Amata Spring Country Club

1 hour from Bangkok center on the way to Pattaya

45 km south of Bangkok at the end of the elvated Bangna-Trat highway

Amata Spring Country Club, located half way between Bangkok and Pattaya is the host to the Royal Trophy, a Ryder Cup style event between the best golfers in Europe and Asia.

The golf course tests, teases, penalizes, rewards, and requires precision play if a good score is to be obtained. The golf course plays to a length of over 7,400 yards from the championship tees, ensuring even the single handicap golfer will be severely tested. Other tee boxes are strategically placed on each hole to make the golfing experience both enjoyable and challenging for golfers of all levels.

Whilst power and length are required on the longer front nine, finesse and accuracy are a must on the shorter hazard-filled back nine.

The Amata Spring layout has been ranked the No. 2 golf course in Thailand by Golf Digest and was named Asian Golf Monthly's "Best New Course in Asia" in 2006. Approximately 45 minutes outside Bangkok, it is distinguished by several lakeside holes, over 100 bunkers and Asia's only floating green, the 145-yard par-3 17th.

The 17th was built on bulkheads and weighs 700 tons. The green is approximately 7,500 square feet in size, making it smaller than the famous 17th at TPC Sawgrass. Moreover, it's a true island and is accessed by a small boat to take players from tee to green.

"The floating green is an architectural marvel," says Lee Schmidt, who founded Schmidt-Curley with partner Brian Curley in 1997. "We worked closely with local engineers to construct it and believe it makes a round at Amata Spring especially memorable."

Even more notable is the fact that the original floating green sunk in 2009 and was rebuilt by golf construction company, Quality Golf, in just 6 weeks prior to the 2009 Royal Trophy.

Schmidt-Curley's sister company, Flagstick Golf Course Construction Management, played a major role in Amata Spring's development. In addition to Amata Spring, Schmidt-Curley's Asian credits include the Siam Country Club, Old and Plantation courses in Pattaya, Mission Hills China and the Chiang Mai Highlands Golf Club.

Amata Spring Country Club has excellent practice facilities and first class club house. The award winning on site Italian restaurant deserves special mention and is open to the public.

Make a Tee-Off Reservation at the Amata Spring Country Club