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This is one of the most prestigious courses in Thailand, famous for the
fact the 1975 world cup was held here the first time in Asia. There is
a good mix of wide and narrow fairways and natural water enters fray on
five of the holes. Because of the beautiful course design, with mature
big trees, and pretty flowers & shrubs, it is very much fun to play.
The 6th and 18th holes represent great holes of Thailand.
Scorecard
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| A very short par 4 but very good. The left side of the hole
faces water-hazards and the closer to the green, the narrower the fairway
becomes, so you had better avoid using a driver. The second shot becomes
extremely hard if the flag is on the left side because the green is only
15 yards deep with water in front and trees at the back of the green. |
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A signature hole. This beautiful hole was selected as one of the best
500 holes in the world in 2000 by US Golf Magazine. A very challenging
par 4 with a slight dogleg to the left. It is an intimidating hole even
for good players. The left side of the fairway faces a lake and the second
shot is across the lake. You need to hit the tee shot to the left half
of the fairway in order to hit the green for the next shot. Mounds catch
the safe tee shot right, leaving a sloping lie. Because the front side
of the green borders the water, if you are short of the green, even a
little, you will be in is the water hazard. The green slants from back
to front and is slightly elevated. When you hit a poor tee shot, you should
not force yourself to aim for the green on the second shot, and had better
lay up on the fairway, 40 to 50 yards left front of the green. Making
par on this hole is a notable achievement.
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| A dogleg left par 5 with water on the left side. The tee shot
is threatened on the left by a lake, but if you play safe to the right,
the distance of the second shot which must be played across the lake will
be longer. It is possible to hit the green in 2 for a long hitter but the
left side of the green is bordered by a water hazard, so a long, accurate
3 wood second shot is needed to hit the green. Tom Kyte, a US PGA pro, in
his hey day some decades ago, scored more than 10 on this hole by hitting
to the lake a few times on his second shots in order to reach the green
in 2. He claimed the club to re-measure of the distance after the game because
of the wrong yardage. But the yardage was found out to be right and it seemed
that the subtle winds threw him his distance estimates off. |
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A beautiful par 3 over the lake. There is also danger beyond the green,
which is elongated and guarded by bunkers. |
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A dogleg to the left with the green swung to the right. A large bunker on
the left catches 240-yard drives. When the pin position is on the right,
the second shot is over water and bunkers, which will be more difficult. |
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An “S” shaped par 5 with a slight dogleg to the left followed by a dogleg
to the right. Various bunkers guarding the fairway and the green come into
play on each shot. |
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A beautiful short shot over the pond. The green is wide and two-tiered,
with bunkers on the left and back, and ponds in front and on the right.
When the pin position is on the right, the pond will come into play much
more and it becomes more difficult. |
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It takes only 30-40 minutes by car from Central Bangkok and it does not
take more than 4 hours to finish 18 holes, which is rare in Thailand.
You need to be accompanied by a member to play on weekends and holidays.
According toTop 100 Golf Courses in the World (top100golfcourses.co.uk),
NavataneeCC is ranked 17th best course in Thailand during its 2020 evaluation.
Thailand has 270 courses as of 2020
Robert Trent Jones Jr. has designed over 250 golf courses in the world
since 1972. Santiburi CC, Green
Valley CC, Eastern Star GC,
and President CC are
among his other designs in Thailand.
I stayed at the W Hotel Bangkok the day before I played, and had a dinner
at the hotel restaurant. It is a hotel facility, and the bar that used to
be the former Russian embassy built 130 years ago is right next to the hotel.
The bar has an excellent atmosphere in both the apperance of the building
and the interior. |
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5th Par 4 329 yards (3)