While Pattaya carries a well deserved worldwide reputation as being a Mecca for golfers, with 16 top class courses and counting within a mere hour’s drive of the city center, it is perhaps notable that many, if not most of the practice facilities available to players leave a little to be desired.
That one black mark could now be a thing of the past with the recent opening of the state of the art Siam Waterside Driving Range, which is the only stand-alone practice facility in the Siam Country Club complex open to members of the public.
The range offers 20 well-defined and sectioned off practice bays with a choice of either grass (manicured to the highest standard) or plastic mat teeing areas and a wide collection area with markers stretching out to 300 meters and more.
The balls used at the Waterside golf facility are also of the highest standard and certainly a cut above what you would normally expect to find on other local ranges.
Complementing this is separate ‘short game’ practice area with three distinctly designed bunkers to challenge the skills of even the most hardened pro. A huge putting green adjacent to the Siam Waterside main clubhouse is also available to those using the practice facility and is kept to a standard one would expect at a golf course of this class.
Refreshments are available at the driving range restaurant, which also offers delicious Thai and Western food at reasonable prices while the pro-shop carries a variety of golf equipment.
The attached TPR Golf Academy, manned by teaching pro Tyrone Renggli and due to open early December, promises to offer the most advanced instruction and training aids in the game, including TrackMan 4 with next generation dual radar technology, the SAM PuttLab and AimPoint Express, and the Shift System from BodiTrak Tour, a portable system for capturing center balance during a golf swing.
Combined together, the first class facilities and golf academy make the Siam Waterside Golf Club driving range a must visit for golfers of all levels looking to make improvements in their game.
For more information and directions, visit www.siamcountryclub.com/waterside.
