Lam Lukka Country Club is a 36-hole layout on the outskirts of Bangkok about 90 minutes from downtown. The courses meander through a beautiful wetland of mature trees and tropical plants and wildlife - a real escape from the city. There are two courses here from which to choose, the Championship East Course with A and B nines, and the Resort West Course with C and D nines. Both are well maintained, with an excellent putting surface and a selection of challenging water hazards.
The Championship East course hosted the 2002 Thailand PGA Championship and is the longer of the two courses. It needs straight drives to conquer the hazards set out ahead, so any unusual shots will be cruelly punished. The 7th and 8th are excellent par-4s and perhaps the very best in Bangkok. It finishes with a par-5 which you could do in two, your long hard shots will be rewarded or punished – depending on how good your aim is. The bunkers will swallow up your ball and you’ll be stuck fast. However, what makes this course interesting is the fact that you can more or less play this game lots of different ways, and although a long drive helps it isn’t entirely necessary. The 18th hole is spectacular with a fairway cut in two by a creek and a sloping green.
The Resort West Course at Lam Lukka Country Club is much shorter, but water is a factor on most of the holes so careful management of the course is essential.Most holes offer several options and the longer hitters can use driver but on many holes it is not necessary. The West Course is a big favourite with golfers in Bangkok and visitors who enjoy the wide variety of wildlife on display around the course.
The best holes on the front nine are the par 3s and the third is a great hole which ideally requires a gentle draw into the large green being sure to avoid the large bunker guarding the left side.The eighth looks pretty easy but always seems to cause problems probably due to the water hazard guarding he right side – if you are conservative the chip from the right of the green can be very fast.
The back nine start with a tough but short par 4 which demands an accurate drive to avoid the water both sides so maybe better to take an iron but this does leave a ling approach to an elevated green with a bunker in front.The eleventh has a peninsula type green so it’s essential to avoid the fairway bunkers off the tee as the water is very close to the left edge of the putting surface.The thirteenth is the best par 5 on this course with water all along the left side – a very tough approach with bunkers and mounds protecting the front right of e green and waster and more bunkers to the left. A very tough finishing hole where it’s probably better to hit a 3-wood off the tee trying to keep to the left side of the fairway. The higher handicappers will have to lay up short of the creek which crosses the fairway and the green slopes sharply form back to front so getting close to a front pin is very difficult.
The caddies have excellent knowledge of the course, but may not be particularly good at English. At the clubhouse you can indulge in a leisurely swim and then treat yourself to some Thai cuisine. There’s an excellent view of the course from here with reasonable green fees making this a very attractive option for golfers