Phuket Is A Golfer's Paradise

North to South, East to West, Thailand is emblazoned with remarkable things to see and do, making for an annual vacation that no one will want the sun to set over. Convenience of travel, accommodation comfort, affordable luxuries and an unsurpassable tourist infrastructure are just a few of the attributes that make this country so special.

You will not be able to experience the full vitality of the Land of Smiles in a single visit. It’s a tranquil paradise to be savoured and the perfect place to revisit. In the south of the Kingdom, Thailand’s largest island Phuket, forms the gateway to the wonders of Phang-nga Bay and the Andaman coastline. Phuket as a whole offers a unique combination of sophistication, tropical island charm, white, sandy beaches and Southern Thai culture that is not to be missed. Phuket is best known as a “winter” destination amongst Northern hemisphere holiday markers but the best kept secret is that golf does not have a season in Phuket and its courses are playable all year round.

The game of golf arrived in Thailand a century ago and was quickly taken up by the elite and the fashionable. Among the first sponsors of the game were the armed forces and government institutions, which built and continue to own some of the finest courses in the country. There are over 200 championship standard. The world’s top designers have all made significant contributions to design. Jack Nicklaus and Robert Trent Jones and many others have perfected modern layouts, using the best grasses and the latest techniques. Those golf courses are:

• Blue Canyon Country Club
  Canyon Course | Lakes Course
  
• Red Mountain Golf Course
• Loch Palm Golf Club Phuket
  
• Phuket Country Club
• Laguna Phuket Golf Club
  
• Mission Hills Phuket Golf Resort & Spa
• Thai Muang Beach Golf & Marina
  

Every course has its caddies – they are Thailand’s secret weapon in making golf such good fun. These brightly clad ladies, in smart uniforms and unique hats, know the courses in detail and smile almost all the time. Therefore a golf holiday in Phuket is a welcome addition to your plans.

Visas
Most passport holders can visit Thailand as a tourist for thirty days, any longer and you will need to get a tourist visa. If you are visiting for any other reason you need to obtain a non-immigrant visa. Always check with the Thai Consulate in your country before you travel.

Medical
More and more people are coming to Thailand on Medical holidays and whether you come to Phuket for Lasic eye treatment, plastic surgery or major heart surgery you can rely on around the clock quality service. The island has many great dental surgeries and what ever work you have done it will be a fraction of the price in most Western countries.

Shopping
Try Central Festival a vast shopping centre near Phuket town. It has all the top shops, a supermarket, restaurants and a cinema, a great place to spend a few hours just strolling around. Tesco Lotus on the bypass road on the way to the Airport is close to the Big C and Index shopping centers – they are all worth a visit. Phuket is littered with markets selling everything from clothes, souvenirs and shoes to sunglasses, handbags and watches but be prepared to haggle on price. About 30% of their original asking price is a good guide.

Spa
The Thai spa tradition brings together a range of indigenous resources, folk wisdom and traditions that have been handed down through the centuries. Gracious hospitality and service is complemented by a friendly and caring nature and gentle ways of the Thai people. A few hours in one of Phuket’s many spas will make you feel like a new person.

Entertainment
Tai Pan Disco at the end of Bangla Road is a great venue for that special night out. The evening begins at 9:00PM with the house band playing everyone’s favourite songs, at 12:15AM till late Tai Pan transforms to one of the most popular dancing venues in town. 3,000 Baht drinks voucher, T-shirts and Champagne on your birthday are just a few of the exciting give away.

Keep Yourself Hydrated During Golf Game

If you are coming to play golf in Phuket after winter in Europe, drinking water is one of the most important ways to maintain your golf game.

The hot, humid climate demands that water is drunk frequently even if you feel you do not need it. As more than 70% of our body and 75% of our brain is water, failure to hydrate the body adequately will result in bodily functions beginning to shut down.

Lapsed concentration, headaches and playing badly are all symptoms of dehydration. A leading elite athlete sports doctor advised that a 3% drop in hydration causes a 10% loss in strength. The ability to maintain a properly hydrated body during a golf game in the tropics can lead to a 25% improvement in physical and mental performance over a player of similar ability who is not hydrated properly.

Isotonic sports drinks are also a good means of getting the body rehydrated but there is no substitute for plain good old fashioned water.

A Quick Guide For Your Golfing In Phuket

A guide to most things you will need when playing golf in Phuket.

