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This is a high quality and very scenic course, set in spectacular rolling
hills with craggy peaks, and is one of the finest golf courses in Thailand.
The rolling hills of the surrounding countryside have been used to great
effect, and hazards to stop you reaching the large elevated greens are
in abundance. Not only does the course have many bunkers, sand traps and
water hazards, but there are also a lot of natural hazards in the shape
of exposed rock formations, lakes, ponds and creeks. It has 27 holes all
together and is divided into 3 sections: Mountain (A), Valley (B) &
Lake (C). Each hole has a different environment, and all holes are well
designed to test your skills. It is a very challenging course, and is
fun to play. I played at the B&C Course this time and was impressed
by the greatness of the challenging holes 1 through 4 of the C Course.
Pretty flowers are planted across the course, which might help you to
calm down after you shoot poorly. It seems that the A&B Course is
used for tournaments. However, I personally think that the B&C Course
represents this club, although A Course is good as well.
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| A good par 4 with beautiful landscaping around the green. Most
of the real trouble on this hole occurs on the right near the green. A drive
on the right half of the fairway will make the second shot more playable.
From that point, you can play this approach away from the lake, bunker and
low fairway that lie on the right. |
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| A slight dogleg to the right, long par 4. A well-hit tee shot
will leave you with a 170 – 200 yard approach to the green - all over the
water. For the more advanced player, holding the tee shot to the right side
of the fairway will leave a shot directly over the lake to the flag. Higher
handicap golfers may wish to reduce the risk of hitting into the water by
aiming left toward the 50 yards long fairway pad in front of the green.
This will leave an open pitch toward the hole with the possibility of a
par score with a good up-and-down play. |
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A pretty par 3 over the pond. The green is not deep, but is wide and the
front and back bunkers guard the green. The biggest challenge for a player
is to avoid the back bunker: this would leave a very difficult shot to a
downhill surface, with water across the green. Less advanced players would
usually do well to aim for the "fat" part of the green on the
right, keeping away from the front and back bunkers.
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| An uphill par 5 that requires 3 shots to reach the green for
all but a few golfers. The secret here is to play the first 2 shots to the
best position for the narrow approach to a green well guarded by rock outcrops
both left and right. Playing the second shot well to the left of the high
hill in front of the green will leave an open avenue between the rocks.
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A dynamic downhill, beautiful par 4. The drive should be placed down the
right side of the fairway to provide the widest opening to the green. Second
shots can be played strongly to clear the front bunker since there are no
hazards behind the green. |
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| A great par 5 that requires shots over the water twice. A
creek runs on the left side of the fairway for the tee shot, but to hit
to the left half of the fairway will give the second shot a shorter and
more open attempt. For the second & third shots, the creek comes into
play on the right side of the fairway and the green. There is a vast bunker
guarding the front right of the green, which makes the fairway pad in front
of the green extremely narrow. Too far right of the elevated green finds
mounds or OB. This hole demands that every shot is precise: otherwise, not
only saving par, let alone having birdie, will be difficult. |
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| You should keep the drive close to the long fairway bunker
on the right to shorten the second shot and open the approach. If you shoot
from the left to the right, the bunker and water next to it will catch your
ball. The second shot is over the water. |
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| A very long and difficult par 4. The fairways are split by
a bunker and a difference of elevation. A long and accurate tee shot to
the lower fairway on the right level offers a shorter route with a better
angle to approach the green although the lower fairway is narrow and the
right side of it faces the lake. This may be a good hole to lay-up short
of the lake on the second shot unless the drive is long or if you can hit
a reliable long iron or fairway wood. In this case, you had better drive
to the upper fairway on the left, away from the water. |
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A par 3 over a pond. Water, flowers, bunkers enhance the beauty of scenery.
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It takes 30 minutes from Pattaya by car. The clubhouse facility is excellent
and the view from there is spectacular. The club has 40 comfortable rooms
of accommodation. The caddies are well trained. Burapha
CC is located just the opposite side of the road.
According to the top100golfcourses.co.uk
site,Leam Chabang International CC was ranked 11th out of the 270 (as
of 2015) courses in all of Thailand during its 2015 evaluation.
The other Jack Nicklaus-designed golf courses in Thailand are Sprigfields
Royal CC, Mission Hills
GC, Khao Yai GC, Kirimaya GC,
Mission Hills
Phuket GR&S and The Legacy
GC.
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3rd green seen from the 2nd hole