Golf Around Pattaya

Inspire Magazine's video on Golf around Pattaya:

Tiger and Stevie Split

I remember the first time that I met Steve Williams.  I was working at the World Golf Championships at Harding Parking in San Francisco as a shuttle driver.  We were giving rides to the players and their caddies from the clubhouse to the driving range, which was about a ten minute walk away.  Naturally with the heavy bags and the need for crowd control, we were given access to a private back pathway which only the shuttles were permitted.  Steve was one of my passengers during one of the early rounds, and later on, so was Tiger Woods.

My ride with Stevie was memorable because he had come out before his boss and was heading up to the driving range.  Tiger was still in the clubhouse doing whatever he was doing so Stevie sat in my cart waiting near the driving range.  A celebrity in himself, we all chatted with him to get some insight into the #1 golfer in the world at the time but his answers were pretty standard.  But I did get to ask one question which had always been an interest to me due to my interest and connection to Thailand.  I asked Steve if Tiger could speak Thai, with a Thai mother and all.  He told me that he thought that Tiger could speak a few words, but mostly only with his Mother but was not at all fluent since his mother spoke pretty good English.  Steve came across as a real, down to earth kind of guy that I would trust completely in a dark alley or battle field by my side.  You could also tell he was pretty self confident in himself as well so he will do just fine in his life after Tiger Woods.

I didn't get to speak with Tiger when I drove him to the driving range because he was riding together with the commissioner of the PGA.  Tiger was telling him how he was getting treatment for his back problems back then from someone in Las Vegas.  Soft spoken and respectful, they continued their small talk until we got to the driving range and the calls of "Tiger", "Tiger", "Tiger", started to get louder.  With arrival, Tiger joined Stevie at the driving range and started  to work.  Neither of them will ever remember me, just one of the thousands of golf fans and volunteers that their lives have crossed, but I do remember them.   Unfortunately, they are not working together any more as of this week.

Yes, Tiger and Stevie did win that particular tournament...in sudden death against John Daly, who unfortunately missed a three foot put on the 17th hole in OT.

Bangpakong Riverside Golf Club

Chachoengsao is a province the lies between Bangkok and  Chonburi (Pattaya).  Mostly an industrial area, one of its characteristics is the large river (Bangpakong) that runs through the area.  Its about an hour's drive from the center of Bangkok along either the Chonburi Motorway or via the Bangna Trad Expressway.  Anyway, on the invitation from my police general friend, I had a chance to play a nice golf course in the province yesterday.  Situated right along the river, its appropriately called Bangpakong Riverside Golf Club.

Like many other courses, this is a resort type course with the developers hoping to sell land for homes, etc.  Its has full restaurant and clubhouse facilities and the course was well maintained.  This time of the year with the rains, many golf courses are partially flooded in some spots and the fairways very muddy.  At Bangprakong, the course was dry and very firm, with excellent greens that rolled very true.  Unfortunately, there is no actual view of the Bangpakong River at any point on the golf course except at the clubhouse area and on the way into the facility.

As far as layout is concerned, this course is very mild with slight doglegs and bunkers being the main challenges.  Water comes into play on a couple of holes, and unless one is really wild off the tee, the generous fairways offer a lot of forgiveness.  The course's primary defense is its length, which at 6700 yards off the whites and over 7100 yards off the tips offers all but the longest hitters a bit of a challenge.  It was windy yesterday and on some holes with a strong headwind, it made getting to the greens in regulation impossible for the average golfer.  There are four par 4 holes longer than 400 yards, and the par 3's were playing 170, 185, 200, 208 yards yesterday.

They are running sports day promotions on Monday and Thursday for 750 baht.  Also there is another special that runs Tues to Thursday that offers the green fee, caddie, and golf cart for 900 baht.  We got our round done in under 4 hours yesterday, just in time to duck a tournament of the Thai Golfer Society which started at noon.   Didn't have a great round, but considering my knee problems which has been flaring up lately, it wasn't too bad for such a long course.   No excuses though, it was a fun outing.  

The restaurant where we had lunch was fair.  Not exceptional in any way except that it had a sweeping view of the course from the dinning room.  Overall, the course was a decent experience and great for a fun day out with good friends.

Score Card Here:

Wilding Golf Performance Centers

The Wilding Golf Performance Centers provide a unique indoor golf experience in Bangkok using the latest swing, putting, and short game improvement technology.  They currently have five centers with around 50 swing bays, indoor putting greens, fitting centers, and a large professional teaching staff. They also have a hybrid center where the short game section is outside.  Its a great destination stop for golf visitors as well for a quick tune up or a packaged set of lessons from their multi-lingual staff of professionals.

