Of late, golf has taken a prominent place in this island aptly dubbed ‘Pearl of the South’ by the tourism industry. Banyon Tree GC and Blue Canyon GC are the premier and championship courses. Other than those, there are other good courses around the island that one needs to fret no more of running out of courses to play in.

Phuket is Thailand’s largest, most populous and most visited island. A whirl of colour and cosmopolitanism, Thailand’s only island province revolves around and thrives on tourism, but still retains a spark of the real Thailand. There are a hundred and one ways to pass the day in Phuket. There are also more tourists here than on any other Thai island. It certainly knows how to cater to tourists’ needs. Most flock to the beaches on the southwestern side, which are complete with amenities and entertainment outlets.

Red Mountain Golf Club – Touted as ‘one of Asia’s most exciting new courses’, Red Mountain, opened in 2007, was built on a former tin mine site (A sister course of this nature would surely be Mines Golf & Country Club of Kuala Lumpur if not the course built on scarred terrain of The Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau Golf Club of Hong Kong). This Par-72 6,781-yard Jonathan Morrow-designed course is actually an extension of the Loch Palm Golf Club(above). What is different is that while the older Loch Palm is more gradual in the terrain and shorter in course yardage, the Red Mountain course winds on what’s left of the former mine and in between ferrous red hillocks (and therefore the name) and at points sweeps up the steep terrain providing some dramatic changes in elevation thus giving it a special character quite unlike many others.

The Par-3 176-yard Hole#5 tees off down through the tips of tall trees to a large green some 45 meters down below and surrounded by these tall trees. The wind at the high tee-box would generally not affect the flight much, appropriate under-clubbing is however very necessary.

The relatively short Par-4 365-yard Hole#3 has a deep gorge almost all the way to the green. A strong iron or straight fairway wood is preferred to lay up at the turn to the elevated green. The Par-5 492-yard Hole#8 has wide fairway that picking the correct line tends to be more difficult than usual. The left side is ideal for a good drive to lay up for the second approach shot but water danger lurks nearby. The Par-4 458-yard Hole#16 has a superb panoramic view of the island if having to decide on the best line of approach down the wide but danger-fraud fairway takes the back seat.

Laguna Phuket Golf Club – Formerly known as Banyan Tree Golf Club, the Laguna is a recently renovated 18-hole Par-71 6,650-yard resort golf course. Scenic lagoons, coconut plantations and undulating fairways all make up to provide a good golfing experience. The new conditions and improvements over the old course make it much more interesting and requiring more imagination to play on. The dog-leg left Par-4 373-yard Hole#9 tempts a carry-over tee-shot past the dog-leg to lay up for a second landing on the relatively small island green which, not surprisingly, slopes towards the water. And, as if it is still not well-protected enough by the waters, there are sand traps on the front-right and at the back as well.

Mission Hills Phuket Golf Resort & Spa – Located just 10km from the island’s international airport and nestling at the relatively peaceful north-eastern corner of the island, Mission Hills is ideal for a relaxing round of golf in scenic ocean surrounding. Measuring 6,800 yards long, this Jack Niclaus-designed jewel of the island has paspalum grass for both the fairways and greens. The Par-4 481-yard Hole#12 is a long hole requiring a carry-over tee-shot to the left of the fairway which is not unexpectedly filled with bunkers in the vicinity, but this will lay up for the shortest route to the green.