We are going to play several games in Chiang Mai, with courses we have played before and others that we are trying for the first time. Bruce booked the first game directly but then found the direct prices were higher than going through an agent. We booked the second game with Golfsavers, and their price was good, but then they added a credit card fee, which put the price higher than when I contacted a local travel agent, Dave (Chiangmaigolfing.com), he is also a travel agent and we might use him again if we ever come over in a group. With Dave, everything had to be paid in cash before hand, which made me apprehensive, but we have found Dave to be very good, excellent communication and very thoughtful. When Rosie hurt her back, Dave was very helpful, not wanting to make bookings too far in advance in case she couldn’t play and happy to try to swap bookings if we had a problem. I highly recommend Dave to anyone coming to Chiang Mai.
For the rest of our games I booked through Dave.
Gassan Panorama – Games 6 and 8
Dave recommended this course and it was a great recommendation. We didn’t realise that they were having a special, so we paid a lot less than their website quoted.
The course was in very good condition with couch fairways, which are very difficult to maintain in Thailand. There was a lot of water along most fairways and you needed to cross the water on several shots, but with good advice from our caddies we had very little problems. Bruce lost one ball in the water when his caddy didn’t tell him about it. She was so confident that he would clear the water that she didn’t consider it. Sadly Bruce didn’t live up to her expectations.
We have a lovely taxi driver, Tammy, who is taking us to all our games. She was sitting in a pergola, overlooking the ninth green, when she noticed us playing. She took a few photos and took some video of us putting out on the ninth.
We will be going back to this course later in the week. Bruce shot 88 (off the yellow tees, he has decided to play these from now on since they make the game more enjoyable) and Rosie hit 95.
In our second game, Bruce did a 41 on the first nine and Rosie a 50. Rosie then came storming back in the second nine, putting out of her bum, to get two birdies and a few pars to shoot 40 to Bruces 45. Bruce had a lot more fun off the yellow tees, taking on the water at the front of the greens on most holes and succeeding. Bruce 86, Rosie 90.
We had a lot of fun in the second game, Bruce’s caddie offered him Khao Lam, and he had no idea what it was. She peeled back a bit of the bamboo and he still had no idea, so he tried to eat the bamboo. Finally he realised that he had to eat the contents in the middle. It was very nice.
Royal Chiang Mai Golf Club – Game 5
We were apprehensive about this course when our Golf booking agent, Dave (Chiangmaigolfing.com), suggested that we play the course first before booking again.
Royal Chiang Mai is a bit rundown and the fairways are Zoysiagrass, which I had to look up, which is a buffalo type grass that both Rosie and I find very hard to hit off. It is not a solid cover and is very high in the second cut, making it difficult to chip off or hit out of.
Our scores were not very good, Bruce shot 98 and Rosie conservatively shot 99.
Pimantip Golf Course – Wing 41 – Game 4
A couple of days ago we walked from our hotel to this 9 hole golf course and thought it would be a bit of fun to play it, so we went back Friday and played 18 holes. It only cost $75 each with caddy and cart, so you couldn’t really go wrong. Took a Grab taxi there for $5 and then return for $4, bargain.
It was a very nice layout, with lots of water to negotiate. Unfortunately we still couldn’t handle the approach shots or the greens, but with more practice we will get better. Will definitely play this course again if we get time.
Rosie hurt her back during the second 9 and scored 108/18 and Bruce did a bit better then second time around to finish with 96/30. Not great but we will get those approach shots and putting under control soon.
Mae Jo Golf Club – Games 3 and 7
We played this course a few years ago and it was undergoing renovations, at the time there were tees where you couldn’t see the fairway and just had to hit where your caddy told you. We thought we would try it again. They held the Thai Golf Championship here in June this year so the course was in much better condition than last time.
We still found the grass at the front of the greens and on the sides of the fairways very tricky, neither one of us could approach the greens very well and the putting was all over the place, pace was inconsistent due to recent (always seems this way in Thailand) sanding of the greens.
We did enjoy the course and will go back and take on the challenge again.
Bruce 99/27 points. Rosie 98/28 points
In our second game, we had the same caddies, which they appreciated (lots of money). Bruce hit off the Yellow tees and enjoyed the game immensely, it meant that he could attempt to play many holes in regulation which is a challenge in accuracy, rather than length off the tee.
We both coped with approach shots better, I think it is more about commitment to the shot than anything else. Both of us could easily have done better with more knowledge of the course, you waste too many shots by hitting in the wrong spot.
Bruce 90/36, Rosie 95/31
North Hill Golf Course – Games 2 and 9
It rained all night and didn’t look like stopping today, but we went to play anyway. Tammy, our taxi driver, laughed when I told her it was going to stop raining at 9:30am, but the gods were on our side and it stopped raining just as we went to hit off and didn’t rain for the whole game – very lucky.
We haven’t played this course and were very surprised at the plush entry way into the gated community. Everything looked very modern and we immediately looked forward to the experience.
We weren’t disappointed, the course was in very good condition, though the grass was very long from tee to mowed fairway (which caught us a few times). There was a lot of water, especially going across the front of the greens, so you had to be very strategic if you wanted to play to your handicap.
The water carry on one hole was so long that Rosie just took her ball to the other side and dropped it for one stroke penalty. Bruce tried to cross the water and made it, but the ball was embedded about 30cm from the top of the bank (he did this on two other holes, but never lost his ball).
We really enjoyed our game, Bruce shot 89 off the stick and Rosie shot 99. Rosie didn’t blame the course, she just wasn’t playing that well.
On our second attempt Rosie played much better and Bruce played well but was inconsistent. Bruce lost 4 balls taking on the water (he should have made it easily each time) and Rosie lost 2 balls. Bruce played off the whites since this is a short course.
The condition of the course is very good, but the second cut is a bit high making it difficult to get purchase on the ball. Bruce tried a couple of times to clear the water from this and failed due to poor club connection.
We still really enjoyed our games, Rosie shot 92 and Bruce shot 91.
Gassan Khutan Golf Resort – Game 1
This course is about an hours drive away from Chiang Mai, we played it two years ago and quite enjoyed it. It has a couple of feature holes, one with the white railway bridge going through it (with trains going through regularly) and the other is a very steep, short, par 3.
They are clearly upgrading the accommodation, but the course is getting a bit rundown and we found the second cut to be very long and difficult to play out of. You also had a lot of carry on some holes to get to the cut surface. There was plenty of water and on some holes the fairways were very narrow with water running down the edges. Bruce didn’t play very well, hitting 99 off the stick. Rosie was a bit better doing 95 off the stick.
One interesting part about this game was Bruce’s caddy. First we both thought she was a boy, but she quickly informed us we were wrong. I then asked about her girlfriend/boyfriend and she happily showed me a picture of her girlfriend and announced she was lesbian. Finally, she showed me some film of her Muay Thai boxing, she was very good and I think she represented Thailand in international competitions. Needless to say after this, Bruce didn’t argue with her. She was a lovely young girl and a good caddy.
Although we enjoyed the game, we won’t be going back to this course again unless we hear they have made a few improvements. Cost 6300 baht, taxi 1600 baht.
