Santiburi Chiang Rai Country Club

The verdict

Santiburi Chiang Rai Country Club opened in 1992 to a design by Robert Trent Jones Jr., and it holds the distinction of being the first golf course built in Chiang Rai, the far northern province where Thailand runs up to the Laos and Myanmar borders. It is an 18 hole par 72 of around 6,982 yards, long regarded as one of the best conditioned and most exclusive courses in the country, run as a semi private club that still welcomes the travelling golfer who plans ahead.

The routing splits cleanly in two. The front nine is flattish and built around a large meandering lake that threatens all but a couple of holes, a trial by water that rewards a straight, committed tee shot. The back nine is the reason golfers make the trip north, sweeping up and over a wooded hillside through a chain of steep valleys, with the water holding off until the closing two. Add top class bunkering and large, sloping greens and Santiburi is a genuine test, particularly for the better player, set against the kind of mountain scenery that the busier courses around Bangkok and Pattaya cannot match.

The holes worth the trip

Jones routed the outward half around a single large lake, and it sets the tone for the round. By most accounts every hole on the front bar the downhill par 5 first and the par 3 seventh is threatened by water in some form, so the early scoring is less about length and more about nerve and a clean strike off the tee. The fairways roll gently up and down through this stretch, the greens are large and sloped, and a loose shot finds the lake rather than a friendly bounce.

The back nine changes character completely. It twists and turns up and over a wooded hillside, weaving through steep valleys where the holes are framed by trees and elevation rather than water, which stays out of play until the very end. That late return of the hazard is what golfers remember. The 17th is the signature, a short do or die par 3 with water running the whole length of the right side, a hole that gives back nothing to a tee shot that bleeds right. It is followed by a very good snaking par 5 18th, where water and a proliferation of bunkers close the round out and can wreck a good card in the last two swings.

For the visiting golfer the appeal is the mix of a strong, well bunkered test and genuine northern scenery. Take a caddie who knows the carries on the front, play for the safe side of every lake, and keep something in reserve for a closing two holes that ask for two precise shots when the round is on the line.

Where to stay nearby

Most golfers base themselves in or around Chiang Rai city and drive out to Santiburi for the round. The city has a relaxed, low rise feel and a growing line of boutique hotels and riverside resorts, with the night bazaar, the white temple and the hill country within easy reach for non golf days.

For a quieter base, the countryside around Wiang Chai and the routes north toward the Golden Triangle have a handful of nature and tea estate retreats that suit travellers pairing golf with the scenery. Most visitors fold Santiburi into a northern Thailand trip that uses Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai as twin hubs, an unhurried few days of cooler air, culture and a course that feels a world away from the resort golf further south.

Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts around Chiang Rai.