Thailand is a world-class golf destination

It may have started when Tiger Woods won an Asian PGA Tour stop there in 1999 at Thai Country Club, a place where Tiger’s name remains emblazoned on locker No. 1 in the clubhouse. They also have a plaque which commemorates Tiger’s tee shot on the par-4 10th hole where he drove the green.

Thailand is also a place that has hosted the LPGA Tour several times in the past three years, multiple Asian Tour events and golf exhibitions featuring some of the game’s top names. It’s a place where terrific courses dot the landscape from the north to the south and, unlike other Asian golf hotbeds (Japan and Korea come to mind), all the best courses are resort tracks open to the public.

Mark Siegel has built a business on exposing Thai golf to the wider golfing world. He runs GolfAsian (www.golfasian.com), a company that caters to golfers from around the world looking for tee times in Thailand and countries across Southeast Asia. But he is quick to say that golf in Thailand is something that will surprise and impress anyone who heads that way.

“Thailand is a place that really gets your attention,” said Siegel. “It got my attention when I first got here, and I never left. When people visit here, they really see what it’s all about and want to keep coming back.”

In addition to the golf courses, there are five-star accommodations from north to south, as well as beaches and plenty of other tourist activities. At the center of it all sits Bangkok, a city of 10 million people and a place which has it all, everything from $15 massages and $5 dinners to $50 rounds of golf and luxurious accommodations with recognizable brands like Westin and Marriott. It’s a modern city that just keeps getting more modern, with a new subway, new light rail and high-rise towers everywhere you turn. And the airport is a place that must be seen to be believed. It is a modern marvel that makes your typical North American airport look like a museum.

There are more than 250 golf courses in Thailand and 64 million people. Unlike many Asian countries where golf is mainly for tourists, Thais love their golf. As many as two million play the game.


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