Burapha Golf Club

North of Pattaya near Laem Chabang

30 minutes from Pattaya

Burapha Golf Club, previously a member's only course, has hosted several professional tournaments including the 2010 Thailand Open. The 36 holes at Burapha have been designed to take full advantage of the beauty of the land and its natural features - lakes, hills, palms trees and tropical vegetation, all skillfully landscaped.

Designed by Americans Gary Panks and David Graham; Burapha Golf Club's is laid out on hilly terrain. The East (A-B) Course features wide fairways and is perfect for the up & coming golfer. The West (C-D) Course is a challenge for more advanced and professional golfers. The golf courses are both well maintained, fairways and greens generally kept in better than average condition, and the holes are well placed.

With lush, verdant Thai countryside and jungle-clad hills all around, Burapha's claim to be the home of 36-holes of British/American links style golf is hard to believe. The American Wood-nine (A) and British Links-nine (B) claim may be something of a stretch for the imagination. Both are very pleasant courses, but are more parkland in style, rather than open, links style layouts.

Characteristic of the very well-designed A and B courses are some wonderfully elevated tee-boxes that give excellent views onto the holes laid out below. Around the greens clinging semi-rough joins forces with good-quality bunkering to put a premium on hitting the assorted-sized greens. The American Wood nine will need  tree planting to develop further before it takes on anything of a mature wooded character, and its companion may not be everyone's idea of a British links-style course - sand dunes and a salty breeze are not much in evidence. However, in combination, Burapha's A & B courses provide a very scenic and testing golfing outing in an enjoyable, lightly tree-lined, parkland setting.

All four nines at Burapha give you the opportunity to look across the verdant valley to the impressive clubhouse of Laem Chabang Golf Club, but on the Dunes-nine the views get seriously more spectacular than that. The substantial hill-climb on the Dune's 6th and 7th holes, reward the golfer with a breathtaking panorama across the surrounding countryside. The tower blocks of Pattaya and the cranes of Laem Chabang port, the ocean and large offshore islands are all in the vista. This open, undulating Dunes-course is a different proposition from the less open, more parkland style of its front-nine companion, the Crystal-course. With a mix of lightly tree-lined and water protected holes, the Crystal-nine provides a gentle lead-in to the more entertaining and spectacularly scenic Dunes-course.

Pattaya golf travelers can enjoy their golf in a very serene and quiet setting. The clubhouse serves good reasonably priced local and international food in the golfers' restaurant. For non-golfers there is a wide range of facilities, such as swimming pools, tennis courts, and exercise equipment. The locker rooms are in desperate need of a makeover and should be avoided if at all possible.

Since the 2010 Thailand Open Burapha has been routing Pattaya golfers on a course combinations such as A-C or B-D. If you want to play where the professionals do, ask for the B-D routing.  Course A is good if you want a more relaxed game. C is somewhere in the middle.

Make a Tee-Off Reservation at the Burapha Golf Club