Chiang Mai has a LOT of golf courses. As one might expect these places cater to the rich-as-crap members of the city and basically if you aren't wealthy, you can kind of forget about going there. Some places won't even let you in unless you are a member and membership fees are predictably, really high.
There are, of course, exceptions
Sansai New Golf certainly isn't luxury and to be honest the course isn't really very good but here is the good part: You don't need to be a member, be skilled, or even have your own clubs to play here. It is also less than $10 to play a round.
this little fella was one of the few people that couldn't hit the ball as far as I couldWhen I went here, I hadn't played golf in over a decade so I was a bit concerned about embarrassing myself. Thankfully, the mainstay of this is the rather large driving range where you can get far more than you need range balls for just a few dollars. Don't have your own clubs? No problem! Their "pro shop" has about a hundred clubs you can borrow for a ludicrously small fee - which is what i did.
There weren't many people there so there weren't many witnesses to my horrible slices that in many cases would have been in danger of hitting other people if I was actually on the course. Oh, and if you like beer (don't know many golfers that don't) every station has a table behind it and the waitstaff will bring you ice-cold beers for an extremely low price similar to what you would pay a dive bar.
There isn't much a dress code here but you do need to wear a collared shirt and shoes. Other than that, there are no rules.
The course only had 9 holes and for the most part these are quite simple. Most of them would be considered "pitch and putt" in that they are less than 200 yards. Once again, if you don't have your own clubs you can rent some. For me, i am so out of practice that I don't even know the difference between a good club and a bad club so this worked out fine. You are forced to hire a caddy but don't get worried about this because it costs so little that I actually felt bad for the guy (it was 80 baht or about $2.50.) Of course I tipped him for following me all over the place in the crazy spots where my ball ended up and having a lot of patience and laughing with me about how terrible I am.
Overall, if you once played golf but are intimidated by the nice courses due to being out of practice, this is the perfect place to go. It can be a little difficult to find but like most things worth seeing, the journey is worth the end result.
Like you I play golf about once every 10 years. I have my own clubs, but I bought them used so it isn't like I spent a ton of money on them. I am not even sure how good they are. My ball goes to the right a lot. I think I would probably just stick to the driving range for a while!
driving ranges are great because you don't have to chase / look for your ball... ever. Plus the beer is right there next to you at all times.
I think last time I was on a driving range the club slipped out of my hand and flew out on to the range. Some old guy next to me totally deadpan says "you know that's not very good for your clubs..."
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though I don't have enough knowledge of golf but i found your post interesting :)
it's a great place to learn or try. It can get quite hot (as can everything else in this country) mid-day, but if you don't know what you are doing, that is when you gotta go!
Pitch and putt courses are fun as long as they aren't crowded and feel under pressure all the time. I know what you mean by some courses having a certain standard. I recall one where they watched you tea off at the first hole and would pull you out if you buggered up.
Hmm very good
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Thailand have many beautiful golf courses.