Golf guide • Thailand • Bangkok and the Central Plain

Golf in Bangkok: championship courses on the edge of the Thai capital

Bangkok's great courses are not in the city but in the clubs around it, forty-five minutes to an hour and a quarter away by road: Thai Country Club, where Tiger Woods won in 1997, Gil Hanse's Ballyshear links, Alpine to the north and Nikanti to the west. Golfers come to pair a round in the morning with the city at night, ideally from November to February, in the dry, less hot season.

Plan this tripUpdated 11 October 2026

Bangkok is a golf destination apart: you sleep beside the Chao Phraya or in the Silom business district, and leave early for clubs set on the former rice plain around the capital. The great courses are not in the city: the best are forty-five minutes to an hour and a quarter away by road outside rush hour. That is the price of playing layouts that have hosted Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and major Asian tournaments.

Two clubs lie to the east, on the Pattaya road, twenty-five minutes from Suvarnabhumi airport: Thai Country Club, the country's benchmark since 1996, and Ballyshear, a links-style course by Gil Hanse opened in 2021. To the north, Alpine raised hills out of flat paddy fields; to the west, Nikanti plays in three loops of six holes. The plain is flat and the heat real: buggies are common, and caddies are customary.

Four to six nights are enough: three or four courses, a rest day for the temples and Chatuchak market, an evening of Thai boxing. You can extend to Pattaya or Hua Hin, which each have their own courses and are reached by road. In the evening, the city takes over, from a three-Michelin-star tasting menu to an omelette on Charoen Krung.

The courses

Green and white sand bunker beside a pond covered in lotus leaves, tall tropical trees and palms behind

Thai Country Club

Architect: Denis Griffiths
Opened 1996
18 holes
Par 72

At kilometre 35.5 on the Bangna-Trad highway, in Chachoengsao province, Denis Griffiths' course opened in December 1996 and made its name the following year: Tiger Woods won the 1997 Asian Honda Classic here by ten shots. Vijay Singh won here in 1998, and the club has since hosted the Volvo Masters of Asia in 2007 and 2008, then the Aramco Team Series in 2022. A par 72 of more than 7,000 yards, with rolling fairways, raised greens and plenty of water. Its conditioning is reputed to be immaculate and its caddies among the best trained in the country. Visitors welcome; closed on Mondays.

Signature hole. The 6th, a par 3 of about 200 metres, is the hole the professionals dread: it has played to an average of 3.38 in tournament play.

Official website

Ballyshear Golf Links

Architect: Gil Hanse
Opened 2021
18 holes
Par 71

On the former Kiarti Thanee Country Club at Bang Bo, Gil Hanse recreated the spirit of the Lido, Charles Blair Macdonald and Seth Raynor's lost course on Long Island. Opened in 2021, the par-71 Ballyshear lines up the template holes of America's golden age: Eden, Cape, Biarritz, Alps, Punch Bowl, and a Redan at the 16th. Thai-grown zoysia gives firm fairways and fast greens, with large water hazards and blind shots. It is a members' club: visitor access goes through a specialist agency and must be booked well in advance. For lovers of architecture, a course unlike any other in Thailand.

Signature hole. The 8th, a Biarritz of about 200 metres, is a par 3 whose green is split down the middle by a swale, as the template requires.

Alpine Golf Club

Architect: Ron Garl
Opened 1996
18 holes
Par 72

At Khlong Luang, in Pathum Thani province north of the city, Ron Garl designed his first course in Asia in 1996 with one fixed idea: to create hills on 770 rai of perfectly flat paddy fields. The result, a par 72 of 7,100 yards, plays across artificial slopes, lakes and greens tilted behind the mounds. Alpine hosted the golf events of the 1998 Asian Games and the Johnnie Walker Classic in 2000, won by Tiger Woods, and again in 2004. Visitors are welcome by reservation, except on Mondays. Allow an hour to an hour and a quarter from the centre depending on traffic.

Nikanti Golf Club

Architect: Pirapon Namatra
Opened 2014
18 holes
Par 72

In Nakhon Pathom province, about an hour west of the centre, Nikanti opened in 2014 on a layout by Pirapon Namatra (GolfEast). The concept, presented by the club as a first in Asia: eighteen holes in three loops of six, each with two par 3s, two par 4s and two par 5s, over 6,789 yards and par 72. The green fee includes the caddie, a GPS-equipped buggy, the Thai and international buffet at the Kan restaurant and snacks on the course; tee times are spaced fifteen minutes apart. Fast greens and demanding bunkers: more than a relaxed round.

Official website

Where to stay

Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

Opened in 1876 as The Oriental, this was the first hotel built in Thailand and is Bangkok's historic address, on the banks of the Chao Phraya. The Authors' Wing keeps the spirit of the 19th-century building, and Le Normandie, opened in 1958 and now entrusted to Anne-Sophie Pic, holds two Michelin stars. For a first stay, a river-view room is a must: the comings and goings of the boats are a show from morning to night.

