Evergreen Hills Golf Club

Evergreen Hills Golf Club is located in Kanchanaburi Province about 2 1/2 hours west of Bangkok.    We had a chance to play this course in early December when the weather was absolutely perfect. They currently have very reasonable weekday green fees of 800 baht per golfer and only 1200 baht on weekends.  Caddie fees are 220 baht, typical for courses in this area.  

Evergreen Hills offers an interesting format of holes, of which more than half are dog legs of some kind or another.  Couple that with blind tee shots and smallish raised greens and you have a pretty decent venue for some interesting golf.  The course is not long at only 6,471 yards at the blue tees, but the black tee (tips) come out to 7,111 yards.  The yardages seem long due to the many dog legs which can be shorten with the proper placement of your tee shots.  A good drive off the tee on the shorter par 4s will give you a mid to short iron approach shot on most holes.  Miss the fairway, like I did on a couple of holes,  and you can quickly run up big numbers getting out of those beautiful trees.  In my case two snowmen ruined my score card for the day.

fairways in beautiful condition

There are 18 varieties of trees (one for each hole) that give the course a feeling unlike others in Thailand.  For one thing, the general impression is that the course looks really green, even though we are in the dry season this time of year.  Also the variety of trees gives one the impression that the course is somewhere other than Thailand where its too common for courses to use local vegetation and native trees.  The fairways were in terrific shape and were neatly mowed in anticipation of a big tournament scheduled for the following week.

As for the course, right off the bat, the first hole is a par 5 to get your blood moving.  Water doesn't come into play much on the front nine, but hole #6 requires an approach shot over water to the green.  As mentioned previously, if you can shape your drives you can shorten your approach shots on the many doglegs.  On the back nine, water comes into play on four holes, with hole #16 simulating an island green.  The greens were hard but in pretty decent shape - modestly fast and rolled true.  

Very basic but neat locker room facilities

The clubhouse, restaurant, and locker rooms are modest and didn't match up with this great course.  The locker room was very basic and the showers were outdated and in need of renovation.  The restaurant was large and had a good view, but we didn't stay for the food after our round as we had a tip on a local restaurant down the road which turned out to be really good (and cheap too).  

Evergreen Hills in a complete resort with a hotel, meeting and banquet facilities.  Its obviously set up more for corporate meetings and seminars where leisure time between sessions can be spent playing golf, tennis, snookers, or swimming.   

Online booking is available on their website which is:  http://www.evergreenhillsgolfclub.co.th/home.php.

Overall rating 3.5 out of 5 stars.  Course was in great condition (getting ready for a big tournament), caddie service good, lockers and clubhouse was below average, restaurant and food facilities on the course was also average.  Value was very good at 800 baht on weekdays.

Here is a map of how to get to Evergreen Hills.  GPS:  13.813473,99.473219

My score card for the day...

Blue Sapphire Golf and Resort

Had a chance to play at Blue Sapphire Golf and Resort this week.  Haven't been there for a couple of years now due to scheduling conflicts.  We used to come to Kanchanaburi province to play golf every few months because of the great deals on the golf courses and resorts in this area.  Previous review from my other blog is here.   Aside from the beautiful River Kwai and its bridge made famous by the David Lean Movie in 1957, the area is blessed with mountains and vistas ideal for golf courses.

Blue Sapphire Golf & Resort got its name from the Sapphire mine that once operated there and the one that is adjacent that is still in operation.  The big holes created by the mining operation were reclaimed by filling them with water to create some beautiful lakes and water hazards for the golf resort.  On a few holes, petrified trees unearthed during the mining operation are used to add beauty to the layout.  

Consisting of 36 holes (A-B-C-D), the A&B Canyon course is more resort oriented while the Ocean Course (B&C) is a bit more difficult with more water in play.  You can play any combination of 9 holes as well, so depending on the starter, you may be assigned to courses A/C or B/D etc if you desire and scheduling permits.

Hole 3, Canyon Course - Drive over the water or else!

Hole #16 - Par 3, 181 yards from elevated tee

Both courses offer challenging carries over water on some holes (either your drive or your approach shot to the green) so bring some extra balls if your game is not up to snuff.  The fairways are fairly wide but if you miss the fairways there are many hills, mounds and trees that can quickly kill your score.  Golf carts are mandatory here as the terrain is very hilly.

On this visit, the greens again had just been sanded so the greens were very coarse and unpredictable due to the large sand pebbles used.  The dry weather and wind also brought down a lot of leaves from the nearby trees and thus a few greens were littered with both leaves and sand.  The fairways were in decent shape and our caddies were quite pleasant and knowledgeable.

A little map at the tee box to indicate the layout of the hole

Basic locker room facilites

Locker rooms were still very basic, although they said during our last visit that they would be improved but they looked the same to us.  We didn't stay for the food at the restaurant because we had a previous arrangement at the resort we were staying at.  There is a jewelry shop located near the pro shop which features sapphires found at the mine site before its renovation - a very unique souvenir if you are looking for something special to remember the visit.   

To get to Blue Sapphire, take 323 from Kanchanaburi City to 3398 and then 3086 .  The total driving time is about 2 1/2  hours from Bangkok.  Currently the green fees are only 800 baht during the week, and 1500 baht during weekends.  GPS Coordinates:  14.351751,99.508538

Overall rating:  3 out of a possible 5.  Challenging layout, decent fairways, good service.  Locker and greens (on this day anyway) need improvement.  A great value for a course of this caliber.