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Asian Golf Travel Nation - May 2012

Dear Golf Travelers,

Welcome to the latest issue of the Asian Golf Nation, the source for news breaking information about golf in Asia. In addition, unique golf playing tips for Indochina's tropical environment, announcements of golf travel promotions, and our latest subscription offer are all integral parts of today's newsletter.

May is a favorite month for many golf travelers. Summer in Asia is a season of wonders. Vibrant sunshine provides great opportunities for golfing. It is also the time of year when prices are at their lowest and good tee-times available at all courses. To treat your pallet before, during, and after golf, vast assortments of fresh fruit are available during May and June. You name them - mango, custard apple, rambutan, mangosteen, longan, jackfruit, durian and many more.

Golf tourist arrivals to Asian are on the increase. Thailand and Vietnam in particular are experiencing 10% or more rises in golf visitor arrivals for the four months of 2012. I just got back myself from the inaugural Asian Golf Tourism Convention held in Kuala Lumpur and the golf courses and resorts I spoke with all confirmed this to be the case. Moreover, 30 of the agents and I visited Phuket after the show and we were able to come away with the impression that Thailand remains the best-valued premium golf destination worldwide. Add to this excellent service and cultural diversity and you have the makings of a golf holidays far beyond expectations. In fact, check out our special offers and you will see exactly what I mean.

Of course there are many 'happenings' around the region so with that, I invite you to enjoy this edition of the Asian Golf Nation.

Visit Golfasian Today!

Thailand
Kanchanaburi: Thailand's western golf region in and around the River Kwai is getting better. Grand Prix Golf Club is a new privately owned 7,111 yard championship course planned to open in the next few months. All 18-holes are already playable, however the clubhouse and road access are still under construction. Using the contours of the hills and the numerous lakes, there are many elevated tees and numerous bunkers to test all skill levels as can be seen in this recent photo. I am not sure yet if Grand Prix will be open to visitors, so watch this space for more information.

Malaysia
Langkawi: Known for its wonderful beauty and surrounding clear-water seas, Langkawi was home to the excellent Datai Golf Club. Now however, the course is closed for major renovations until the end of the year, making the island less attractive to visiting golfers. The course re-construction is being handled by Ernie Els and once completed will be the first Els course in South East Asia. In the interim, the new Ross Watson designed and Troon managed 99 East Golf Club is taking up some of the slack. 99 East Golf Club offers an unique Asian golfing experience taking many of its design references from Australian and even Scottish links courses. The first 9 holes are now open for play and the full 18 holes are scheduled to be completed at the same time as the Datai re-opens later this year. Once both courses are up-and-running Langkawi is sure to be one of Asia's hottest in demand golf destinations.

Cambodia
Kampot: I bet you never even heard of Kampot! Located on the Cambodian coast near to Sihanoukville (yes that means fun town), Kampot has a 36-hole Arnold Palmer signature course being built at the base of Bokor Mountain. The Bokor Mountain Resort is up-and-running but I have no idea about the golf course progress. Thankfully, I am headed to Cambodia this month and will definitely find out more. Stay tuned! In the meantime, you might like to know that Bokor Mountain overlooks the coastal town of Kampot on a mountain plateau at 1079 meters above sea level and was once a historic cool getaway spot during the colonial French era. Like Dalat in Vietnam, Bokor Mountain should be a great place for a golf course.

With that I would like to once again thank those of you who have golfed with us recently, it was nice seeing you and I hope your trip was memorable one. Also, GOLFASIAN have secured special deals with over 200 golf courses and 850 hotels in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia to offer the very best promotions for the 2012 low season. Please contact us for details and your request at [email protected]. Whatever your budget and preferred style of travel, we are glad to suggest a golf package to meet your needs.

Until the next newsletter, happy golfing and I hope to see YOU in the area very soon!

