I have been living in Asia for two years, mainly in Thailand, and I am very happy there for various reasons and among others for golf.

Especially here in Hua Hin where I settled, it’s a real paradise for golf.

Hua Hin is a city of about 70,000 inhabitants and there are no less than 10 golf courses within a 25-minute radius of the city.

But this does not mean that everything is perfect for practising golf in Asia in general and in Thailand in particular.

I therefore review the negative and positive aspects, starting of course with the negatives.

The negative points

The most painful and incomprehensible point for a European is the very particular way of Asians to respect etiquette.

– It is not uncommon to find on the course games of 5 players, 6 players, or even 7 and once I found myself behind a game of 8!

Why? Simply because they want to!!!

This is often the case with VIP golfers. In Hua Hin, this phenomenon is found mainly on weekends with wealthy Thais coming from Bangkok. They come in groups or families. And since they spend a lot of money buying greenfees but also eating all at the restaurant, they have all the rights. I have discussed it several times with course managers but we can’t change that.

This is also the case with groups of Korean tourists, or "seminars" of Thai companies.

– A slower game than you will never let you pass

It’s very complicated. Perhaps because Asians are very proud and hardly accept (especially Thais) being caught at fault. I don’t know. But without the intervention of the cadets and without the use of the "Marshall", it will be very difficult to double a slower game.

– The colours of the starting pads are different. It’s not very embarrassing when you get used to it, but confusing at first.

Starting from the closest to the green to the farthest, the colours are red, yellow, white, blue and black.

– Players are not at all concerned about their impact on the field (divots, bunkers...)

No doubt it is related to the obligation to have a cadet (it is an almost exclusively female job, with very rare exceptions, such as at the Royal Golf in Hua Hin).

Having a cadet who is supposed to raise the pitches, repair the divots and rake the bunkers (most often they do) relieves the players.

The positive points

– The quality of the courses

Labour is not expensive in Thailand and globally in Asia. Obviously, the disadvantage is that people who work in golf courses do not earn a very good living. The advantage is that there is a lot of staff, a lot of gardeners and therefore overall the courses are very well maintained.

– The variety of courses

There are very varied routes, some links by the sea of course, relatively flat routes in cities or around some large cities and downright very hilly routes. This allows you to have a wide variety of game situations.

– The prices

Even if in view of labour costs and the very low cost of water, I find that some golf courses exaggerate with too high prices, in general you can play golf at a much more reasonable price than in some European countries, especially in some French golf courses with prohibitive rates, but also in some British, German or Spanish golf courses, and the quality of Asian golf courses is excellent.

– Infrastructures

Almost all golf courses offer a gigantic clubhouse with huge very well equipped changing rooms, a very good restaurant with very interesting rates.

In almost all golf courses, there is every 3 or 4 holes a kiosk offering shelter from rain and sun, drinks, refuelling, sometimes used balls. The prices are not excessive as is the case when these places exist in Europe.

– Ancillary benefits

They are linked to these infrastructures of excellent quality.

1. The reception is always impeccable

1. In the locker rooms, all players can have, obviously at no additional cost, a lockable locker, a clean towel, but also a number of products: sunscreen or after-sun cream, talc, cotton swabs, comb, hair driers...

1. When renting equipment, it is (with rare exceptions in very modest clubs) a new or very recent series of good quality and not mismatched.

– The possibility to play all year round

The only natural element that can prevent you from playing is rain. No snow or frost. The rain is almost always in the form of a violent but rather brief shower. We can therefore take shelter in a kiosk and resume the course.

I keep the best for the end:

The cadets

Even if I’ve already seen people complain about the obligation to play with a younger sister, going so far as to refuse to give them a little tip, it’s a real plus for me!

These girls are not all golf players, although in many golf courses the cadets have the opportunity to use the course at the end of the day, and some play in a personal capacity, sometimes are classified.

But they have many qualities:

1. They see very well where the balls go. We therefore lose a ball much more rarely when we unscrew.

1. They are often good advice on the choice of clubs because they know the course very well.

1. They know the distances perfectly without using a GPS watch or rangefinder.

1. They are experts in reading slopes and give you the right line and the right dosage on the greens.

1. They are always in a good mood and make the game very enjoyable.

And obviously 2 aspects that will undoubtedly interest men more than women:

1. They have a lot of humour and are willingly a little naughty, but it’s part of their role-playing game. It doesn’t go any further than words.

1. They are sometimes (often) very pretty.

Conclusion

It is a real pleasure to play golf in Asia and especially in Thailand. We are pampered, we have fun, we feast.

Come!!!