Thailand: World's Hottest Golf Destination

Like a well-weighted putt or a perfect chip-and-run, golf tourism to Thailand is on a roll.

Already one of the world's four major golf tourism destinations - along with Spain, the British Isles and the US - Thailand has become Asia's golf holiday market of choice for Europeans, Australians and Asians themselves.

North American golfers may still be hesitant about the long flight (19 hours from the West Coast with a layover in Seoul, Tokyo or Taipei), but once they get to Thailand there's universal agreement that the kingdom's total golf experience is as good as it gets.

Mark Siegel, an American whose company Golfasian is the largest dedicated inbound golf tourism business in South-East Asia, says US golfers are gradually discovering Thailand, and increasingly liking what they find.

"I have been attending the PGA Show in Florida for the past four years and whereas initially there was limited interest in Thailand and other golf destinations in Asia, it is now changing," he says. "There aren't yet big numbers coming from North America, but Thailand is definitely better known. It's on the radar and we are confident the numbers of golfers coming to Thailand from the US and Canada will grow steadily."

To be sure, there's a big gap between the few thousand golfers who venture from the US and Canada to Thailand each year and the 350,000-plus who come from Korea, Japan, China, Hong Kong and Singapore - with a high level of repeat customers. Another 300,000 come from Europe, mostly in the northern winter, and from Australia. Some snowbirds from Scandinavia and northern Europe stay the whole winter (high season in Thailand is December to March when the weather is clear with low humidity).

This year, Siegel predicts inbound golf tourism into Thailand could reach 750,000 visitors, worth $US3 billion in land arrangements alone. This may be only half the number of golf tourists who venture to Spain each year, but it is many more than those who venture to other alternative golf markets such as Portugal, Turkey, Morocco, the Caribbean and Bulgaria.

Why is Thailand so popular?

"Because of the experience it offers," Siegel explains. "You can find countries with better golf courses, maybe with better value, great weather and infrastructure, but nowhere else matches the genuine friendliness of the Thai people. In Thailand, everyone is treated as a guest. They are considered part of the family as soon as they arrive. The people do it because they are happy, not because it's good business. Kids in Thailand are taught to be nice.

"Visiting golfers experience genuine Thai friendship in many ways, but especially with caddies, who really have fun and are extremely helpful and knowledgeable about golf. They also like their jobs. It's not an act. They are Thai golf's secret weapon. Throw in the climate, cost, culture, food, entertainment, nightlife, safety, infrastructure, widespread use of English and everyone who comes to Thailand to play golf is a winner."

The Tourism Authority of Thailand recognizes Thailand's golf tourism potential and invests heavily in promoting golf internationally. Indeed, golf is one of Thailand's four official tourism "pillars" alongside medical tourism, eco-tourism and weddings.

The quality of golf in Thailand is as good as you'll find in most major golf destinations. Of the kingdom's 260 courses, about 30 are internationally recognized, including Black Mountain near Hua Hin, the first (in 2012) Thai course to make US Golf Digest's list of the Top 100 Courses Outside the United States.

Thailand's five major golf tourism areas - Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, Chiangmai/Chiangrai and Hua Hin - are all strongly represented in Golf In A Kingdom, a collection of Thailand's top golf courses and resorts. Among them, Thai Country Club just outside Bangkok, designed by Denis Griffiths, has hosted six Asian Tour events and has the name of Tiger Woods (who won there in 1997) on its #1 locker.

Suwan Golf & Country Club, west of Bangkok, has also hosted Asian Tour tournaments, and with water on 17 of its 18 holes, presents a formidable challenge. Right in Bangkok itself, Riverdale Golf Club is among the city's five best courses, is easy to reach and offers great value.

Muang Kaew Golf Club (pronounced mung cow), also within easy reach of Bangkok's CBD, designed by the US team of Schmidt-Curley, is an oasis in the city with a great clubhouse and first-class facilities.

Two hours south of Bangkok, the tourism hotspot of Pattaya has 20 courses of which the twin layouts at Siam Country Club and nearly Laem Chabang are clearly the best.

Siam Country Club's 27-hole Plantation course and 18-hole Old Course have both hosted the Honda Asian LPGA championship. Another 18 holes will open at this remarkable facility early in 2014. The 27-holes Jack Nicklaus-designed Laem Chabang means that there will soon be 80 holes within easy reach of other at Pattaya's two premier courses.

Siam CC's Old Course was originally laid out by Isao Mazumi in 1970 and was redesigned in 2007 by Schmidt-Curley, immediately after which it became the first course in Thailand to host an LPGA event, the 2007 Honda LPGA Thailand.

Its sister Plantation course, another Schmidt-Curley design, opened in 2008 and immediately hosted the Honda LPGA Thailand, won by world No. 1 Lorena Ochoa. The 27-hole layout is situated on a former pineapple and tapioca plantation and is home to Asia's first triple green, shaped like a clover.

Hua Hin, three hours' drive south of Bangkok, is another golf hotspot. Here you'll find multi-award-winning Black Mountain Golf Club, which opened in 2007, and is regarded as Thailand's best course as well as having an extraordinary par-3 layout, villas, condominiums, as water park and wakeboard park, spa, tennis courts and outstanding restaurant.

Nearby Banyan Golf Club, opened in 2009, is a testing mountainside course set in natural surroundings. The property also includes Banyan Resort, a complex of private villas and pool villas near Hua Hin, a few minutes' drive from the golf course.

The clubhouse, situated on the highest part of the property, offers stunning vistas of the Burmese Mountains, while the course itself takes golfers on an undulating journey than can be made as difficult as they wish. Local Thai designer, Pirapon Namatra, provided four sets of well-spaced tees, allowing the course to play from 5087 yards up to an imposing 7361 yards.

Situated 1200 feet above sea level in the mountainous northern Thailand, Chiang Mai Highlands Golf & Spa Resort is literally a breath of fresh air and a must visit for any serious golf trip to Thailand. The atmosphere is cooler and crisper than in any other part of the country and the reservoir-fed course is invigorating, too.

Yet another Schmidt-Curley design, Mother Nature provided all the ingredients needed to create a course that is one of the best in Thailand. Natural contours of the hilly property dictate each hole, providing some challenges alongside superb vistas.(

For more information on great golf experiences in Thailand, visit www.golfinakingdom.com