Laem Chabang International Country Club – B&C Course

Course Data
Location Pattya, Thailand
Yardage 7038 yards Par 72
Course Rating 73.3
Playing Date 9 Feb. 2004 & 29 Nov. 2005
Desingner Jack Nicklaus
Opened 1995
Caddy Yes
Golf Cart Yes (Compulsory and can be driven on the fairways)
Rating
Overall Rating
4.70
Course Layout
5
Difficulty Level
5
Greens Conditions
4
Fairways Conditions
4
Landscaping & Views
5
 

This is a high quality and very scenic course, set in spectacular rolling hills with craggy peaks, and is one of the finest golf courses in Thailand. The rolling hills of the surrounding countryside have been used to great effect, and hazards to stop you reaching the large elevated greens are in abundance. Not only does the course have many bunkers, sand traps and water hazards, but there are also a lot of natural hazards in the shape of exposed rock formations, lakes, ponds and creeks. It has 27 holes all together and is divided into 3 sections: Mountain (A), Valley (B) & Lake (C). Each hole has a different environment, and all holes are well designed to test your skills. It is a very challenging course, and is fun to play. I played at the B&C Course this time and was impressed by the greatness of the challenging holes 1 through 4 of the C Course. Pretty flowers are planted across the course, which might help you to calm down after you shoot poorly. It seems that the A&B Course is used for tournaments. However, I personally think that the B&C Course represents this club, although A Course is good as well.



A view from the clubhouse

Flowers to pretty up the course

Flowers to pretty up the course

 
3rd Par 4 422 yards
A good par 4 with beautiful landscaping around the green. Most of the real trouble on this hole occurs on the right near the green. A drive on the right half of the fairway will make the second shot more playable. From that point, you can play this approach away from the lake, bunker and low fairway that lie on the right.


3rd green seen from the 2nd hole

3rd Par 4 422 yards (2)

3rd Par 4 422 yards (1)
 
6th Par 4 441 yards
A slight dogleg to the right, long par 4. A well-hit tee shot will leave you with a 170 – 200 yard approach to the green - all over the water. For the more advanced player, holding the tee shot to the right side of the fairway will leave a shot directly over the lake to the flag. Higher handicap golfers may wish to reduce the risk of hitting into the water by aiming left toward the 50 yards long fairway pad in front of the green. This will leave an open pitch toward the hole with the possibility of a par score with a good up-and-down play.


6th hole seen from teh green

6th Par 4 441 yards (2)

6th Par 4 441 yards (1)
 
8th Par 3 184 yards

8th Par 3 184 yards (2)

8th Par 3 184 yards (1)
A pretty par 3 over the pond. The green is not deep, but is wide and the front and back bunkers guard the green. The biggest challenge for a player is to avoid the back bunker: this would leave a very difficult shot to a downhill surface, with water across the green. Less advanced players would usually do well to aim for the "fat" part of the green on the right, keeping away from the front and back bunkers.

 
9th Par 5 521 yards
An uphill par 5 that requires 3 shots to reach the green for all but a few golfers. The secret here is to play the first 2 shots to the best position for the narrow approach to a green well guarded by rock outcrops both left and right. Playing the second shot well to the left of the high hill in front of the green will leave an open avenue between the rocks.

 

9th Par 5 521 yards (3)

9th Par 5 521 yards (2)

9th Par 5 521 yards (1)
 
10th Par 4 438 yards

10th Par 4 438 yards (2)

10th Par 4 438 yards (1)
A dynamic downhill, beautiful par 4. The drive should be placed down the right side of the fairway to provide the widest opening to the green. Second shots can be played strongly to clear the front bunker since there are no hazards behind the green.
 
11th Par 5 538 yards
A great par 5 that requires shots over the water twice. A creek runs on the left side of the fairway for the tee shot, but to hit to the left half of the fairway will give the second shot a shorter and more open attempt. For the second & third shots, the creek comes into play on the right side of the fairway and the green. There is a vast bunker guarding the front right of the green, which makes the fairway pad in front of the green extremely narrow. Too far right of the elevated green finds mounds or OB. This hole demands that every shot is precise: otherwise, not only saving par, let alone having birdie, will be difficult.
 

11th green seen from the side

11th Par 5 538 yards (2)

11th Par 5 538 yards (1)
 
12th Par 4 420 yards
You should keep the drive close to the long fairway bunker on the right to shorten the second shot and open the approach. If you shoot from the left to the right, the bunker and water next to it will catch your ball. The second shot is over the water.


12 green seen from behind

12th Par 4 420 yards (2)

12th Par 4 420 yards (1)
 
13th Par 4 454 yards
A very long and difficult par 4. The fairways are split by a bunker and a difference of elevation. A long and accurate tee shot to the lower fairway on the right level offers a shorter route with a better angle to approach the green although the lower fairway is narrow and the right side of it faces the lake. This may be a good hole to lay-up short of the lake on the second shot unless the drive is long or if you can hit a reliable long iron or fairway wood. In this case, you had better drive to the upper fairway on the left, away from the water.


13th Par 4 454 yards (3)

13th Par 4 454 yards (2)

13th Par 4 454 yards (1)
 
14th Par 3 205 yards

14th Par 3 205 yards
A par 3 over a pond. Water, flowers, bunkers enhance the beauty of scenery.

A Course


2nd Par 3 175 yards

7th Par 3 212 yards

 
19th hole

Restaurant

It takes 30 minutes from Pattaya by car. The clubhouse facility is excellent and the view from there is spectacular. The club has 40 comfortable rooms of accommodation. The caddies are well trained. Burapha CC is located just the opposite side of the road.

According to the top100golfcourses.co.uk site,Leam Chabang International CC was ranked 11th out of the 270 (as of 2015) courses in all of Thailand during its 2015 evaluation.

The other Jack Nicklaus-designed golf courses in Thailand are Sprigfields Royal CC, Mission Hills GC, Khao Yai GC, Kirimaya GC, Mission Hills Phuket GR&S and The Legacy GC.