Blue Canyon Country Club, Canyon Course

Blue Canyon Country Club, Canyon Course Information

• Designer: Yoshikazu Kato
• Golf Cart: THB NA
• Holes / Par / Yardage: 18 holes par 72 (7179 yards)
• Established: 1991
• Golf Set: THB 1500
• Golf Shoes: THB 250
• Umbrella: THB 125
• Location: At the north end of Phuket, near the Phuket Airport
• Distance: 40 minutes from Patong Beach
• Closed on: Open everyday
• Driving Range: Yes
• Max. golfers per group: Weekday: 4, Weekend: 4
• Facilities: Accommodation, Golf Academy, Massage, Restaurants, Spa, Swimming Pool

Description

Blue Canyon Country Club’s Canyon Course was the original 18-hole layout and leaped to fame when it was selected as the venue for the 1994 Johnnie Walker Classic. Since then, the same tournament has returned two times, with Tiger Woods winning in 1998. Blue Canyon is recognized as a world championship golf course and consistently ranks as one of Thailand’s best golf courses.

The course is set in an abandoned tin mine, and many of the old strip mines’ characteristics are evident throughout the course. Streams filled with rust-colored water, canyons with sheer cliffs exposing red and white tin ore-laden rock, and tailings from old mining operations are a few of the many throwbacks to days gone by.

The front nine plays up and through palm-oil tree-lined fairways. The back nine gets even better with holes 11-15, probably the best five-hole stretch in Thailand, if not all of Asia. These five memorable golf holes will surely be the center of after-round discussions.

The Par 5 11th is a difficult 600-yard par 5 with water crossing the fairway on the first shot and water guarding the green left and right on the third shot. A penalty-free bogey is a good score here. The famous Par 4 13th over a huge canyon tempts the daredevil in every golfer, and the following Par 3 14th from an elevated tee to an island green is one of the most beautiful yet challenging par 3s for all players who tee it up and go for it. There is no bail-out area, and unless you’ve played the course on several occasions, trusting you’ve got the right club and gauging the wind effects is difficult. Watery, not happy, endings are more typical for most visiting Phuket golfers.

The 17th is also one of the most intimidating Par 3s you’ll find anywhere, and even from the white tees, for most players, it’s a long iron or fairway wood to a partially hidden green that is tucked behind the canyon on the right.

Blue Canyon has a large clubhouse with three restaurants, a well-stocked pro shop, lockers and shower facilities, and a massage and spa. In its glory days of the 90s, it set the standard for golf club excellence. However, nowadays, the whole facility is a bit tired and in need of a facelift and renovation. The on-site golf resort is best skipped as most Phuket golf visitors prefer to stay closer to one of the main centers or at least at one of the luxury resorts on the nearby Mai Khao Beach.