Mark Siegel
Managing Director of Golfasian

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In this Issue

Regional Golf News

Sabah - A Personal Destination Review by Mark Siegel

Featured Golf Course - Sutera Harbour Golf & Country Club

Featured Resort - Shangri-La Rasa Ria Resort

Golf Trip Idea: Kota Kinabalu Golf Tour

Meet our Staff: Karntheera Timsri (Tina) - Director of Reservations & Operations

Press Release: Golf in a Kingdom Turns Out In Force At Asian Golf Travel Conference

Golf Tournaments

Hua Hin: The 'Other' Golf Courses

Golfing Tips by Ian Morgan - Buying Golf Equipment in Thailand

Golfasian Trade/Roadshows

Previous Newsletters

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Sabah - A Personal Destination Review by Mark Siegel

Golfing in Sabah goes back a long way. In fact, records show that in 1906 a membership drive for the Kudat Golf Club appeared in the British North Borneo Herald with an entrance fee of $5.00!

Today, Sabah boasts 20 golf clubs located in all corners of the state with courses set amongst breath-taking scenery and offering interesting and challenging play for all golf visitors. Courses are located in the cities and towns, by the sea, in the mountains, and at the fringe of lush vegetation. [Read more...]

[Browse our Sabah Golf Holiday Packages]

Featured Golf Course - Sutera Harbour Golf & Country Club

Sabah's golf magnet: Sutera Harbour

Few golf destinations in Asia boast a championship golf course and resort on the arrival city's doorstep, less than 15 minutes from the airport and downtown.
Sabah, Malaysia's most eastern state situated on the island of Borneo is one of them. Its magnet for visiting golfers, Sutera Harbour Resort, has the added bonus of being in an idyllic setting right beside the South China Sea and within sight of the state capital, Kota Kinabalu.

Sutera Harbour's 27 holes were designed by former Australian tour pro, Graham Marsh. This year the resort course hosted the One Asia Qualifying School. Clever use of mounds, bunkering and man-made water provide an interesting, fun and at times challenging golf experience. All three nine-hole layouts are par-36, playing 3100 to 3200 yards. Several holes play either alongside or within sight of the ocean. None is better than the short 330-yard par-4 6th hole on the Garden nine that requires two precise shots to avoid a watery ending. The par-3 184-yard 6th hole on the Heritage nine is another beauty, requiring a solid tee shot over water to a heavily-bunkered green.

Featured Hotel - Shangri-La Rasa Ria Resort

This beautiful beach front 5-star property has a variety of exciting outdoor activities, such as the Nature Reserve, Orang Utan education center and challenging golf course, Shangri-La Rasa Ria Resort is the Premier Luxury Resort in the province of Sabah. The resort has over 400-acre tropical settings including a beautiful beach.

Golf Trip Idea: Kota Kinabalu Golf Tour

Visit the beautiful capital city of Sabah: Kota Kinabalu. This 'Nature Resort City' extend for kilometres along the shore. Here you find first-class hotels, countless restaurants and cafés, and some of the greatest shopping malls.

Besides the beautiful sights Kota Kinabalu also offers great golf, designed by world renowned golf architects. Choose from one of the luxurious selections of hotels and play golf at one of the popular courses. [Kota Kinabalu Golf Tour Detailed Itinerary...]

Meet our Staff: Karntheera Timsri (Tina) - Director of Reservations & Operations

Golfasian's Director of Reservations & Operations Karntheera Timsri (Tina), graduated with a bachelor degree in Education, majoring in English from Burapha University.

Tina boasts 17 years of experience in Thailand's tourism & hospitality industry, starting with administrative and sales positions at 4 & 5 star hotel properties, continued by positions at destination management companies, and finally joining Golfasian, where she overseas the operations and reservations teams to ensure that Golfasian's clients have a smooth golf holiday. [Read more about Tina]

Press Release: Golf in a Kingdom Turns Out In Force At Asian Golf Travel Conference

Kuala Lumpur(April 22, 2012) - In a bid to showcase Thailand' s premier golf courses and luxury resorts to the world's golf tour operators, key participants of the 'Golf in a Kingdom: The Thai Golf Experience' have turned out in mass at the first ever Asian Golf Tourism Convention (AGTC).

