Mission Hills Golf Club Kanchanaburi

Mission Hills Country Club in Kanchanaburi is one of the three Jack Nicklaus designed Mission Hills golf courses in Thailand, the other two being Khao Yai Golf Club and Mission Hills Phuket. The course setting is among natural surroundings on a gently sloping hillside. Mature palms line the fairways of this River Kwai golf course, which relies on water, sand, trees, and, Nicklaus' specialty, waste bunkers for its hazards. 

Only good players will play their handicap on this course. Avoid the thick Bermuda grass near the bunkers to prevent double bogeys. Five of the holes offer double fairways, giving different approaches to the green. The course has a choice of five well-spaced sets of tees for players of all abilities to choose from. 

The par-5’s are among the best holes on the course. The 8th, for example, is a long hole; very well bunkered down the left side and center of the fairway, with a beautiful stretch of water and reeds down the right side from tee to green. The 12th is another long hole, this time with a wide creek splitting the fairway from tee to green; a double fairway gives you the option to go left or right from the tee, although the stream has a habit of claiming its fair share of victims. The 17th, this time a par-4, is another strategically testing hole, with an approach shot required to an island green. 

With jungle-clad hills and rural countryside all around, this is a scenic Kanchanaburi golf course. The large timber-clad clubhouse is decent for a bite. However, the on-site golf resort is probably best skipped as accommodations are only average.