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Insiderguide to Golfing in Chiangmai |
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Wednesday, 08 December 1999 00:00 |
| Here's Insiderguide to Golf in Chiangmai ..... by Daniel Ng (Dec 1999) |
Golfing in Chiang Mai
If you are in Chiang Mai, make sure you play at least a round of golf. The weather is lovely and cool at this time of the year (Dec - Feb).
The Lanna Golf Course is the nearest to the town center while Royal Chiangmai Golf Club is the furthest.
For your information Royal Chiangmai Golf Club has a hotel at the Golf Course and presently have a special promotion going on. But please be reminded that the hotel is about 38 km from the town center.
To get to these clubs, the cheapest way is to hire a taxi and have the same taxi return to pick you up after your game. Pay your taxi fare only when he returns to pick you up. This is like an insurance to guarantee your transport back to your hotel. Never have the idea that you will be able to get a taxi from the club. Firstly, you may not be able to get one and secondly, you are at the mercy of the taxi driver and he would probably charge you an exhorbitant fare knowing that you have no choice.
The taxi I hired during my trips to/from the four golf courses for the four days was reasonable. Round trip to/from Lanna Golf Course - 400 bahts which I think is still too high as it is only about 10 minutes from the town centre. To Green Valley Golf Club and back was 400 bahts. Royal Chiang Mai and Chiangmai Lamphun Golf Course cost 500 bahts each round trip. The driver is Mr. Daeng. You can call him at (053) 282383. As I share the same taxi with my other golfing partner, the transportation cost is shared between us.
Of course there are companies in Chiang Mai who specialise in organising golf tours. These companies also arrange hotel accommodation. You can call them to arrange golf outings and their hotel/golf course/hotel transfer charge would most likely be more expensive than making your own arrangements. Don't forget their transfers would probably be on per golfer basis, whereas if you hire a taxi, you could get three golfers in and share the transportation cost.
As there are four golf courses, all it takes is just a phone call to the club to check on availability of slots and whether the course is open on the particular day that you intend to golf. The receptionists at the golf course speak and understand English - so no language problems. In any case it is wise to check before proceeding there as the time taken to get there is at least 30 minutes with the exception of Lanna Golf Course. Green fees are reasonable, from 600 bahts to 1,200 bahts. The weekday rates and the weekend rates are the same for all the clubs except for Green Valley Golf Club and Lanna Golf Club. So if you have the time, avoid playing at these two clubs during the week ends. It is best to play during the late morning as the course can get to be pretty crowded in the afternoon and you don't want to be stuck behind a five ball group right?
I met Mr. Robert Tan who incidentally is a Singaporean Manager working in Green Valley Golf Club. Do contact him at Green Valley. The course is flat, therefore it is really unnecessary to get a buggy. Anyway buggy cost is from 400 to 600 bahts per golfer. In Lanna Golf Course the buggy charge is on per hour basis (100 bahts per hour).
Caddies are in abundance, as many as 300 to 500 caddies per golf course, and you can get one to serve you or as many as three caddies. It cost from 150 baht to 200 bahts per caddy for a round of 18 holes. Tips to caddy is between 150 - 200 bahts. It is not necessary to buy caddies any drinks. In my encounter, I offered to buy them drinks at the drink hut, but in all the golf courses, they declined my offer. They actually do carry their own drinking flasks with them.
Though F&B is just a little bit more costly, it does not hurt the pocket. Example a can of sprite at the club would cost 30 bahts while the same drink could be had at a roadside stall for 15 to 20 bahts. A plate of fried noodles would be in the region of around 60 to 70 bahts.
On the whole, my golfing partner and I had a wonderful time playing the well manicured golf courses and would certainly recommend that you try it for yourself.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 22 April 2008 09:44 )
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