Thailand’s golf courses have been designed by some of the world’s best golf course architects including Greg Norman.
Norman won The Open Championship twice, in 1986 and 1993, and also won The Players Championship in 1994, averaging less than 69 strokes per round. However, Norman may be regarded as an underachiever because of by his myriad near-misses in The Masters, the U.S. Open, and the PGA Championship.
Perhaps the most famous and embarrassing Norman meltdown of all occurred at The Masters in 1996, where he blew a six-stroke lead in the final round and lost the tournament by five strokes.
Greg Norman Golf Course Design was established in 1987 in Sydney, Australia. Now headquartered in Jupiter, Florida, it has grown into one of the leading golf course design companies. Norman’s hands-on approach is invaluable to the design process. He utilizes his playing experience in each design, with the goal of creating tournament-quality courses that maintain an enjoyable sense of playability for all skill levels. Nowhere is this more evident than three Norman designs that regularly draw acclaim from both the world’s top professional and amateur golfers — TPC at Sugarloaf in Duluth, Georgia, home of the PGA Tour’s BellSouth Classic; Tiburón Golf Club in Naples, Florida, host of the PGA Tour-sanctioned Franklin Templeton Shootout; and The Grand Golf Club in Queensland, Australia, site of the 2001 Australian Open.
Thana City Golf & Country Club, opened in 1993, is the only Greg Norman course in Thailand. This 18-hole championship course measures 6,905 yards to test even the keenest golfers and has one of the best course drainage systems in Bangkok to allow play throughout the rainy season. It has been the venue of several prestigious professional tournaments including the 1993 Thailand Men’s Open, the 1994 and 1995 Kosaido Thailand Ladies Open and host of the final round of the Johnnie Walker Super Tour 1996 which was won by Ernie Els.
There are Bangkok golf courses with more water, more elevation changes, and more bunkers, but the Thana City Greg Norman layout is still a good challenge.
Plain grasses, reeds and lots of sand were used to create an illusion of a seaside links right in the middle of a Bangkok suburb. The front and back-nines both have long par-3’s, as well as difficult rough areas off the fairways. These fairways seem wide in some areas, but narrow at the normal landing areas. Accurate tee shots are required on almost every hole to avoid the many fairway bunkers. The fairways are also lined with mature trees. Thana City’s condominiums are readily visible a few of the holes, but the overall feel is generally quite open.
The clubhouse is showing it’s age and is in need to some cosmetic repairs, but the golf course at Thana City is still of reasonable standard and worth playing.
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