Thailand’s original beach resort, Hua Hin has a huge range of courses, including some of the best in Asia. Add in some very competitive green fee prices, and a golf holiday to Hua Hin is something to savour.
#1. Black Mountain Golf Club
One of the best courses on earth, let alone in Asia, a round here should be on every golfer's bucket list.
Black Mountain Golf Club, Hua Hin
Black Mountain Golf Club features 27-holes of breathtaking, championship-standard golf and regularly ranks as one of the top 100 courses in the world. The host of multiple Asian PGA events, the course is set amidst stunning mountains, natural creeks and contours carved by nature; it’s a beautiful setting for a really challenging game of golf.
The original East-North layout was supplemented by the new 9-hole West Course in 2016, offering the opportunity to play either composite courses involving the new layout or stick to the original championship course. Whichever layout you decide to play, you’re in for something special at a course that more than deserves its place on our list of the Best Golf Courses in Asia.
Black Mountain comes with several tee boxes allowing you to tailor the length of the course to your abilities, meaning this course is both challenging for the top professional and very playable for the average golfer. The fairways are quite generous and the rough is not too punishing, although there are some significant elevation changes. The large greens offer a wide choice of pin positions and are well protected by the immaculate bunkers.
The signature is the par-3 11th, which features a long water carry to an island green with hardly any bail-out area—although thankfully the drop zone has been placed in a friendly position to minimise card-wrecking scores.
Away from the course itself, there's a very luxurious and well-equipped clubhouse with great views over the course, excellent food and superb changing facilities & spa. You'll also find one of the largest pro shops in Thailand, as well as extensive practice areas.
Location: 30 minutes from central Hua Hin / 2.5 hours from Bangkok
#2. Banyan Golf Club
One of the very best courses in Thailand and an experience not to be missed
Banyan Golf Club, Hua Hin
Voted Best New Course in Asia-Pacific by Asian Golf Monthly in 2009, and consistently ranking in the top 3 courses in Asia since, the course is set in a former pineapple plantation, with local designer Pirapon Namatra making the most of the natural surroundings to create a truly breathtaking experience, reminiscent of many European courses.
The course offers excellent views of the foothills from most of the holes and is one of the most varied layouts in Hua Hin, and a choice of six tee boxes means that you can tailor the experience to your ability. Cleverly placed water hazards, waste areas and bunkers are scattered throughout the course, and the original pineapple groves on which the course was built serve as an attractive backdrop.
The signature 15th hole is a 139-yard par-3 offering up spectacular views of the ocean to your left and the mountains and valleys to your right. At just 147 yards from the back tees, you’d think this would be a birdie chance but the blustery conditions and greenside bunkers mean you should be more than content with par and a photo of the view.
Many of the holes feature elevated greens, sharply sloping fairways, wandering streams and strategically placed fairway and greenside bunkers. You can walk the course but if you decide to take a cart then they are all equipped with GPS making club selection much easier.
Excellent practice facilities include a driving range and putting and short game practice area. The contemporary Thai styled clubhouse includes a pro shop, modern locker rooms, and two restaurants.
Location: 15 minutes from central Hua Hin / 3.5 hours from Bangkok
#3. Springfield Royal Country Club
A first-class, cost-effective alternative to the other top courses in Hua Hin
Springfield Golf & Country Club, Hua Hin
Despite it's realtively affordable green fees, Springfield Royal Country Club is one of the best golf courses in Hua Hin. It's set a little further out of town in the foothills of Hua Hin, offering particularly lovely views as you make your way around the course. The original 18-hole layout (Courses A & B), designed by Jack Nicklaus, is lined with very mature trees and you really feel as though you are in the middle of the countryside, while an additional nine holes added in 2005 (the more open Course C) were designed by Lee Schmidt and Brian Curley. The latter offers up the biggest challenge, but there's great fun to be had whichever course combination you choose.
While none of the courses are particularly long, it's a brave soul or a masochist who plays from the black tees, so we would suggest any of the other four options from the tee which allow you to set the appropriate level of difficulty for your game.
Away from the course itself, Springfield Royal Country Club offers first class facilities; an elevated clubhouse decked out in marble and granite provides great views of the course, and we particularly enjoyed the novelty of grabbing a beer at the locker room bar, where you will find nobody complaining about the course marshal or the caddies who are by and large excellent.
Location: 30 minutes from central Hua Hin / 3 hours from Bangkok
#4. Majestic Creek Country Club
A mainstay of the Hua Hin region with an excellent, challenging layout and lots of water
Majestic Creek Country Club
Once rated the best course in Hua Hin but nowadays up against some pretty stiff competition for that title, the recently renovated Majestic Creek Country Club nonetheless remains a firm favourite amongst locals and expats alike who are drawn to its stunning mountainous location and excellent layout.
