Riverdale Golf Club – 18 holes par 72 (7006 yards)
(premium course with excellent greens and hole routing)
Riverdale Golf Club is destined to become one of the most celebrated Bangkok golf courses. Riverdale may not at first glance look the most menacing test of golf you’ve seen. However, the golfer is in for a surprise.The landscape includes several large lakes which were dredged to create the hills that surround the golf course and frame most of the holes. Once you’ve fired your opening tee-shot at the gently sloping downhill opener, the challenges and considerable charm of these immaculately groomed links will quickly assert themselves.
Royal Chiang Mai Golf Club & Resort – 18 holes par 72 (6969 yards)
(Peter Thomson designed parkland course in scenic countryside)
Royal Chiang Mai Golf Club & Resort, built in 1996, is one of the original modern day Chiang Mai golf courses. The layout is well-suited for the amateur and professional golfer alike. The most striking feature if the golf course itself is the abundance of greenery and mature tress whilst keeping in harmony with the natural scenery and rolling countryside.
Set within a valley and surrounded by mountains, Royal Chiang Mai Golf Club & Resort is a course of natural beauty and incorporates waterfalls, streams, and an abundance of landscaping. The Chiang Mai golf course was constructed on the site of a former fruit orchard and as such has one of the largest varieties of tress that can be found on any Thailand golf course. Literally thousands of flowering and native trees with different fragrances and colors throughout the year dot the course and line every hole. The higher Chiang Mai altitude provides a cooler, less humid climate, clear air, and gentle breezes. There is a plethora of wildlife including many species of local birds.
The short 6969 yard course is missing a set of back (black tees), but it more than makes up for the lack of distance with clever use of many of the elements from a British links style course; including bumpy & gently rolling fairways, numerous pot bunkers, and closely mowed areas around the greens. This shorter course rewards ball placing accuracy rather than long shots and ensures a challenging game for both beginner and golf professional alike.
Summit Green Valley Chiang Mai Country Club – 18 holes par 72 (7202 yards)
The Summit Green Valley layout is one of the best kept in Chiang Mai – Situated in the lowlands and only 20 minutes drive from the center of Chiangmai, Summit Green Valley manages to offer beautiful surroundings, air freshness, and various native landscaping unique to Northern Thailand. Hundreds of palm trees line the course, which affords nice views of the surrounding mountains. This is the second golf course in the Green Valley group, the first being in Bangkok.
Summit Green Valley is very difficult to par, especially from the back tees at 7200 yards. The golf course features an abundance of well placed sand bunkers and lots of water that can come into play on nearly every hole on the course. The fairways, lined with palm trees, seem wide, but golfers must be careful in that water hazards and bunkers are plentiful at the landing areas, thus making the fairways narrow and leaving no room for wayward shots. The greens are large, receptive to approach shots, and putting speed is moderate to slightly fast. However, course length, numerous elevation changes, and prevailing wind makes Green Valley a tough but fair challenge to golfers of all skill levels.
Gassan Legacy Golf Club – 18 holes par 72 (6852 yards)
(strategic with some of the best conditions in Chiang Mai)
Gassan Lake City Golf Club located near Lamphun in late 2014 after being renamed Gassan Legacy.
New turf, drainage, and greenside hazards have been the focus. An already challenging course with water hazards and forced carries throughout; Gassan Legacy rewards accuracy over distance. The Gassan course plays to a modest 5,967 yards from the white tees but don’t be fooled by that, it is a full 6,852 yards from the tips.
Alpine Golf Resort Chiang Mai – 18 holes par 72 (7541 yards)
(host of 2013-14 Chiangmai Golf Classic)
The Alpine Golf Resort Chiang Mai (formerly Chiang Mai Lamphun Golf Club) nestles in a valley between the mountain ranges in the heart of the San Kampaeng natural forests. It is undoubtedly one of the golf courses in Chiang Mai that boast of the best in natural beauty. The design of the course, by world-famous golf course designer Mr Ron M Garl, was inspired by the magnificent hills in its horizon. No matter where you are on the course, you are sure to enjoy nature at her best: exquisite lush green from the nearby forests – which comprise a rich assembly of trees such as the golden teakwood, the Dipterocarpus Alatus and many more other species.
In planning and constructing the Alpine Chiang Mai golf course, the designer, Ron Garl, has maintained the same standards as his other award winning jewels including the TPC at Prestansia and Palm Beach Polo Club both in Florida, and the Alpine sister golf course in Bangkok. The 18-hole, Chiang Mai course at 7,541 yards in length from the black tees will challenge the serious player, although anyone who enjoys golfing in the fresh country air, close to nature, will find it equally pleasant from either the white or blue tee boxes.
Chiang Mai Highlands Golf and Spa Resort – 27 holes par 72/36 (7003/3601 yards)
The Chiang Mai Highlands Golf Club opened in 2005 and significantly added to the quality of Chiang Mai golf courses. The drive to Highlands from Chiang Mai leads through exceptionally beautiful landscape, in an eastern direction passing rice fields and plantations into the mountains.
The Chiang Mai Highlands golf course is built on a ‘power spot’ – the hermitage of Kuba Sivichai (the revered monk who founded the famous Doi Suthep temple). This site is breathtaking in every direction. Its tranquility, high elevation, cool climate, fresh air, pure water, and fertile soil, form the perfect place for the 27-hole layout.
