Over the years, Thailand has developed into something of a golfer’s paradise. Having realised the value — and the value-addition involved — of golf as a tourism hook, the south-east Asian country has rolled out the red carpet, not just for aficionados of the game from around continent, but from all over the world.
Apart from the amateur game, a peek at the number of professional golfers from Thailand on the local and Asian circuit tells its own story — of a country that is beginning to exploit its early forays into the game and enabling the spread of golf particularly in tourist-friendly areas.
And it is not just the pros who have gained tremendously — in fact a number of players from around the region have translocated to Thailand to pursue the sport as it is so much cheaper there and more accessible — but also the local populaces where golf courses abound in terms of direct and indirect employment and attendant businesses by way of resorts, transportation, construction and what have you. Thailand truly is beginning to make the most of what it has put on offer.
The Hua Hin area in particular is a favoured destination of golfers from around the world. They come in all forms, the lavish spenders to the golfing equivalent of the backpacker — and all with one agenda, to get a round on some of the finest courses available at that price.
Increasingly, a number of Indian golfers — frustrated by the expensive, restrictive, members-only policies of many courses in the country — are flying out to Thailand for a game. Time was when the Japanese and Europeans dominated the inflow of such visitors, but of late there has been a surge of interest among Indians as well.
For example, a round of golf as any of the numerous courses dotted in and around Hua Hin costs anything between `2,500 and `4,000 — all inclusive — per round if one is carrying her or his own kit. Clubs on hire cost a little more. And the variety of the well-maintained and run courses is vast, and challenging. As a bonus, almost every course is mapped for GPS and offers driving range facilities besides chipping and putting greens.
The Royal Hua Hin Golf Course is in fact the oldest course in the country, designed and laid out as far back as 1924, and five minutes walk from the beach to boot. The 7,300-yard par 72 course is European in feel and layout, and has the advantage of excellent weather too.
Among the other courses that are sprinkled in and around Hua Hin are the Black Mountain Golf Club, The Banyan Village and Resort, the Majestic Creek Country Club, Springfield Village Golf and Spa (designed by Jack Nicklaus), the Imperial Lake View GC too name but a few of the better-kept and run establishments. Nowhere will an aspiring visitor have to fork out more than `4,000 — other than at the most exclusive of these courses.
Alongside is the added attraction of Hua Hin being probably the seafood capital of a seafood dominated nation. The choice — of local cuisine mostly — is both vast and challenging, especially to the palate as one grapples with the fiery cooking and the lavish use of sugar. All accompanied by some of the most gracious behaviour to be found anywhere in the world.