The Siam Country Club Plantation Course is simply an amazing golf course. Home to the 2009 US LGPA and the 2015 Thailand Open, the Pattaya course plays as difficult as any golf course in Thailand. Nothing was spared by designers Lee Schmidt and Brian Curley.
This 27-hole layout is routed through rolling terrain, with distant panoramic views of Pattaya Beach and Laem Chabang Port. Formerly a tapioca and pineapple plantation, the property’s geological and natural characteristics include rugged ravines bisecting its Paspalum fairways and mature trees augmented by landscape ground cover and plantings. The Plantation Course also features significant elevation changes that result in breathtaking sea views of Gulf of Thailand 11 kilometers away.
The course has one difficult hole after another. Long carries, blind shots, elevated greens, undulating fairways and greens, giant high-lipped bunkers, and shaved fringes on every hole are in play to challenge all golfers. The distance from the tips, depending on which of the 3 nines are played, is a long 7,404 or 7,495 yards, which makes the Siam Country Club Plantation Course one of the longest golf courses in Thailand.
Two nines, the 3,759-yard par-36 Tapioca and the 3,645-yard par-36 Pineapple, feature Asia’s first triple green. The Tapioca’s seventh and the Pineapple’s fourth and ninth holes play to a single green measuring more than 20,000 square feet (1,916 square meters) which serves as a unique focal point at this Pattaya golf course. The green’s undulating putting surface is contiguous and is divided into three distinct sections by large swales. Number seven on the Tapioca is a par-3 of 178 yards, while numbers four and nine on the Pineapple are lengthy par-4s of 490 and 469 yards, respectively.
The Sugar Cane Course is the Siam Country Club’s third nine which plays out to the left of the driving range and staging area. The par-36, 3,736-yard layout is arguably the best of the 3 nines and includes the spectacular fifth. A par-5 with over 28 bunkers the Plantation Course’s signature hole plays long uphill with a split fairway. While inviting, the right side fairway is in play, but makes for a very difficult and long carry to have any chance to reaching the green in regulation. Hit to the left fairway and to take advantage of the much simpler approach shot and have a good chance for par.
Practice facilities include a grass driving range complete with pitching area, sand bunker, and large practice putting greens for golfers wishing to ‘try-out’ the course prior to play. Riding carts are compulsory on this up-and-down hilly tract. However, it is important to note that carts are restricted to cart path only, except on the aforementioned two-fairway Sugar Cane fifth hole. This applies to everyone, including handicapped golfers.
The magnificent contemporary designed clubhouse with excellent restaurant and lounge area overlooks both the triple green and Pattaya City makes a great place to reflect on your day and think about how you can conquer this course on your next round!