PASSA Hotel Bangkok

A modest-sized hotel on Saladaeng Road, in the Silom business district, with hand-painted murals that differ on every floor, blending Chinese, Indian, Western and Thai influences. The Skytrain and the metro are a few minutes' walk away. Save the end of the day for the small rooftop pool and its jacuzzi, above the city. One caveat: the walls sometimes let noise through.

Siamotif

A 1940s wooden house on the Bangkok Noi canal in Thonburi, which Maii Radabkij inherited from her father and opened in 2015 after giving each room to artists, every one painted with its own motif. In the evening, settle among the beanbags on the canal balcony as the long-tail boats go by. Shoes come off at the door, and canal life can be heard. Far from the eastern clubs, it suits Nikanti better.

Wooden terrace lit by lanterns, rattan armchairs and a long-tail boat on a wide river at dusk

Where to dine

Sorn

Three Michelin stars for southern Thai cooking, served as a tasting menu by chef Supaksorn "Ice" Jongsiri in a restored house on Sukhumvit Soi 26, dressed with antique utensils from her collection. Tapi River prawns, Phuket lobster and a cellar of more than 500 labels. The rice salad and the chilli fish sauce, the only dishes shared by both menus, sum up the house. Book as soon as your dates are fixed.

Samlor

A small corner restaurant on Charoen Krung, in Bang Rak, recognisable by the tricycle hanging at the entrance (samlor means tricycle). Bare walls, an open kitchen, dishes inspired by Thai street food. The Michelin Guide recommends it and advises ordering the omelette, puffed and soft.

Krua Apsorn

The family canteen founded by Chanchawee Sakunkan, "Aunt Daeng", whose cooking so pleased the Princess Mother Srinagarindra that she became a royal cook. Civil servants and families queue on Samsen Road, in Dusit, at the original dining room. The crab omelette is a must; order the yellow curry with large prawns and lotus root too. Cash only, and it closes early in the evening: head there straight from the course.

Beyond golf

The Grand Palace and the river temples

The Grand Palace, Wat Pho and, across the river, Wat Arun can be seen in a single morning, moving from pier to pier on the Chao Phraya boats. Arrive at opening time, before the heat and the groups, with shoulders and knees covered. In the afternoon, the canals of Thonburi, by long-tail boat, show the Bangkok of the water, with its stilt houses and small neighbourhood temples.

Chatuchak market

At weekends, Chatuchak market lines up more than 15,000 stalls in 27 sections: ceramics, plants, antiques, textiles, homewares and street food. Reach it by MRT, at Kamphaeng Phet or Chatuchak Park stations, or by BTS Skytrain at Mo Chit. Come in the morning, while the heat is still bearable, and keep the afternoon for the pool.

An evening of Thai boxing

Rajadamnern Stadium, opened in 1945, is with Lumpinee one of the two great venues of muay thai. Fights take place every evening, preceded by the wai khru, the boxers' ritual salute. An evening of rare intensity, best kept for the middle of the trip, when you are not playing early the next day.

Canal lined with wooden stilt houses, a moored boat and an orange and green temple roof with gilded gables

When to go

The dry, cooler season, from November to February, is the best time to play: clear skies, pleasant mornings, courses at their best, and the clubs' high season. From March to May the heat climbs, averaging close to 36°C in April; play only the first tee times. From May to October the monsoon brings showers, peaking in September; mornings remain playable and the courses quieter.

Getting there

Suvarnabhumi airport (BKK), about 25 kilometres east of the centre, receives direct flights from Europe. Allow forty-five minutes by taxi to the riverside or Silom hotels, longer at rush hour; the Airport Rail Link also runs to the centre. Thai Country Club and Ballyshear are twenty-five minutes from the airport. Once there, a private driver is the simplest option.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best golf course near Bangkok?

Thai Country Club, Denis Griffiths' 1996 layout, where Tiger Woods won the 1997 Asian Honda Classic. Ballyshear Golf Links, designed by Gil Hanse in 2021, is the most original, but access is more restricted.

How long does it take to get to the golf courses from Bangkok?

Outside rush hour, about forty-five minutes to Thai Country Club and Ballyshear, an hour to Nikanti and an hour to an hour and a quarter to Alpine. Leaving at dawn avoids most of the traffic.

Can visitors play the golf courses around Bangkok?

Yes at Thai Country Club, Alpine and Nikanti, by reservation; Thai Country Club and Alpine are closed on Mondays. Ballyshear is a members' club whose access goes through a specialist agency, to be requested well in advance.

Do you need a caddie to play golf in Bangkok?

It is the custom in Thailand and a real asset on greens that are hard to read. At Nikanti, the caddie is included in the green fee; elsewhere, budget for the caddie fee and a tip.

When is the best time for a golf trip to Bangkok?

From November to February, in the dry, cooler season. March to May is very hot, and the rainy season, from May to October, means playing in the morning.

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Long beach of pale sand under a hazy sky, fishing boats painted blue and red, a wooded hill with a small temple at its foot

Prachuap Khiri Khan