Golfing around the city of Chiang Mai

By Paul Horstermans

It was during the summer of 2007 when I stayed for six weeks in the city of Chiang Mai, that I discovered what a great golfing destination it is. Once I had completed the check in procedure at the hotel, my program’s next activity was to immediately check out the available golfing options and the quality levels. Well let me tell you, I really was surprised! Besides being a city bestowed with traditional culture, ancient Buddhist temples, unique crafts and spa facilities (to keep my wife busy while I’m on the fairways, Chiang Mai also represented a wide range of various outstanding golfing courses. They’re well maintained, affordable and in great setting. Of course when you’ve finished your round there’s also the prospect of a cheap massage, great meal and decent hotel without breaking the bank. I could even have my own caddie!

There are some excellent courses in Chiang Mai

All of the courses I played enjoyed a wonderful location amidst scenic areas of jaw-dropping natural beauty. The majority of the generally challenging golf courses here are truly mature, professionally maintained, well designed, featuring gorgeous water features along with fast greens, and also very suitable for beginning golfers. Several of the courses are surrounded by mountains, providing soothing fresh air and awesome scenery throughout the entire game.

I also appreciate the many other facilities the courses offer. The better courses are facilitated with recreational amenities such as an outdoor swimming pool, fitness centre, the typical massage service, restaurant and a snooker room. After playing for about two hours, I always preferred to take a rest and recharged my batteries while enjoying a refreshing fruit drink in the course’s clubhouse.

The very affordable cost is another great benefit that the golf courses around Chiang Mai offer. Compared with many other qualitative similar courses I’ve visited across the world, the green fees and equipment hire rates are in general very reasonably priced. The most expensive course I’ve played on was the Chiang Mai Highlands Golf & Spa. The fees here included:

1,800 baht per 18 holes.
600 baht for hiring the one-person golf cart.
200 baht rent for a pair of golfing shoes.
600 baht for a golf set.
200 baht caddy fee.
100 baht for an umbrella.

Prices for a round of tropical golf are very affordable

The total amount was 3,500 baht, which is about 75 euro. In general the price for all the necessary fees (assuming you are a tourist and will need to hire clubs and shoes and arrange a transfer) will be around 55 euro. But I’ve managed to enjoy a round for less than 1000 baht. It’s not just the world-class courses that draw an increasing number of international as well as domestic golfing enthusiasts but also the year-round pleasurable climate along with some spectacular scenery.

Finally I would like to mention the two courses, which I’ve enjoyed the most. These include the Chiang Mai - Lamphun Golf Club and Heritage resort located in the town of Sankaempeang, which can easily be reached by road within less than 45 minutes. This mature and excellently maintained course enjoys a fabulous setting in a hidden valley and is part of a comfortable resort that makes an ideal golfing weekend getaway. The green fee per 18 holes including all the other necessary costs is about 3,200 baht, which equals 67 euro.

My other favourite is the Lanna Golf Club. This facility is located just 15 minutes from the city centre, on the Mae Rim road. The course is absolutely one of the most established and popular courses in Chiang Mai and pick of the bunch for new-comers. The Lanna Golf Club offers a superb, mature course with challenging fairways and fast greens. It is especially favoured by the who's who of Chiang Mai, booking might be necessary during the high season. A day golfing here will cost around 2,500 baht, which is only 52 euro.

But there are quite a few more courses to choose from. The new Hang Dong course isn’t too far out of town and certainly the cheapest, with a standard rounding costing less than 400 baht. It’s a fairly new course though. Most conveneient and also reasonably priced is the Gymkhana club, a 100 year old colonial course and club house near the Sheraton hotel. The others all cost 1,600 baht per 18 holes and up, and I’d recommend Royal Chiang Mai or Mae Jo Golf courses. Green Valley is full of big noodle Thais and you might feel a bit out of place. Then there are the resort places like Chiang Mai - Lamphun and Gassan Khun Tan which are superb but a bit pricey so you need to make a weekend of it and check into the resort to get good value. Be prepared for the Korean package tourists though!