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The Plantation Course at Siam GC is a hillside course, sitting high on
top of many natural rolling hills, with three distinct 9 holes. Among
them Sugar Cane & Tapioka is the most popular combination that hosted
Thailand Open 2015 although the professional tournaments use Tapioka &
Pineapple 18 holes. The biggest difference of Sugar Cane and Pineapple
is the Sugar Cane is much hillier and the Pineapple has more water hazards.
The Sugar Cane Course is arguably the best of the 3 nines. The Sugar Cane & Tapioka Course that I played this time makes players hit the second
shots from undulating, not even, lies, and has a lot of strategically
placed bunkers. The course is suitable for the advanced to medium-level
players as a lot of fairway and greenside bunkers will come into play
on each shot. Besides it is very long with the thick roughs, many long
carries and elevated & highly contoured greens, which make the course
very tough. The plantation course also features significant elevation
changes that result in several breathtaking sea views approximately 11
kilometers away.
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This par 4 bends left almost at the right angle. Several bunkers are
at the left corner, and you need to carry 235 yards to go over the cross
bunker on the very right. The fairway falls sharply leftward, so when
you hit a draw ball, it may roll into the bunker. The two-tier green goes
higher at the back and it slopes to the left. The right side of the green
is guarded by the bunker.
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It is a slight downhill par 3. The two tied green is long and narrow
with large undulation. Three bunkers around the green make this hole challenging.
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It is a dogleg right uphill long par 5 with as much as 28 bunkers. Several
bunkers in the middle divide the fairway right and left, producing split
fairways off the tee. If you go left with the first and the second shots,
the third one will be opened and can aim the green despite the longer
route. The two tiered green is sharply stepped and guarded with three
bunkers on the right.
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It is a very long downhill par 3. A ridge runs the center of the green,
and it sharply drops from the right back to the left front. |
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It is a very long slight dogleg left par 4. Of the tee is downhill, and
the second is an uphill shot. The green goes sharply down to the right with
three shallow tiers. There is a bunker on the left of the green. |
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It is a long slight dogleg right par 5. Of the tee, aim the left fairway
bunker in 300 yards. The landing area of the fairway slopes rightward.
For the second shot, 3 bunkers in the middle of the fairway come into
play. The green is a long oval shape and the ridge runs in its center.
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It is a tough dogleg right hole. The right fairway bunkers come into
play of the tee. The landing area of the second shot is narrow with two
bunkers and bushes on the right and you can see the valley on the right.
The long oval shaped green is guarded with bunkers on both sides, and
it has a dent in the center.
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This par 3 hole has three bunkers on the left protecting the green. It is
an oval shape and shared with 2 other holes. If you go over the green, it
is a green for other hole with sharp step downwards and your returning putt
will be very tough. |
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It is a relatively straight gradual downhill par 4. A large bunker on the
left makes your tee shot strategic. The oval shaped elevated green is guarded
with two bunkers on the front. The second shot is a downhill lie and requires
high skill to hit long but spin and stop on the green. |
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Siam Country Club is a 30-minute drive from
Pattaya and 1 hour & 45 minute-drive from Central Bangkok. Siam Country
Club has there golf courses: Old Course,
Plantation Couse and Waterside
Course. Each golf course has its own clubhouse and it takes only 5-minute
drive from one course to another.
Other works of Lee Schmidt & Brian Curley designed courses in Thailand
are Siam CC - Old Course, Amata
Spring CC, Muang Kaew
GC (re-design), and Chiang
Mai Highlands G&SR.
.According to the top100golfcourses.co.uk
site, The Plantation Course at Siam Country Club was ranked 16th out of
the 270 (as of 2015) courses in all of Thailand during its 2015 evaluation.
After play, I had a dinner at Rimpa Lapai, offering a variety of food
style, Thai food, Europe food, and sea food, which is located anong the
seashore and a 30-minute drive from Pattaya. Rimpa Lapai is one of famous
restaurant in Pattaya as it is situated next to a cliff, which it is quite
difficult to find somewhere else. Having a dinner here under sunset was
superb.
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1st Par 4 400 yards (2)