• Arrange transport to arrive at the course an hour before your tee off time.
• Check your golf bag, make sure you have all your clubs and none were damaged in transit.
• Thailand is hot so make sure you have at least two hats, three gloves as your hands get very sweaty, a good sized towel and a change of shirt for mid round is always very handy.
• When you arrive at the golf course you will be allocated a caddy who will take your golf bag and look after it until it’s safely back in your transport.
• You check-in and pay your green fee at the cashier desk, located near or in the pro shop. Or if you booked with a golf agency, they will do the check-in for you.
• Along with your green fee you will pay a caddy fee of 250 Baht. When you get your vouchers give them straight to your caddy, it saves the embarrassment of losing them before you start the round.
• Your locker room is very safe and always attended but be careful and do not leave any valuables there.
• Buy water or an alternative and keep at least one litre in your bag at all times. Top up with fluid at regular intervals during your round even if you are not thirsty. However, Phuket Country Club will not allow you to take water you buy from outside into the golf courses.
• Make sure you have ample balls in your bag. Some of the holes are very challenging and all golf shops sell the complete range of new balls as well as pre-owned balls from 30-40Baht, some golf agents will also sell pre-owned balls for 20-30 Baht.
• Put all your valuables in a safe part of your golf bag (wallet, locker key, car keys, etc.)
• Apply ample sunscreen to all exposed parts of your body as the sun is very strong even when it overcast. Your caddy can help you with all the hard to get at areas.

Caddy in Phuket Golf Courses

Only female caddies are used on the golf courses in Phuket. She is your best friend on the golf course and the following is a guide on how to make the best use of her skills for an enjoyable round of golf.

Why use a caddy in the first place?
A caddy is compulsory on every course in Phuket. In temperatures of 30 degrees centigrade or more carrying your own bag is murder without death. A caddy leaves you to concentrate on more important things like hitting the ball. She helps you avoid slow play and she will help you with every aspect of your game and make your round an unforgettable experience and maybe save you 3 or 4 strokes in the process.

What should I expect for a caddy?
She will –

• Look after your golf bag from when you arrive at the golf course until you leave.
• Advise you on the tee of OB’s, Bankers, Water Hazards and what line to take.
• Keep an eye on where your ball lands especially those wayward shots.
• Give you distances to the green.
• Advise you on putting lines.
• Keep your golf clubs clean.
• Give you a smile even when you play poorly.

How much should I tip a caddy?
A normal tip is between 200 and 500 Baht with 300 Baht being the normal amount. You must admit for five hours work in the baking heat it’s the bargain of a life time. When you have finished your round make sure you retrieve you valuables from your golf bag. While you are having a refreshing shower your caddy will clean your clubs & shoes. She will return your golf bag to your transport. At this stage pay her your tip, smile and say goodbye. It’s courteous to tip your caddy & tell her she can go home before you have your after golf drinks at the bar, otherwise she will wait at your golf bag until you return & believe me the caddy is more tired than you.

The Construction of Red Mountain Phuket Golf Course

Red Mountain Phuket Golf Course, Phuket, Thailand














The section of the property hosting the 1st green gave major (but not the most!) headaches during route planning. The 1st Green, 6th and 9th tees and two access roads had to be safely 'shoe horned' into a narrow neck only 250 ms. wide dominated by a very steep ridge. Some serious cutting was inevitable to create space for a greensite. We elected to reverse the 1st and 9th holes leaving only the decision of how much of the cliff we would cut away to shape the 1st green. By removing 25ms of hillside we were able to create a spacious and visible greensite without morning shade problems, and a hole around 400 yards long.

Getting the new cliff to look natural was easier said than done! Contractors wanted the earth hauled away as quickly as possible. Once trucks could access the hilltop, excavators would cut 7-8 layers of 2.5 ms each. As the highest layers were quickly removed we had little time to shape the cliff edge to look as though they belonged, before our shapers ran out of reach! Close inspection will reveal we missed a few places, but on the whole I feel the new green setting is quite in keeping with the general site characteristics.









14th hole before and after

Visually the 14th is one of my favourite holes on the course and a tribute to the skills of Shaper and Design Consultant Al Tikkanen. Shapers like Al have a huge influence on the way a 'Two Dimensional' Plan comes to life on the ground, but are seldom given enough credit.

The way this hole plan evolved also strongly emphasizes the need for flexibility and regular on-site decision making during construction. What was originally planned as a 245 yard one shot hole with virtually no water, became a beautiful but treacherous 197 yard par 3 to a virtual island green. During clearing we found a 2m. thick layer of very white sand covering a wide area under the green site. Where we did not have to remove too much soil to get to the sand, we just kept digging until the sand was gone. The result was a new lake in the area of the green site. With a brand new canvas, a new plan was sketched and we backfilled the area where the back of the green would sit. I often wonder how much influence Blue Canyon Country Club had psychologically on my ideas for this hole! I always felt the Canyon's 17th was nearly, but not quite, a wonderful par 3. Red Mountain's 14th has a remarkably similar layout and green shape, but in my view has improved aesthetics and visibility.

The extent to which Tin Mining operations altered the site over the years is also well illustrated here. As you play from the 15th tee, try to imagine that the layer of sand under the 14th green stretches directly under but 45 ms lower than where you are standing! The 15th tees are built on tin mine spill filled over the sand which itself was pumped from another location to get at the valuable tin ore. Tin Mining operations stopped in Phuket some 25 years ago, not just due to falling ore prices, but when the Thai Government made a conscious decision to replace Mining with more sustainable Tourism Development on the Island.

