Give Up a Day Getting There, and Gain a New World

by Vic Williams | posted November 5, 2009

When FG signed on to get its first-ever taste of Thailand’s underappreciated golf product, we harbored no illusions about the not-so-simple act of getting there. But one day into a nine-day trek through this Southeast Asia nation’s central region, it was abundantly clear that the jet lag and lost day on the calendar were small sacrifices for the fun to come.

It took a group of golf scribes the better part of 24 hours to get from LAX to Thailand’s capital city of Bangkok, with a three-hour layover in Taipei: God thing Taiwan-based EVA Air’s big ol’ Boeing 777s offer "Evergreen" or "Elite" class seating, a good mid-priced alternative between biz class and economy with larger seats, good meals (two over the 14-hour flight across the Pacific), built-in touch-TV screens with good selection of TV shows and movies, a toiletry kit and great service rendered by beautiful Taiwanese attentands. If you've got to span the Pacific in one go, this isn't a bad plan. In fact, we’d recommend EVA (which is based in Taiwan) for any trip to this part of the world. If you can, angle for a pass to the airline’s VIP lounge, which has wireless Internet, a great food selection, comfortable seating, TV in English — even Tiger Woods and Halo in the video lounge. You can also take a shower to freshen up after that long journey.

(One word of caution: Give yourself at least two hour of lead time in LAX's Tom Bradley terminal, where all Asian airlines terminate. It's usually a madhouse, and most trans-pacific fights leave late at night to facilitate an early morning arrival (a day later).

From there it's a three and a half-hour flight to Bangkok, where the action really begins the moment you walk off the plane and into a spanking new, mega-modern airport that took, in typical relaxed Thai fashion, a full five decades to complete. And you thought some of America’s public works projects were never-ending.

While the city of more than 10 million mostly Buddhist souls is ground zero for Thailand’s burgeoning course consortium — the country of 65 million boasts more than 150 layouts, most of them munis played primarily by locals, according to Golfasian creator Mark Siegel — our first stop would be a 90-minute drive to the south in Pattaya, a seaside community that has, since the early 1960s, gone from sleepy fishing village to major tourist destination. It’s essentially Thailand’s version of Atlantic City or Myrtle Beach. No gambling, but plenty of hotels ranging from 5-star high-rises to small inns; hundreds of restaurants and shops where bargaining is a way of life; and, of course, the well-known array of massage emporiums. A classic Thai massage, which can be had for around 500 baht (about $15 US at current exchange rates) before that first round of golf is a great recipe for relaxation and scoring success at any of Pattaya’s courses, which are frequented by tourists from Japan, Korea, Australia and Europe and, Siegel hopes, more and more Americans as the West gets more familiar with Thailand as a golf destination.

First up is the 36-hole Siam Country Club — the 40-year-old Old Course and brand new Plantation Course. Stay tuned for reviews of both, followed by excursions into the heart of Bangkok itself and, finally, a trek to Hua Hin, where Thailand’s beloved line of kings (including 82-year-old King Rama IX) have vacationed for decades.

www.tourismthailand.org

To book your Thailand golf excursion, visit www.golfasian.com.

Vic Williams is editor and publishing partner of Fairways + Greens, a bi-monthly magazine dedicated to golf, travel and lifestyle for the West and beyond. He has written thousands of stories on golf and will cover every facet of the game right here, primarily travel but also the major tours, equipment, personalities and more. Contact him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it