6 Month Golf Vacation In Phuket A Good Idea?

[Grashopa]

Hey guys, I'm planning on a 6 month vacation to Thailand to play golf, learn Thai and relax. Right now I am planning on flying over, renting a car and looking for a place near the Loch Palm course in Kathu.

What do you think? Any advice?

[pothai]

Hey guys, I'm planning on a 6 month vacation to Thailand to play golf, learn Thai and relax. Right now I am planning on flying over, renting a car and looking for a place near the Loch Palm course in Kathu.

What do you think? Any advice?

I would try Hua Hin area, Cheaper and far better selection of accomodation, courses, closer links to BKK etc. Plenty of Thai language schools or even personal tutors. I think a lot more relaxing than Phuket also. Your pound/dollar whatever will go a lot further...something to consider with the exceptionally strong Baht.

[Colonel_Mustard]

Hey guys, I'm planning on a 6 month vacation to Thailand to play golf, learn Thai and relax. Right now I am planning on flying over, renting a car and looking for a place near the Loch Palm course in Kathu.

What do you think? Any advice?

Soounds like a good plan. In Kathu you have easy access to the 2 courses at Loch Palm and the 2 courses at the country club as well as being close to both Phuket Town and Patong. There are a number of Thai language schoolsin Patong as well as the nightlife and beach. Kathu also seems to be one of the cheaper areas for accommodation.

From a personal perspective I prefer the lifestyle and courses in the North of the island (Blue Canyon, Mission Hills and Laguna) plus it's quite easy to get to the courses in Phang Nga from there. The North is quieter and more relaxing and has, in my opinion, the better beaches but the nightlife is a lot quieter, there aren't really many Thai language schools and acommodation is generally a bit more expensive.

[HDRIDER]

Hi

Have heard that Phuket is not cheap when it comes to golf??

[pothai]

Hi

Have heard that Phuket is not cheap when it comes to golf??

True, Hua Hin is cheaper and has a choice of courses in the surrounding area, also has the military course which is reasonable and green fees a fraction of the cost...along with accomodation maybe a better choice for long term although depends if the post really has to be in Phuket

[madmitch]

The cost of golf in Phuket is now much too high. Through an agent the cheapest course is Phuket Country Club at 2600 baht per round plus 250 baht for a caddy and an additional amount for a caddy tip. Equate that back to your home currency before deciding whether it is the right place.

There are ways for residents to play more cheaply at certain but not all courses.

Pattaya, Hua Hin or Bangkok are much cheaper in general, especially if you play midweek.

[pgrin]

If money is a consideration the best area for golf is around Pattaya. Join the Pattaya Sports Club and have access to 10 or more courses at a fraction of the cost of Phuket. It also is important to look at the time of year you are here. Low season rates are even cheaper but you have more rain to contend with. The best advice I can give if you have six months to burn is to try all areas before committing to one or just travel around like a touring pro.

[Grashopa]

Loch palm has a deal right now which equates to 1600 a round if you play 15 times a month.

I'm looking at the other places mentioned as well.. I want to stick to one place, but may travel around and check out each area first..

What kind of people play at loch palm or in Phuket in general? I run a tiny stock market fund(US), and a small venture capital fund based in china and I speak Japanese and some Korean. My main reason is to play golf and relax, but I'm also looking to meet people. Cost is the least of my worries, but I do hate spending money so we'll see how it plays out.

[tlang33]

Grashopa,

thats so funny, I was considering doing the same things. My new years resolution is to break 80! I wanted to immerse myself in golf for a few months in thailand.

I have been doing a lot of research on the best and most economical places a single can play golf.( i don't know anybody in thailand)

I have come to the conclusion that pattaya is the place for many reasons:

• the variety of courses. from cheap to expensive. from muni to tournament quaility.
  
• the golf societys that exist. as a single, I would like to play with other players in a social and maybe tournament setting.
  
• the proximity to bkk (where I will be arranging dates via online agencies)
  
• the ability to hop on a minivan to get to a golf course (thaigerline offers daily minbus service - which is key because taxi costs are huge)
  

I will be going in Mid January, so if you will be in the area and want to hook up for golf please contact me,

its always cheaper to golf with someone.

[candoman89]

I would say base yourself in Hua Hin; many more courses than Phuket; nicer "local" people (in general); and cheaper. Should be able to play most courses for around 1,000 Baht (plus caddy and tip). Much closer to Bangkok (tons of courses there) and is definitely quieter.

