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 around 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 games of 5 players, 6 players, or even 7 on the course 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 rich Thai people 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 not easy 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.
Here, starting from the closest to the green to the farthest, the colours are red, yellow, white, blue and black.
- The players do not care at all about their impact on the field (divots, bunkers…)
No doubt it is related to the obligation to have a caddy (here it is an exclusively female profession, with very rare exceptions). Having a caddy who is supposed to raise the pitches, repair the divots and rake the bunkers (most often they do) remove the players responsibility.
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 golf courses here, some links by the sea of course, relatively flat courses in cities or around some large cities and downright very hilly courses. This allows you to have a wide variety of game situations.
- The prices
Even if considering of labour costs and the very low cost of water, I find that some golf courses exaggerate with too high prices, in many cases you can play golf at a much more reasonable price than in some European countries, than in particular in some French golf courses, but also in some British, German or Spanish golf courses for excellent quality.
- The infrastructures
Almost all the golf courses here have gigantic clubhouses with huge lockers room very well equipped, 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. Prices are not prohibitive as is the case when these places exist in Europe.
- Ancillary benefits
They are linked to these infrastructures of excellent quality.
- The reception is always impeccable
- In the locker room, all players can have, obviously at no additional cost, a lock lock, a clean towel, but also a number of products: sunscreen or after-sun cream, talc, cotton swabs, comb, hair dryer…
- When you rent 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 here is the 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 caddies
Even if I’ve already seen people complain about the obligation to play with a caddie, 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:
- They see very well where the balls go. We therefore lose a ball much more rarely when we unscrew.
- They are often good advice on choosing clubs because they know the course very well.
- They know the distances perfectly without using a GPS watch or rangefinder.
- They are experts in reading slopes and give you the right line and the right dosage on the greens.
- 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:
- 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.
- They are sometimes (often) very pretty.
Conclusion
It is a real pleasure to play golf in Asia, especially in Thailand. We are pampered, we have fun, and we feast.
Come!!!
