WHAT'S ON THAILAND

Where are the best golf courses?

Most of the major beach resorts have great golf. Chiang Mai has nice golf; and Bangkok as some amazing golf courses as well.

See this link:

http://www.whatsonthailand.com/links/showlink.php?l=6

Back in the days when I lived in Chiang Rai, Waterford Valley was a great place. Not quite as nice as Santi Buri, but a heckuva lot cheaper. Also further out than Santi Buri .. about 40 km, nearby Wiang Chai. More hills and more challenging than SB .. they have some condos there that could be rented. I don't play golf any longer, so I haven't been there for years.

Maybe some of the local guys can post an update?

Lately, I have been to Gymkana, Stardome and Mae Jo CC driving ranges. The only range I can recommend is Stardome. The Mae Jo range is a bare grass field. Terrible. The Gymkana driving range is not much better, but at least there is a little shack to buy balls.

Stardome, on the other hand, it great. Lights, action, girls, food, shops, coffee, ice cream, popcorn, service, showers, targets, flags, greens.... this list goes on and on.

Highly recommended. Stardome.

I noticed this review of Mae Jo Golf Club.

Seems that club has some serious issues.

Re: driving ranges. I remember an incident that happened back in the early 90's in BKK. I wanted to hit some balls, so a friend recommended a driving range at the Thai Railway (Headquarters?) .. anyhow, a couple of incidents brought Thailand and the Thai perspective perfectly into focus.

Basically, you buy a tray of really awful looking balls. A girl brings along the tray, a stool about 6" high, and a few tees strung on nylon fishing line to the space you have selected. She sets down the low stool, parks herself, pushes a tee into the ground and places upon it a very ratty looking ball.

Swing .. hit .. another tee pounded into the bare ground .. ball placed on tee .. repeat until the heat drives you to a nearby bench.

A Thai on the space next to me fanned a ball .. missed it completely! Girl starts giggling. Guy starts giggling .. fans two more times in a row. Both are now out of control and the guy has to take a break to compose himself.

Announcement come over a PA system. All put-ball-on-tee girls jump to their feet, find a bucket and go out on the range to pick up balls. This goes on very systematically for several minutes until a couple of the girls apparently get bored and start tossing balls toward each other. Pretty soon they are all engaged in horseplay. Terse nnouncement comes over the PA and girls hop back to collecting balls.

I was about to swing at a ball when a scream interrupted me. My put-ball-tee girl jumped to her feet and joined a mob rushing headlong toward a practice green behind the range. It was a free-for-all, like maybe they were giving away money.

Close .. a movie, TV or singing start had just shown up with a film crew to make a promo, commercial or ??. Every time the guy would move, look at the girls, etc, they screamed.

It took me about 2 hours to hit that tray of balls.