Thailand has golf schools and professionals who can help the most hopeless beginner and raise the game of the enthusiast. Kenny Coyle reports
The great American humourist Mark Twain is widely credited with the description of golf as “a good walk spoiled”.
Whether Twain was responsible for the witticism or not, the underlying dig at the sport, some would prefer to label it an obsession, reflects the extreme passions generated by the game’s fans and detractors.
Golf remains one of the few participatory sports that is seen as being part of the business person’s social skills. It is a game, after all, that can be played at practically any age, regardless of gender and some would say, regardless of skill.
The handicap system is intended to equalise players and the “good walk” is perfect for introductions, networking and even the place to cement the deal. The social camaraderie of the “19th hole” is legendary, and today, many golf clubs have added meeting and conference facilities in recognition of the demand to combine serious business with golf from the corporate world.
While golf still carries a mystique for some, the social benefits of the game have long encouraged normally sport- and exercise-shy executives to take to the greens to advance their business opportunities and their own careers, and there are virtually no other activities that quite match golf’s business-friendly ambience.
But what about those who have never picked up a club in their life or whose slices are an embarrassment? Who wants to be stuck in the bunker while your rival for the managing director’s vacant chair is streaking up the fairway with the regional CEO?
Hope lies at hand. Thailand has numerous golf schools and teachers who can help the most hopeless beginner and raise the game, or lower the par, of the clumsiest enthusiast.
The country’s climate and value for money are two of the most important reasons for its popularity but they are not the only reasons, says Mark Siegel, managing director of GolfAsian.com.
“Since our company was founded back in 1999, we see that around 75 percent of business from corporate travellers is from individuals. The rest is from firms that arrange company clinics for groups of their staff.
“Cost is certainly one of the most important factors. Thailand is about 50 percent cheaper that Singapore and Hongkong and about one-third of the costs of Japan and Korea.
“However, another key advantage of Thailand is availability. In many destinations you might have to book a month or so in advance to get a session with a golf pro. Here you can be pretty much guaranteed availability seven days a week.”
Thailand is home to a number of skilled professionals and golf instructors, since many overseas golfers have made Thailand their base to join the Asian golf circuit. This allows a wide talent pool to draw from and one that is many times more affordable than the US or Europe.
“Roughly speaking, you should expect to pay about US$50 per hour for golf lessons and around US$250 to play a round with a golf pro. This includes green and caddy fees, course management costs as well as the fact that you will have constant instruction on how to improve your game throughout the round,” says Siegel.
He points out that Bangkok is by far the most popular Thai destination, followed by Phuket, Hua Hin and Chiangmai.
“Since most business travellers are in Bangkok, it makes sense for them to stay in the capital.”
However, many other destinations are possible. Tom Peterson, president of Golf A La Cart, says: “Golf in Thailand has always been among the best in Asia and even if you never picked up a club, you can learn how to play a decent game in a matter of days. Luxury golf resorts, with excellent accommodation, US, European and Thai PGA instructors and well-conditioned championship golf courses exist in every major tourist area in Thailand. Beginner lessons start at as little as US$35 to US$40 per hour and a full complement of private lessons costs approximately US$450 to US$500 and gets you on your way to really enjoying your next game of golf.
Stay and Play is a real option for beginners and seasoned players alike. Laem Chabang International Country Club near Pattaya, Phuket Mission Hills Golf Resort and Spa, Blue Canyon Country Club on the island of Phuket, The Banyan Golf and Spa Resort in Hua Hin and the new Alpine Golf Resort at Chiangmai are highly rated golf resorts offering a wide array of reasonably priced accommodations, great facilities and onsite golf professionals. Bangkok’s golf instruction facilities are in town or very near to the city with a wide selection of excellent championship courses to choose from. The best advice is to stay in town, he says.
“For business travellers who are in town, Golf A La Cart offers on-demand same-day golf instruction through most five-star hotels in Thailand. Just contact your hotel’s concierge and ask for Golf A La Cart or contact them through our website and we will arrange a qualified instructor, rental clubs and transportation, all of which can be charged to your room account.”
