Putting on the Pattaya Ritz

by Vic Williams | posted November 8, 2009

After three full days in Thailand, it’s clear that this peaceful, fascinating nation is ground zero for golf travel in Southeast Asia, and should be for years to come. Not only are the courses themselves up to any American visitor’s standards — at least one played so far brings to mind a certain famous hillside course on Maui’s northwest shore — the hotel selection is broad and as upscale as you want it to be. Hence the “Ritz” callout: All the big chains including Marriott and Westin have product here (more on them in a future entry), all run with a heady mix of eastern and western hospitality that yields a feeling of exoticism and familiarity.

No “Ritz” pops on FG’s radar on this trip, and that’s just fine. Actually, the hotel serving as HQ for the first stop on FG’s in-progress Thailand jag is called Woodlands Resort, and for all intents, it’s at least a four-star experience right in the heart of the waterfront tourist town of Pattaya — a short 15-minute stroll down the beach to famous (and infamous) “Walking Street” (think Times Square, Bourbon St. and the Ginza condensed into a neon-ified multi-block area of street eateries, flesh factories and open-air bars). With its full-fledged suites including kitchens and Gulf of Thailand or garden views, Woodlands is designed to host tourists for several-day stays, but a couple nights will suffice to get a golfer in the come-what-may mood so prevalent among the native people.

That’s a great attitude to carry out to Pattaya’s most popular golf destination, Siam Country Club, which offers 45 holes a few miles east of town. Originally opened in 1971, The Old Course was the first private course built in Thailand. In 2006 it closed for renovation by the American design team of Lee Schmidt and Brian Curley, then reopened in 2007 with reconfigured bunkers and greens, new turf and irrigation systems and the kind of high maintenance standards that, it quickly becomes clear, are di rigueur in Thailand. With a traditional back-and-forth routing, tree-lined fairways that ask you to shape the ball right and left to find them, fairly flat character and a classic top-of-the-hill clubhouse looking over it all, the Old Course is aptly named and and a handsome way to start one’s Thailand experience. The final stretch of holes, 14-15, force you to refocus under the relentless tropical sun, bring all your strategic forces to bear and throttle back on the power play, since a creek bisects several holes. No. 18 is an outstanding, uphill, dogleg-left par-5 finisher.

Fifteen minutes further east is Siam Country Club’s Plantation Course (again, think Maui), which debuted just last year and hosted the LPGA’s Honda event earlier this year. While the Old plays right into the average American golfer’s parkland sensibility, this 27-hole collection of modern tests, designed by Isao Mazumi is something else altogether. Broad, hilly, more-than-generously bunkered (that’s an understatement) and sometimes quirky in character — one green is shared by three holes and must be the world’s largest putting surface outside St. Andrews — it can be a frustrating, acquired taste for some, but FG loved it. There are blind tee shots and trick-the-eye approaches. Greens are perched on hillsides and some complexes are just that, complex, with bunkers guarding against run-ups from one side of a fairway, but opening up from another side. Fairway bunkers can swallow otherwise perfect drives and the native “love grass” lining most fairways will swallow a ball (and the diminutive female caddies looking for them) in an instant, and screw up a score even more quickly. Good thing the views of Pattaya’s high rise hotels to the west and lovely green hills every other direction temper the test. And once it’s all over, the clubhouse — a modern, airy, angular affair that folks perfectly into the terrain — puts a high finish on the proceedings, both in the exquisite locker room facilities (a post-round shower is standard operating procedure throughout Asia, and we love that), and in the restaurant, with its mix of Thai and western cuisine.

Next stop is Bangkok, Thailand’s sprawling capital. But first, a quick word about the nation’s pervasive use of female caddies: they make for wonderful, smiling and efficient companions whether or not they speak a word of English. They drive the cart, read greens (with varying success), rake bunkers, mark your ball on the green, size up your game quickly and even administer a quick shoulder massage when asked. All that’s left for the player to do is get the ball in the hole with as little stress as possible. After all, you’re in Thailand. Time to chill out in the heat of anti-battle — and just plain heat.

www.siamcountryclub.com
www.woodland-resort.com

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