Founded by Australian Shane Wilding, the golf centers use simulator technology from aboutGolf, USA.  The MauMee, Ohio based company also produced Microsoft golf and Greg Norman Ultimate Golf and has the world's most widely distributed golf simulator package.  You will find these simulators on cruise ships and training centers all over the planet - especially in places where its too hot or cold to be outside in the elements.  You also see it being used every week during the Golf Fix show on the Golf Channel as their backdrop.

I had been considering this option for a bit now since they first made the scene in the big mango a few years back.  It was an ideal supplement to the driving range and great self improvement tool, especially on those days when its unbearably hot and humid or when its raining hard outside.  While doing some shopping at Thaniya Plaza yesterday, I finally made the plunge and bought a one year elite membership.  The elite membership allows one to play at all the centers, as often as one likes for an entire year.  There are also discounts for lessons and food and beverages, etc.  I am not getting any endorsement or advertising compensation for posting this so in the next few months as I begin using the facilities, I can freely post my honest experiences with them and share them with the readers of this blog.

For now, I am really excited about replacing a few of my outdoor driving range sessions with the indoor ones and seeing if there is an improvement.  What really sold me over was that one of their newest centers is only 2 blocks from my condo and no more than a 5 minute walk away and that center has the large virtual surround  golf bay on the planet!  I might actually be living over there if I don't watch out!  I'm also looking forward to playing some of the fifty virtual courses on the swing bays, such as Pebble Beach.

For more details, you can visit their website or take this virtual 360 Tour of their facilities.

A new driver in the bag

Sorry for the absence away from the blogosphere, but I've been in California the last couple of months taking care of some person stuff and I can't write about the Golfing life in Thailand if I'm not there right?  Anyway, this post is about the addition of a new driver to my bag.  Every year, I evaluate my bag and compare it to the latest and greatest stuff that comes out and decide if I should upgrade my clubs.  This year is no different and most of the new clubs have been announced and have been or soon to be released.

Drivers are the big guns of every golf bag.  Its the heavy artillery you bring out to boom it down the fairway. Its the 'show' club.   Its the club of choice in TV commercials when someone is on the Tee, and most recreation golfers have the most difficult time with this club.  I've always struggled to get that 'perfect' driver - the one that is balanced with both distance and accuracy and have gone through so many in the past, I've lost count.  I guess I'm dreaming of one day finding that mythical, magical, and elusive 300 yard club somewhere. 

So this year the journey continues and I've added a new driver, the Nike SQ Machspeed Black to the bag.  How long its going to stay in the bag is anyone's guess.  It will stay there until I have a really bad driving day or something else comes along that blows my socks off.  Why the SQ Machspeed?  

For the most part, I ignore most of the marketing hype around the golf clubs.  What peaked my interest on this driver was the all black finish - a stark contrast to the all white drivers which are debuting on the PGA tour this week. Its a club that Darth Vader would use on the Death Star Course  or a club that the Ninjas  use to lop someone's head off.   Aside from the good looks, my first few test drives using this driver have been among the longest I've hit and they were for the most part, in the fairways.  The other selling feature was its price point.  At $299 USD retail and less than $200 on Ebay, it was a clear price performance winner over the more expensive 'tour everything' models of 2011.  

The Nike SQ Machspeed has the  Str8-fit adjustable hosel that allows eight different head settings and comes standard with their Nike version of the Mitsubishi Fubuki shaft which weighs only 52 grams in their stiff flex.  At less than 300 grams total, its one of the lightest drivers I've ever hit.  The strange thing is that the driver doesn't feel too light to swing and you can still feel the head, even at that weight.  Mine had a swingweight of D4.    Its great for someone like myself who has gotten on in the age department and needs a little help in distance while still having some control.

So far, I've played two rounds with the driver and missed only four fairways.  I noticed the balls have a bit of a fade on the finish, but the carry and roll after landing is longer.  A session to the driving range with the str8-fit wrench to adjust the face angle is scheduled today and hopefully that little fade is going to change to a little draw.  I also noticed that the str8-fit hosel adapters are not the same as the ones used for the Sumo drivers which I have now which makes reusing my Sumo shafts a lot harder.  You are going to have to buy new shafts or new adapters in order to swap out shafts.

So as I get ready to return to the Land of Smiles for some more golf, it will be equipment testing and acquisition time for the 2011 season.