Khao Yai Golf

Golfing in Khao Yai is not very well known to most tourists, yet this beautiful region features some excellent golf courses. The new Kiriyama Golf Resort is amongst the best in Thailand, and even if you don't stay there, a round of golf is a must if you're in Khao Yai. Golf in Khao Yai can be a nice break from Bangkok and is reachable in about two and half hours from Bangkok. Very recommended if you like to get away from it all, play some great courses in the beautiful country side and get pampered in one of the resorts.

Khao Yai Golfing Information

Kirimaya Golf Club & Resort, designed by Jack Nicklaus, is the main course in the area, very challenging set amid delightful scenery in the Khao Yai National Park. It is the only 5-star Khao Yai golf resort and in itself a great play and stay for a long golfing weekend in the country side.

Mission Hills Khao Yai is the oldest of the 3 Mission Hills golf courses in Thailand. It is situated between two valleys in the mountains of the Khao Yai National Park and winds beneath the steep hills that border the park. It is easy to forget about your score, when enjoying the breath taking views over the surrounding hills. The 450 rai course designed by Jack Niclaus also includes a hotel with full facilities.

Other courses in the area worth visting include Panorama Golf and Country Club and Friendship Meadows Country Club.

About Khao Yai

The Khao Yai, the second largest National Park in Thailand, lies largely in Nakhon Ratchasima Province (Korat), but also includes parts of the Saraburi, Prachinburi and Nakhon Nayok provinces. It was Thailand's first national park, founded September 18, 1962, covering an area of 2,168 square kilometers, including evergreen forests and grasslands. Its altitude ranges from about 400 to 1000 m above sea level. There are 3,000 species of plants, 320 species of birds and 67 species of mammals, including Asiatic black bears, Asian elephants, gaur, tigers, gibbons, Indian sambar deer, Indian muntjac, dholes, and wild pigs. Its waterfalls include the 80 metre Heo Narok, and Haeo Suwat famous from the Hollywood film The Beach with Leonardo di Caprio. Namtok Sarika is a popular domestic tourist destination with the Thais.

The park is often visited by travellers from Isan, Bangkok and elsewhere, for whom there are more than 50km of hiking trails. In 1984 the park was made an ASEAN Heritage Park, and on July 14 2005 the park together with other parks in the Dong Phaya Yen mountains was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name Dong Phaya Yen–Khao Yai Forest Complex. In the past decades, lands adjacent to the national park were increasingly developed into luxury hotels and golf courses for weekending visitors from Bangkok.