There are some courses too that cater to Korean and Japanese golfers (if you want to mix business with pleasure) but they tend to be nearer Bangkok and up Kanchanaburi way (from my experience).

A good source of information is the golf section of this website or thaigolfer dot com

Edited December 4, 2008 by candoman89

[Fore Man]

I live in Chiang Mai and recently played a round at Summit Green Valley with a Frenchman in his late 40s and his Thai GF touring the North from their home and business located in Phuket. He told me that he was very displeased with the high pricing for golf in Phuket, the massive influx of Northeast Asian golfers and was quite elated at the quality of our courses in the CM area, as well as their very reasonable green fees. Chiang Mai also has a lot of language schools and a nighltlife, albeit not the same as in BKK and the beach resorts. Accommodation is also far less expensive. We simply don't have the same volume of long term foreigners which inflate rentals in other popular Thai locales. As an aside, my wife and I lived in Pattaya for a while after spending a lot of time there as annual visitors. Let me tell you that visiting Pattaya and living there full-time are not at all the same thing. Like us, you may get weary from the huge density of transient Thais looking for jobs and the high traffic volume and frequent jams. Shopkeeper arrogance and greed are prevalent too; they take keen advantage of farangs. Especially tiresome are the motorcycles--they are everywhere and make driving a real chore. But the Chonburi region does indeed have a plethora of excellent golf courses to select from. The real issue for me is that Pattaya is far hotter and much more humid than Chiang Mai, even in the cool season. I played three rounds in November and couldn't believe how hot it was! If you have never spent a lot of time in Pattaya I suggest you give it a test first before making commitments. I encourage you to come up and give CM a try as well. We have astonishingly beautiful courses up here in wooded mountain settings as well as a few links-type courses in what were once rice fields. If you do visit CM please drop me a PM and perhaps we can play a few rounds together.

[Kan Win]

I would say base yourself in Hua Hin; many more courses than Phuket; nicer "local" people (in general); and cheaper. Should be able to play most courses for around 1,000 Baht (plus caddy and tip). Much closer to Bangkok (tons of courses there) and is definitely quieter.

There are some courses too that cater to Korean and Japanese golfers (if you want to mix business with pleasure) but they tend to be nearer Bangkok and up Kanchanaburi way (from my experience).

A good source of information is the golf section of this website or thaigolfer dot com

Another link for you (the pun was intended BTW)

Golf Courses in Thailand

Take your pick, but, in and around Bangkok, Kanchanaburi and Hua Hin you would be spoilt for choice, plus having a car (we drive on the left over here) easy to get around. A lot cheaper than Phuket

Good Luck

Yours truly

Kan Win

[Super Hans]

As an aside, my wife and I lived in Pattaya for a while after spending a lot of time there as annual visitors. Let me tell you that visiting Pattaya and living there full-time are not at all the same thing. Like us, you may get weary from the huge density of transient Thais looking for jobs and the high traffic volume and frequent jams. Shopkeeper arrogance and greed are prevalent too; they take keen advantage of farangs. Especially tiresome are the motorcycles--they are everywhere and make driving a real chore.

Same is true for Phuket, if not more so. Ands you can add pestering in too, which can be unabearable in phuket.

[Fore Man]

As an aside, my wife and I lived in Pattaya for a while after spending a lot of time there as annual visitors. Let me tell you that visiting Pattaya and living there full-time are not at all the same thing. Like us, you may get weary from the huge density of transient Thais looking for jobs and the high traffic volume and frequent jams. Shopkeeper arrogance and greed are prevalent too; they take keen advantage of farangs. Especially tiresome are the motorcycles--they are everywhere and make driving a real chore.

Same is true for Phuket, if not more so. Ands you can add pestering in too, which can be unabearable in phuket.

Right! I've only been a tourist myself on one 3-day trip in 2004 in Phuket and we stayed up north near the airport. I guess we just went there during the wrong time of year (it was May I believe; unbearably hot and humid). I enjoy the beach lifestyle as well but we found Patong to be...well...frenetic and a tad cheesy. Played golf in Phuket too (Blue Canyon Lakes) and it was a magnificent course but just too expensive. We can play 2 rounds in the high season or 3 rounds (off-season) up in CM for the same price. I'd like to try some more courses in Phuket but will probably opt to give Santiburi (Koh Samui) a try first, as pricey as it is probably is.