as that is the norm on the majority, if not all, golf courses in Thailand.

Edited August 28, 2020 by TigerandDog

[Berkshire]

On 8/27/2020 at 8:46 AM, ThaiGolfer1958 said:

one of the main reasons is because the club offers a cheap 5 ball group rate thb7,000 all in buggy fee/caddie fee/green fee

so cost reduces to around 1,400 per player,

It's pretty clear your club is encouraging 5-ball groups.  Courses are doing their best to increase revenue.  If this works, then they've made the right decision.  By the way, 5-balls...sometimes 6....is normal out here in Chiang Mai.  See them all the time.  I play in 5-ball groups regularly.  No big deal. 

[Lacessit]

On 8/28/2020 at 4:35 AM, scubascuba3 said:

The guys who play 2 balls are the worse, let's hope no one is waiting behind when you do it

Nothing wrong with playing two balls, I do it myself occasionally. Common courtesy to check for any players behind to avoid holding up play. My walking speed is such I have outpaced players in carts.

[scubascuba3]

57 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Nothing wrong with playing two balls, I do it myself occasionally. Common courtesy to check for any players behind to avoid holding up play. My walking speed is such I have outpaced players in carts.

playing 2 balls is ok unless you are holding up the group behind, some people are oblivious to people behind

[Mover1]

Sorry OP but I had to laugh at the snobbyness of your opening post, haha!

 

I'm a member at Loch Palm and Red Mountain, us plebs have the same problem with the greens at Loch Palm at the moment - they're sandy and either rock hard or drenched, each green seems different. I really think its because of the weather rather than the traffic. Torrential rain followed by scorching sun could do that, not much the groundsmen can do about it.

 

Red Mountain's course seems to be better, maybe their greens are a different type of grass or something.

 

As for 5 balls we've only been held up once by a 5 ball in front. A marshall came round to check and they let us through after two holes when they see us waiting. No problem for us at all, seems we were lucky.

 

A few of us are going to try Blue Canyon in a week or two. If its any good we might make a 5 ball next time and get a discount, looks like a good deal ????

 

 

 

 

[rughead]

Here in Hat Yai -the 3 courses always have groups of 5 / or 6 players . Like old mate says before , let the caddie ask to play through, wev,e never had a problem .

[smutcakes]

I get so irate by slow play it drives me insane on the weekends. The performance of the martials is a particular bug bear, in that they are to scared or never ever visible to tell groups to hurry up... The only time i have seen them do anything was when the course owner was coming to play and they were practically pushing people around.

 

Getting irate with slow play is part of my weekend ritual now, if its a quick round i am frustrated there is nothing to gripe at afterwards.. and feel cheated....

[graeme64]

On 8/31/2020 at 8:23 PM, scubascuba3 said:

playing 2 balls is ok unless you are holding up the group behind, some people are oblivious to people behind

Also if you are keeping up with the 5 ball in front of you - hit as many as you like surely?? your not going anywhere. dont you agree?? This has not been an issue for me for ages - but i do play 2 balls [occasionally]  if I tee of early and no one behind me and ALWAYS look to make sure no one behind me waiting. 

[graeme64]

On 9/11/2020 at 8:42 AM, smutcakes said:

I get so irate by slow play it drives me insane on the weekends. The performance of the martials is a particular bug bear, in that they are to scared or never ever visible to tell groups to hurry up... The only time i have seen them do anything was when the course owner was coming to play and they were practically pushing people around.

 

Getting irate with slow play is part of my weekend ritual now, if its a quick round i am frustrated there is nothing to gripe at afterwards.. and feel cheated....

having faults is ok if you know what they are ! that post made me laugh. hope this response did not - make you irate.  

[scubascuba3]

2 hours ago, graeme64 said:

Also if you are keeping up with the 5 ball in front of you - hit as many as you like surely?? your not going anywhere. dont you agree?? This has not been an issue for me for ages - but i do play 2 balls [occasionally]  if I tee of early and no one behind me and ALWAYS look to make sure no one behind me waiting. 

With no one behind you it's never a problem, but if you use 2 balls even behind a slow 5 ball it won't go down well with the group behind they will just think you are part of the problem. Slow players tend not to notice what's going on behind them

[mighty]

You've just now realised you get nothing for your 70k a year? lol.........