Mike “Spike” Collier is director of golf at The Prem Golf Academy in Chiangmai. He says: “Our all-weather (indoor-outdoor) teaching facility and relaxed setting allows you to learn and have fun at your own pace. The facility features the innovative V1 Swing Analysis Technology, classroom for theory instruction, large putting and chipping greens, six covered chipping and hitting nets, short-range practice green with six hitting bays, long- and short-range bunker shots, water hazard green, fitness centre and a newly opened 350-yard driving range.
“We offer a wide range of options from beginning lessons to scoring improvement. Ultimately, each programme is tailor made to suit each individual, group or corporate outing.”
Duangmanee Yantawattana, marketing communications executive and sales assistant, Sheraton Pattaya Resort, says: “At our resort, our guest activity team will contact golf courses and golf professionals without any extra charge for the guests. Moreover, we provide not only golf activity but other activity as well, such as sightseeing, team building and much more. There are many luxurious golf courses in Pattaya and the best golf courses that I would recommend are Laem Chabang International Country Club or Siam Country Club Old Course.
“Many golfers are our regular guests as it’s very convenient to go to the courses, which are only about half an hour away. Golf professionals here charge between US$30 and US$50 an hour for tuition only.”
In Hua Hin, about three hours’ drive from Bangkok, the Hua Hin Golf Academy offers one-hour’s tuition on the driving range for US$49 or US$195 will get you an 18-hole round with a PGA instructor, although this does not include green or caddy fees.
There are also three levels of half-day golf camps, priced at US$185. These include one programme devoted to short game, putting, chipping and bunker play. Another session, the Full Swing Camp, concentrates on tee shots and work with woods and irons and finally there is an introduction to golf for beginners. All the programmes include four hours of instruction, transfers and lunch.
Golf doesn’t have to be an all-male game although this is not yet so popular among single female business travellers.
Siegel mentions, though, that it has become increasingly popular to see husband-and-wife couples sign up. “It’s often difficult for husbands to include their wives in their golfing trips, but the men can head off and play while their partners can get their first introduction to the game,” he says.
Siegel adds that the majority of his customers book packages of several days that will include not only golf, but accommodation transportation and even sightseeing too if requested.
“Business travellers coming from Europe or North America are generally looking to add on a couple of days golfing before or after their business trip. This is really more about combining work and relaxation. It tends to be the expatriates from the Middle East, Singapore and Hongkong who come here specifically for golf lessons. They can escape the interruptions of home and find time to work on their golf.”
Some hotels are tightly tied into partnership with golf academies, even without having a full 18-hole course of their own.
The Dusit Thani in Bangkok hosts the Doug Hood Golf School on the roof of the fifth-floor parking garage.
Doug Hood is a full-time member of the PGA of America with 25 years of teaching experience.
Hood estimates he has given over 35,000 private lessons in his career and was the lead instructor in an international golf academy in the US, whose students included Korea’s Pak Se Ri, one of the top three female golfers in the world and winner of the Ladies PGA and US Women’s Open Championships.
Hood’s school specialises in private video golf lessons, using Astar Learning Systems, a computer-generated golf-teaching software. This is intended to make learning golf faster, easier and more effective, through visualisation.
Astar features include comparative modelling, in which the student and teacher can view the student’s swing next to the top professionals in the game, at any position of the swing for comparison. Other tools include time-lapse video display, showing the swing in eight consecutive key swing positions, and colour printouts of your video, including drawing graphics and text comments from the teaching professional for future reference.
Alfred Liu, a transportation consultant from Macau, who recently spent four days in Bangkok combining video swing improvement lessons at the Doug Hood Golf School driving range, followed by a short-course, short-game tune up and last but not least, a play lesson on a regulation golf course.
“I was able to improve my overall game with a short intensive training course, while my wife Melanie was able to enjoy the spa and shopping delights that Bangkok has to offer.
“I was so impressed with Doug’s teaching that I even talked my wife into joining me for one of my video swing-training sessions and she learned a lot. It was really nice to get away for a few days, enjoy Bangkok and come home with a better golf game.”
Whatever your level of proficiency, Thailand’s plethora of golf schools seem certain to help you improve.
