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Golf guide • Thailand • Prachuap Khiri Khan

Golf in Hua Hin: Thailand's royal resort and its valley courses

Hua Hin, a royal seaside resort about 200 km south of Bangkok on the Gulf of Thailand, gathers within half an hour's drive Black Mountain, the Royal Hua Hin opened in 1922, Pineapple Valley and Springfield Royal, designed by Jack Nicklaus. Golfers come for valley golf among rocky hills, for the grand beach hotels and for a 1920s heritage that has survived intact. The best period runs from December to March, at the height of the dry season.

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In the early 1920s the arrival of the railway made Hua Hin Thailand's first seaside resort. The royal family built summer residences here, including King Prajadhipok's Klai Kangwon palace, and the railway company opened a grand hotel facing the sea. A century later, the town stretches along a long beach of pale sand between the headland of Khao Takiap to the south and Cha-am to the north, backed by wooded hills.

Golf was born here at the same time as the resort: the Royal Hua Hin, laid out by a Scottish railway engineer, opened its first holes in 1922 just behind the station. Since then courses have multiplied in the hinterland, in hollow valleys scattered with granite boulders and former pineapple plantations. Black Mountain, which has hosted Asian Tour and European Tour events, is the flagship.

The rhythm of a stay is simple: tee off at dawn while the air is still cool, back to the hotel for the pool and a massage, then grilled fish facing the gulf for dinner. Night markets, royal teak palaces and Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park happily fill the days without golf. The drive from Bangkok, about three hours, also makes it easy to add a few days in the capital.

The courses

Fairway and green edged by granite boulders and a stream, below dry hills in late-afternoon light

Black Mountain Golf Club

  • Architect: Phil Ryan
  • Opened 2007
  • 27 holes
  • Par 72

Opened in 2007 about ten kilometres west of town, some 25 minutes from the centre, Black Mountain is the work of Phil Ryan of Pacific Coast Design. Its twenty-seven holes, split into three nines (East, North and West, the last added in 2016), occupy a valley enclosed by dark granite hills. The original streams were preserved, water comes into play on twelve holes and russet native grasses frame the fairways. The course has hosted the Royal Trophy, several Asian Tour events and the Thailand Classic, co-sanctioned with the European Tour. A championship layout, but with several sets of tees for every level.

Official website

Royal Hua Hin Golf Course

  • Architect: A. O. Robins
  • Opened 1922
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

Hua Hin's oldest course lies just behind the station, five minutes from the centre. Designed by A. O. Robins, a Scottish engineer with the Royal Siamese Railways, it opened its first nine holes in 1922, was inaugurated by King Rama VI in 1924 and has had eighteen holes since 1928. This 6,678-yard par 72 has no water hazards: the difficulty comes from tall trees, tight doglegs and small raised greens. Temples clinging to the hillsides look down on several holes, and macaques frequent the 13th. A course of history rather than length.

Signature hole. The 14th, a par 3 regarded as the signature hole, is played towards wooded hills dotted with temples.

Official website

Pineapple Valley Golf Club

  • Architect: Pirapon Namatra
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

Formerly known as Banyan, Pineapple Valley lies about five kilometres south of town, a quarter of an hour by road. The Thai architect Pirapon Namatra, with the GolfEAST practice, designed this par 72 of more than 7,300 yards on former pineapple plantations, following the natural lie of the land. Strategic bunkering, rolling greens and views over both the hills and the gulf make it one of the country's highest-ranked courses. The Thai-style clubhouse and its terrace invite you to linger after the round.

Signature hole. The 15th, a short par 3, opens up a wide view over the Gulf of Thailand.

Springfield Royal Country Club

  • Architect: Jack Nicklaus
  • Opened 1993
  • 27 holes
  • Par 72

To the north, near Cha-am, about thirty minutes from the centre of Hua Hin, Springfield Royal bears Jack Nicklaus's signature. Opened in 1993, this parkland course now has twenty-seven holes: the original eighteen, a par 72, and a third nine designed by Lee Schmidt, more demanding still. Mature trees, water hazards and strategic bunkers on rolling terrain call for precise play. Five sets of tees let everyone find their distance, and the complex offers accommodation, an academy and a restaurant on site.

Signature hole. The 18th on the original course, a par 5 to an island green, rewards those who go for it in two.