The attendees are meeting with 140 golf tour operators and specialist golf travel agencies from 39 countries including key markets in Asia, Europe, Australia, and the Americas. [Read the entire Press Release]

Golf Tournaments

Phuket Amateur Golf Week - July 2012
Date: July 21 - 27, 2012 | Location: Phuket, Thailand [Find out more]

Pattaya Amateur Golf Week - October 2012
Date: October 20 - 27, 2012 | Location: Pattaya, Thailand [Find out more]

Chiang Mai Amateur Golf Week - October 2012
Date: October 27 - November 02, 2012 | Location: Chiang Mai, Thailand [Find out more]

Hua Hin Amateur Golf Week - March 2013
Date: March 03 - 09, 2013 | Location: Hua Hin, Thailand

Pattaya Amateur Golf Week - March 2013
Date: March 10 - 16, 2013 | Location: Pattaya, Thailand

Best of the Blog thailandgolfzone.com

Hua Hin: The 'Other' Golf Courses

Just about all golfers in Hua Hin want to play the two area 5 star courses; Black Mountain and Banyan Golf Club. Next on the list and a notch below for most golfers are Springfield Royal and Palm Hills.

Then there are the 'Other' courses. Some golfers skip them altogether, and if you are one who demands pristine country club conditions, luxurious clubhouses with lots of niceties and amenities and only modern designs, perhaps you should too. For the rest of us though these courses all have something to offer and can make for an enjoyable round of golf.

Other golf stories can be found at the Thailand Golf Zone where there are over 500 other original articles dealing exclusively with golf in Asia and golf travel.

I would love to hear about any golf tips that any of you may have developed for getting the maximum enjoyment from your golf trips, and can incorporate some in future articles. Therefore if you have any golf tips or suggestions you would like to share, please let me know by dropping me an email.

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Golfing Tips by Ian Morgan - Buying Golf Equipment in Thailand

I get asked many times if it's worth buying golf equipment in Thailand and if you are going through Bangkok, it certainly is. There is a golf super store called Thaniya Plaza which is three floors of golf shops with a huge selection of clubs, shoes and clothing. Golf balls are quite heavy to carry in your luggage allowance, so it is a good idea to buy your golf balls on arrival whether they are new or second hand. Lake balls can often represent good value and are normally available to buy in and around the golf clubs.

One tip if you are buying equipment, make sure the clubs are not Asian specification as you will find they are lighter and shorter than what you are normally used to.

[Read more Golf Tips Articles]

If you have any other questions regarding golf tips to help you with your game email us at [email protected] and we will reply in upcoming newsletters

For more golf tips visit www.golfthink.com

Meet Golfasian at these Trade/Roadshows/Fam-Trips

Golfasian has a full schedule of tradeshows and roadshows during the next few months.

You can find us at the following events:

July 01 - 09, 2012 - Golf MediaFam Trip (Bangkok, Pattaya, Hua Hin)
November 30 - September 06, 2012 - Vietnam Golf Fam Trip (Ho Chi Minh City & Danang/ Hoi An, Vietnam)
November 12 - 15, 2012 - International Golf Travel Mart (IGTM) 2012 (Algarve, Portugal)
April 29 - May 02, 2013 - IAGTO Asia Golf Tourism Convention (Pattaya, Thailand)

Arrange an appointment with Golfasian at one of these exhibits.

About Us & Contacts

If any reader would like to suggest a topic to be covered or better yet contribute materials, photos, or even commissions an article please contact us by e-mail, I welcome the help.

Licensed by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), License No: 14/00515
Recommended by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO)
Member of Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA)

Golfasian Co., Ltd.
Unit 1105, 29 Bangkok Business Center
Soi Ekamai, Sukhumvit 63 Road
Klongtan Nua, Wattana
Bangkok 10110 Thailand

Toll Free US/Canada: 1-866-550-2284

Golf Hotline Thailand: +66 (0) 81 987 3170
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.golfasian.com

Golf Holidays in Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam