Laem Chabang has received numerous awards for its quality and design. It is a 27-hole course that was designed by Jack Nicklaus and opened in 1995.

The course is set in a beautiful location with stunning views of the nearby mountains and the Gulf of Thailand. It is also well-maintained with manicured fairways and greens, and features a variety of challenges, including water hazards, bunkers, and elevated greens. 

 

You can’t quite go wrong playing at a club like that, no?

Siam Country Club in Pattaya is well-known to golfers in Asia as a great place to spend your time on the best golf courses in Thailand.  The accolades about Siam Country Club has received are (too) many, including ‘Best Golf Course Renovation in Aisa’, ‘Best Golf Course in Thailand’, ‘Best Maintained Golf Course in Asia Pacific’ by various international publications such as Golf Digest, World Golf Awards, Golf Week, Asian Golf Monthly and more.

 

The testimony to that is the fact that the Honda LPGA has been held at Siam Country Club for more than 10 occasions, the latest being in 2023 at the Old Course.  Better still, the Club has FOUR courses for you to challenge yourselves in Pattaya (and one more in Bangkok).  You could literally plan a trip to just play at SIam CC courses.

 

The Old Course at Siam Country Club is considered the flagship course and has been consistently ranked among the top golf courses in Asia. It features narrow fairways, undulating greens, several water hazards, and 101 sand bunkers(!) providing a challenging round of golf for golfers of all skill levels. It was designed by I. Izumi, before undergoing complete renovation by Mr. Lee Schmidt of Schmidt-Curley Design Inc.  

 

The 27-hole Plantation Course on the other hand, is the longest and most challenging course at the resort. It is designed by Schmidt & Curley Design Inc. The “Plantation” name was given in the honor of the historic Sugar Cane, Tapioca, and Pineapple plantations, and each 9-hole is named accordingly.  It features wide fairways, large greens, and strategic bunkering, along with stunning views of the surrounding hills and valleys.

 

Then there is the Waterside Course which is known to be more forgiving course, with wider fairways and fewer hazards. It features several lakes and ponds that come into play on several holes, making it a fun and enjoyable course to play.  Perhaps a good course to warm up, before attempting the challenge at the other course.

 

Finally there is the new Rolling Hills Course which was only opened in 2020.  Far removed from many of the rugged and natural designs in fashion today, Rolling Hills’s design is a hybrid of traditional elements and natural courses of the past. Stunning visuals, and optional lines of attack in a risk reward setting create very memorable holes. Large waste areas planted with casuarina trees that become pine straw forest, waste bunkers, marsh lands, lotus pools, and lakes are the beautiful features of the golf course.   The sternest challenge of the course has to be a 19-foot pit bunker guarding the greens of the 15th hole.

 

Now, do you want to intentionally get into the bunker to test your skills… or perhaps steer as far clear of the “Wall of Death” as possible to avoid a disastrous score?

Chee Chan Golf Resort is a relatively new golf course in Pattaya, having opened in 2018. It was designed by David Dale of Golfplan. From the clubhouse to the first tee box, players are immediately greeted by a stunning and iconic view of the Buddha engraving on Khao Chee Chan limestone mountain. For those interested in the minutiae, it is considered the world’s largest Lord Buddha image depicted on the cliff and it can be seen from every hole of the golf course.

 

And you know that you will only experience a golf course in pristine manicured conditions when IMG has been appointed to manage the property.  The Club labels itself “A Dream Golf Destination”, and that probably isn’t too far from the truth.

If you are looking to be challenged and prepared to be humbled, then you should certainly take your swing to St Andrews 2000 golf course, which shares the clubhouse with 2 other courses, Rayong Green Valley and Silky Oak.  The course doesn’t have any links to the St Andrews of Scotland though, so do not expect a replica course.

 

The Club doesn’t pretend that the course is suited to all levels of golfers.  It recommends to you on the scorecard that only golfers with a handicap of 18 or lower should play here. It even tells you “prior to your round, be sure you have enough golf balls” - yes, the course is thrash talking back at you! 

 

And it means business. After your round at the par-74 course, you will get to brag that you have played at TWO of the very few par-6 holes in the entire world. Off the back tees, the two par-6s measures 700 (hole 4) and a whopping 910 (hole 13) yards! From the ‘official tees’, they are still really long at 660 and 830 yards respectively.

 

You have to put the course on the bucket list, ya?