Official website

Where to stay

Centara Grand Beach Resort Hua Hin

The former Railway Hotel, opened by the railway company in 1922, is Hua Hin's historic address: verandas on the original building by the Italian Alfredo Rigazzi, topiary gardens with a century-old elephant, and a set for the film The Killing Fields in 1984. Ask for a room in the Railway Wing, with teak furniture and high ceilings, and take tea at the Museum Coffee and Tea Corner. The Royal Hua Hin is a few hundred metres away.

Baan Bayan

Built in the reign of Rama VI as a prince's summer residence, this colonial wooden house facing the sea was bought in 1952 by the current owners' grandmother, who named it after her scented powder, Bayan. Her family now keeps eighteen rooms in the garden. Ask for one with a partial sea view and the large terrace; the tea room and library are in the original house. There is no lift.

Long pool between two Thai pavilions with tiled roofs lit by lanterns, coconut palms and the sea at dusk

Where to dine

Jek Pia

On a corner of Dechanuchit Road in the old town, this Thai-Chinese coffee shop in an old wooden house has been run by the same family for two generations. It serves twice a day: breakfast from early morning (chicken rice, roast pork, noodle soups), then a dinner service of barely two hours from 5 pm, when every table orders the seafood suki bubbling in a clay pot and the crab omelette. Join the queue before five, and bring cash.

McFarland House

South of town, at Nong Kae near Khao Takiap, this two-storey pavilion was King Rama VI's gift to Dr George Bradley McFarland, compiler of the 1939 Thai–English dictionary, who made it his seaside house. Restored, it is now the beachfront restaurant of The Barai, the wellness resort in Hyatt's Unbound Collection next to the Hyatt Regency. Grilled meat and fish to share, afternoon tea from Monday to Saturday; on Sunday, book the brunch, which draws Hua Hin residents too.

Beyond golf

The royal station and teak palaces

The original station building, built in 1926 and often called the most beautiful station in Thailand, has been preserved since the new elevated station opened in 2023; its red-and-cream royal pavilion was moved there in 1967. At Cha-am, the Mrigadayavan Palace, King Rama VI's summer residence built in 1923 and 1924, lines up sixteen teak buildings on stilts, linked by walkways facing the sea. It is now open to visitors as a museum.

Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park

About sixty kilometres to the south, this park, created in 1966, combines limestone peaks, mangroves and the country's largest freshwater marsh, rich in herons, egrets and kingfishers. From Laem Sala beach, a walk of about an hour leads to Phraya Nakhon Cave, where a pavilion built for King Chulalongkorn's visit in 1890 bathes in the light falling from the roof. Set off early, before the heat.

Khao Takiap and the evening markets

Eight kilometres south of the centre, the hill of Khao Takiap is crowned by a temple with a view over the whole bay. At its foot, Cicada Market brings together artists, craftspeople and food stalls in a festive atmosphere. In town, the night market comes alive every evening: skewers, grilled seafood and roti made before your eyes. It is the best way to taste the local street food after a day's golf.

Red-and-cream wooden Thai station pavilion with carved gables, beside an empty platform and tracks in the morning

When to go

The dry season runs from December to April. From December to March skies are clear, the heat stays bearable in the morning and the courses are at their best; it is also high season, so book ahead. April, still dry, is the hottest month, with average highs around 33°C. The monsoon arrives in May; the heaviest rain falls from September to November, peaking in October.

Getting there

Most golfers fly into Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, about three hours from Hua Hin by private transfer. Hua Hin's small airport receives only a handful of domestic flights. The train from Bangkok takes about four hours and serves the new Hua Hin station; buses also leave from the capital's southern terminal. Once there, a car with driver is the simplest way to reach the courses.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best golf course in Hua Hin?

Black Mountain, opened in 2007 and designed by Phil Ryan, is the best known: it appears in Golf Digest's ranking of the best courses outside the United States and has hosted Asian Tour and European Tour events. Pineapple Valley, ranked among the country's best courses, is the other big name.

What is the oldest golf course in Hua Hin?

The Royal Hua Hin Golf Course, behind the station: its first nine holes opened in 1922 and it was inaugurated by King Rama VI in 1924. It has had eighteen holes since 1928.

When is the best time to play golf in Hua Hin?

From December to March, in the heart of the dry season, before the intense heat of April. The heaviest rain falls from September to November.

How long does it take to get from Bangkok to Hua Hin?

Allow about three hours by road from Suvarnabhumi airport, or roughly four hours by train from Bangkok. Hua Hin lies about 200 km south-south-west of the capital.

Is there a seaside golf course in Hua Hin?

Yes, Sea Pines, south of town near Suan Son Pradiphat beach: six of its holes run along the beach, the others lie across the railway line towards the hills. The course is run by the Thai army.

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