Royal Gems Golf City

The “Dream Arena” at Royal Gems Golf City lies an hour’s drive from Bangkok city centre and this 18-hole layout is the first of several courses planned for a supremely ambitious golf development which will, in the words of its chairman, help Thailand become “the world’s golf capital”.

Phase 1 of this challenging 63-hole project on a 560-acre site was entrusted to architect Ron Garl, and he decided to create Asia’s first replica course with front nine holes containing imitations of iconic features like the Church Pews bunker on the 3rd hole at Oakmont, the island green on the par three 17th at TPC Sawgrass and the Postage Stamp green from the short 8th hole at Royal Troon.

Ron Garl has done this sort of thing before – more than half the holes on his Wooden Sticks course outside Toronto are inspired from those on top American and Scottish tracks – but he’s gone a step further this time by laying out holes 10 to 18 in the same style as the entire back nine at Augusta National.