The real headaches during planning came when we had to find the last 4 holes in the 'mountain' section of the property. MBK Chairman Khun Banterng Tantivit, who was the real driving force behind getting the project off the ground, wanted this land used for golf, partly for economic reasons. Phuket's 80 meter height construction limit meant no Development would be possible on this rectangle of the property. While others felt it was simply too difficult for Design and Construction of playable holes, Khun Banterng, himself a keen golfer also felt that one of the most memorable finishing stretches of holes in Thailand could be created in these hills.

The density of vegetation and subsequent 'gaps' in the topographical survey meant we were to some extent operating 'blind' in the most extreme areas on the 'mountain'.
The 15th hole was relatively easy to find. However, creating a fairway wider than the current 35 ms would prove to be impossible without serious excavation and the environmental disasters that would surely follow if we opened up the hillsides once again.
The 16th was to be a short par 3 on the opposite slopes of the same valley while the 17th would be a wild par 4 reversing the routing of the current 16th hole and playing across a chasm to a green 100 ms left of where the 17th tees now sit. This would leave us the possibility of a 650 yard par 5 finishing hole with a dizzying drop of over 80 ms!

Following further exploration, during which I more than once got lost in dense ferns and other undergrowth over 3ms high, we found trees of such size and beauty and contours so much more severe than indicated on the 'topo' that route changes would be inevitable. Given construction and access road issues and complications in irrigating holes 100ms above the supply lakes, should we even be attempting to find golf holes up here? During one site visit the Chairman confidently announced to other Directors that whatever we end up with 'We can build SOME KIND OF golf holes up here.' His expression did not convey the confidence in his voice! The new routing created some of the most extreme but exhilarating Golf in the Country, IF played with the right spirit. The 16th tee is far and away the highest point in Phuket Golf and is over 300 feet higher than the 14th green! 6ms cuts allowed us to find a narrow fairway for this pesky little par 4 of just over 300 yards. Yes, it's narrow. Yet Golfers can play virtually any club in the bag from the tee and still hit the green in regulation. Former European Tour Star Barry Lane played the hole 4 times in 4 days, each time selecting a different club from the tee. He played it in even par but feels he still hasn't found HIS best way to play the hole and isists he will be back to figure it out!

The 150 feet drop to the par 3 17th green makes club selection uncharted territory.You may need 3 clubs less than normal to account for the precipitous drop. And, please drive carefully on the way down to the green! The 18th hole, falling 50 ms down a valley framed by forested slopes and sheer 'Red Canyon Walls' is 560 yards but probably plays closer to 500. There will be eagles; but there will be more disasters. Canny players will realise staying on the short grass is the way to win the money, but can you resist taking on all the attacking options in front of you?

This is the essence of the Red Mountain Phuket Golf Course. There is risk and reward all over the course. There are multiple playing options depending not only on your skill level ,but your mood on the day. It is an exhilerating course for those with the spirit of adventure of the Pioneers of the Game.

Welcome to Red Mountain Golf Course. I hope you have as much fun playing the course as I had Designing and Building it.

Jon Morrow - August, 2007.

Anton Haig Wins Johnnie Walker Classic 2007

Blue Canyon Country Club, Phuket, Thailand

Anton Haig from South Africa birdied the 18th hole in regulation play, then repeated the feat in a sudden death play-off to win his first European tour title, the Johnnie Walker Classic at the Blue Canyon Country Club in Phuket. The 20 year old from Johannesburg had to hole a ten foot putt at the first extra hole, the 18th, to win the play-off against his fellow countryman Richard Sterne and England’s Oliver Wilson.

After this event, Anton Haig will move up from being an affiliate member of the European Tour to being a full member with exemption until the end of 2009, and join the other 22 golfers from South Africa on the European Tour. Five of those golfers came in the top 7 of this event. Richard Sterne was runner-up, Retief Goosen finished fourth, And Ernie Els finished tied for sixth place with David Frost.

Haig set the clubhouse target of 13 under par after pulling his tee shot on the 72nd hole. He was left with 98 yards to the pin over trees from a downhill lie. He hit a lob-wedge to three feet and holed out.

Returning to the 18th tee, all three players hit the green in regulation. Wilson missed his birdie attempt from 20 feet, then Sterne missed from 12 feet, then Haig holed out from ten feet for victory.

The win was worth €310,801 and moves Haig to eighth position on the European Tour order of merit with his total earning now standing at €380,998.

Having his name on the Johnnie Walker Classic trophy along with Els, Goosen, Nick Faldo, and Tiger Woods will mean he will be able to tee it up in many other big world events, such as the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and the HSBC Championships in China.