Located in the foothills around 40 minutes west of Hua Hin, the course meanders through a very rural area of Thailand, with fields full of sugar cane, tapioca, and pineapple much in evidence. You'll encounter a number of lakes and streams along the way, offering not only an attractive backdrop but also some challenging tee shots across water.
The course is made up of three nines, (A, B and C), and water is the main hazard on all of them. The course is generally kept in good condition, with the fairways firm enough to give good roll, yet 'fluffy' enough for your ball to sit up invitingly. The TifEagle greens are full of subtle breaks and can be difficult to master, adding to the overall difficulty of making birdies.
While carts are optional, the hilly terrain and long distances between tees mean it’s quite an effort to walk, but they allow you to share carts which makes for a enjoyably sociable experience.
Location: 40 minutes from central Hua Hin / 3 hours from Bangkok
#5. SeaPine Golf Course
The only golf course in Hua Hin with holes that overlook the ocean, although it can get crowded and slow
Seapine Golf Course
Opened amidst much fanfare in 2010, Sea Pine Golf Course is the only course in Hua Hin with holes that run right alongside the beach, and comes across like a tropical version of a Scottish links course. It's a stunning backdrop to a course whose difficulty depends on the strength of the wind coming in from the Gulf of Thailand.
The course has been built either side of the railway track and you start you round beside the beach before heading inland, passing underneath the railway line to continue the front nine, before returning to the beach for the last few holes, which finish in front of the clubhouse. The course is not too difficult, but this can change if the wind starts blowing. Under normal conditions most golfers will find the courses very playable, although single handicappers might find the course a little too easy.
The final three holes run alongside the ocean and make for the best finish to any round in Hua Hin. The 16th is a dogleg par-5 with a particularly challenging approach to the green across water and a greenside bunker to a sloping green although you can bail out left of the green. This is followed by an excellent par-3 with a carry over water to a green surrounded by bunkers – club selection is a real challenge when the wind blows.
The par-4 18th, the hardest on the course, is a potential card wrecker. Avoiding the canal bisecting the fairway requires a carry of more than 200 yards, so for most us the smart play is to lay up short and go for a finishing par.
Location: 20 minutes from central Hua Hin / 3 hours from Bangkok
#6. Palm Hills Golf Resort
A long-time Hua Hin favourite that offers good scoring opportunities and even better value for money
Palm Hills Golf Resort
Once Hua Hin's only international standard golf course, Palm Hills Golf Club has slowly slipped down the pecking order as quality courses proliferated in the area. However, it remains a firm favourite, and although it plays a bit short at just 6,887 yards, it’s an excellent layout with fast, deceptive TifEagle greens.
Despite the palm trees and brightly coloured trees and shrubs, the course has a Scottish links feel, with great views of the Gulf of Thailand from the hilly back nine. The course has been built on a narrow strip of land on gently undulating terrain and the holes on the front nine are quite close so a badly mishit shot can end up on the adjacent fairway. However, the landing areas are quite generous so they should not cause too much trouble.
The back nine, which works its way uphill and offers great views of the Gulf of Thailand, starts strongly with a great run of holes, not least the signature 11th, a medium-length uphill par-3 into the sea breeze where it’s all too easy to underclub. The 12th is another long, doglegging par 5 where carrying the water hazard to the right of the fairway can reap big dividends, but best of all is probably the 14th.
A 384-yard par-4 dog-leg with water running up the left and sand to the right, there’s no safe option beyond accuracy off the tee. A short hole, an iron off the tee is an option but anything too short risks getting the route to the green blocked by trees.
While the course is usually in excellent condition and the landscaping is beautifully done, the clubhouse is a bit dated and could use a makeover. However, the food is reasonably priced and very tasty, and the cheap green fees ensure that any quibbles are minor.
Location: 10 minutes from central Hua Hin / 3 hours from Bangkok
#7. Royal Hua Hin Golf Course
A historic part of Thailand's golfing heritage and the first golf course in the country
Royal Hua Hin Golf Club
Originally opened in 1924 to entertain the Scottish engineers helping build the Thai railway system, Royal Hua Hin Golf Course is the grand old lady of Thai golf and the oldest course in Thailand. Conveniently located between rocky hills just 5 minutes from downtown Hua Hin, the course is indicative of traditional British golf design in its length and difficulty.
It is a very natural course with very mature trees lining both sides of the fairway. There are some significant elevation changes and you can get some good views from the top of the course.
It’s quite a tight course with the trees narrowing the fairways and the greens are quite small. The course conditioning is inconsistent and you will find the native “cow” grass has encroached and has taken over many of the fairways. If you can overlook this, then you will enjoy a relaxed round on the most historic golf course in Thailand.
Location: 5 minutes from central Hua Hin / 3 hours from Bangkok
