Golfing Jewel In The Foothills Of Cha-am
- By Richard Blair

Opened in 1993, Springfield is now a challenging 27-hole course perched in the foothills of Cha-am, Thailand’s western playground of resorts and spas. The Jack Nicklaus designed course features narrow landing zones crowded by large waste bunkers and plenty of water. The Mountain Course (course A), which at two years is the newest of three, is a difficult front nine rolling over low hills and always with the high limestone mounds, called mountains, in the background. It features the club’s signature Par 3 hole 6, and is not a long shot but comes scattered with rocks, scrub and water right up to the green.

Meanwhile the Lake Course (course B) sports large expanses of water and strategic sand bunkers wherever the ball falls. In the inimitable Nicklaus style, he does about everything to control the play but rip the club out of your hands and play the shot himself. This course features a spectacular finishing hole, a Par 5 to an island green just below the clubhouse. The splashy Valley Course (course C) actually has more water on it than the Lake Course and plays the longest at 3673metres from the Gold Tees.

The club, which hosted the Asian Tour, Thailand Open in 2000, manhandles the player with obstacles at every landing. The 483-metre, dogleg left hole 2 on the Mountain Course is exciting and the green is makeable in two with a good tee shot to the left. But, for the rest of us, it offers more hazards than a marriage therapy session. There is a long lake to the left with bunkers all along and a river to cross before the green.

Après Golf
The Springfield golf village itself, is luxurious with a nice, shaded luncheon veranda overlooking the finishing holes, meeting rooms and member lounges and comprehensive spa facilities with 97 hotel rooms most with a big Jacuzzi on the balcony overlooking the Disneyland-like swimming pool complex and providing interesting views to the other suite holders. (Wear your suit.) Cha-am famous for its spas, has a dinosaur park for the kids, fishing ponds, a few local temples but not much night entertainment. The real heat is some 24 kilometres south in Hua Hin where the Brewery disco at the Hilton is the place to be and the beer bars and massage parlours range down Soi Binta Bar from there. The rest is t-shirts, handbags, hats and souvenirs down to the Railway Hotel managed by Sofitel, the oldest hotel in town. This refurbished icon, directly across from the main train station from Bangkok with its sculpted hedge-works and large balconies, has held pride of place for a hundred years. The beaches in town are not much but at Cha-am they impress with great dunes of sand and breaking waves.

When
With one of the lowest rainfalls in Thailand, Hua Hin makes for a great year-round destination. The dry & sunny days fall between November and May, and the monsoon season is typically from June through October. Although temperatures can get hot and balmy at times, the coastal nature of Hua Hin mean the cool sea breeze helps to keep the heat in check.

How
There are relatively inexpensive as well as regular flights from most Asian cities to Bangkok courtesy of the national carrier Thai Airways. The train from Bangkok is by far the more interesting way to get to Cha-am but there are also airport and express bus services from the capital city. And, once there, Springfield runs a shuttle to Hua Hin and back as well as to their two properties on the beach (one is slated to open in 2009). Or if you prefer to stay in Hua Hin, most hotels run shuttles to pick you to and from the golf courses in the area.

Who
Springfield Village
Address: 193 Moo 6, Huay-Sai Nua, Petchkasem Rd., Cha-Am, Phetchaburi
Tel: (6632) 709222
Fax: (6632) 709234
E-mail: playgolf@springfieldresort.com
Website: http://www.springfieldresort.com/golf/

Bangkok Office
9M Floor, Thaniya Plaza Building, 52 Silom Rd.,
Bangkok 10500 Thailand
Tel: (662) 2312244
Fax: (662) 2312249
golfbooking@springfieldresort.com

(For the complete article please refer to your June 2008 issue of Golf Asia magazine)