Caddies going through your golf bag...and other gripes

[fatjack1]

2 hours ago, Ron Rat said:

Mike was and may still be one of the owners at the golf Club in LK Metro. American with a penchant for cigars. Haven't played for a few years due to arthritis.

I think you mean John.  I know the owners all for a long time and there is no Mike.  

 

[farcanal]

On 5/8/2018 at 05:09, james 71 said:

They can be fun I was playing navy course and caddy said to me 100 to nam ,I then asked go far green she replied 100 nam ,in other words she had seen how I was playing and I wasn't going to get over the water to the green 

I also think all mobiles should be banned from being used on the course by everyone except water holes 

I was playing a rather lengthy shot to a green. Probably 80 metres to a water hazard and another 70 to get over the water to the green.

To make sure I cleared the water I took a bit more club than I needed and promptly flubbed the shot and knocked it into the water.

I turned to ask my caddie to get me another ball and my gap wedge to play my next shot from the waters edge......bless her little heart....she already had ball and wedge in her hand.....and a lovely smile for me.

[fatjack1]

3 hours ago, farcanal said:

I was playing a rather lengthy shot to a green. Probably 80 metres to a water hazard and another 70 to get over the water to the green.

To make sure I cleared the water I took a bit more club than I needed and promptly flubbed the shot and knocked it into the water.

I turned to ask my caddie to get me another ball and my gap wedge to play my next shot from the waters edge......bless her little heart....she already had ball and wedge in her hand.....and a lovely smile for me.

The nerve.  She could have at least acted surprised.  

[farcanal]

9 hours ago, fatjack1 said:

The nerve.  She could have at least acted surprised.  

I was impressed, it was one of those courses where you had to leave the cart on the cart path, so it was a good 50 metres away from where we were standing........so she brought the extra ball and club to save herself a quick sprint back to the cart.

Up to that point I was playing reasonably well, so I guess she thought I was due for a bad shot.

[fatjack1]

16 hours ago, farcanal said:

I was impressed, it was one of those courses where you had to leave the cart on the cart path, so it was a good 50 metres away from where we were standing........so she brought the extra ball and club to save herself a quick sprint back to the cart.

Up to that point I was playing reasonably well, so I guess she thought I was due for a bad shot.

Smart caddy.  We can all chunk them.  

[Red-Devil]

2 hours ago, fatjack1 said:

Smart caddy.  We can all chunk them.  

I can confirm that.....DOH !

[LOTTELLEE WINNA]

On 5/11/2018 at 02:48, Red-Devil said:

I can confirm that.....DOH !

Aint that the truth bro. 

[captainito]

To be honest, I actually enjoy the caddies.  I haven't been to Thailand yet.  The one's i used in the Phil were great company. I haven't got any sexy ones yet,  but that is my dream.  I'll be heading for cherry trip in January 2019. Would like to meet up with some golfers when I do. 

[DaffyDuck]

I go to reach for another ball, only to find the caddy handing me one which she took (unknown by me) from my bag. I wasn't happy and yap yapped her in Thai.

So, you scolded her for anticipating your need and doing her job?

[LOTTELLEE WINNA]

7 hours ago, DaffyDuck said:

 

So, you scolded her for anticipating your need and doing her job?

 

I don’t believe it is the caddy’s job to go through my golf bag. 

[LOTTELLEE WINNA]

9 hours ago, captainito said:

To be honest, I actually enjoy the caddies.  I haven't been to Thailand yet.  The one's i used in the Phil were great company. I haven't got any sexy ones yet,  but that is my dream.  I'll be heading for cherry trip in January 2019. Would like to meet up with some golfers when I do. 

As I say at the outset, as a holiday maker, caddies appear as a real bonus on the golf course, but as an expat less so.

[farcanal]

8 minutes ago, LOTTELLEE WINNA said:

I don’t believe it is the caddy’s job to go through my golf bag. 

Mix up your golf balls with a dozen condoms and see where that goes.....she may just take the hint. 

[not at home]

On 4/17/2018 at 07:29, LOTTELLEE WINNA said:

The problem with them going through your golf bag pockets is that if something (anything from car keys to money) during a round goes missing, be it lost or stolen....what is the golfer going to think?

I have played Golf in Thailand for 20+ Years,so had many many caddies in that time,never lost anything most of the caddies put a couple of spare balls in their pockets because most guys who play here tend to lose them frequently.

On courses were I was a Member I always had a regular caddy,as I was driving into the Golf Course I would call and tell them I would be 5minutes so they would meet me in the Car Park,as I got out of the car I would hand them the keys and wallet whilst I went to change,they would get the clubs out the boot,lock the car and in some cases go pay the caddy fee,they would always pay for drinks and snacks (with my money) as like most Farang here I sweat a lot playing golf,so leaving her in charge of everything was always much easier.

 I would have always played without a caddy given the choice,as when I lived in the UK I never had a caddy, except sometimes playing for the Club in the Inter Club League some of the juniors liked to get involved by caddying,again I wasnt keen on this so would try to avoid it,even when we used to go to Scotland where caddies were numerous I never hired one,we used to do a Weeks Tour up there every a year then 8 of us would do  3 day tour we would play St Andrews and 2 other Courses again never hired a caddy.

But being in Thailand and knowing that the hire for a caddy is giving Work I accepted that as part and parcel of the game over here,they used to have an easy time caddying for me as I very rarely asked them anything (apart from are we going out tonight),our group also gave them 20baht tip for each birdy we made on top of there normal tip,I have had some great caddies,great fun,great laugh and many nice relationships, I have many fond memories of caddies .

 

[LOTTELLEE WINNA]

14 minutes ago, not at home said:

I have played golf in Thailand for 20+ Years,so had many many caddies in that time,never lost anything most of the caddies put a couple of spare balls in their pockets because most guys who play here tend to lose them frequently.

On courses were I was a Member I always had a regular caddy,as I was driving into the golf Course I would call and tell them I would be 5minutes so they would meet me in the Car Park,as I got out of the car I would hand them the keys and wallet whilst I went to change,they would get the clubs out the boot,lock the car and in some cases go pay the caddy fee,they would always pay for drinks and snacks (with my money) as like most Farang here I sweat a lot playing golf,so leaving her in charge of everything was always much easier.

 I would have always played without a caddy given the choice,as when I lived in the UK I never had a caddy, except sometimes playing for the Club in the Inter Club League some of the juniors liked to get involved by caddying,again I wasnt keen on this so would try to avoid it,even when we used to go to Scotland where caddies were numerous I never hired one,we used to do a Weeks Tour up there every a year then 8 of us would do  3 day tour we would play St Andrews and 2 other Courses again never hired a caddy.

But being in Thailand and knowing that the hire for a caddy is giving Work I accepted that as part and parcel of the game over here,they used to have an easy time caddying for me as I very rarely asked them anything (apart from are we going out tonight),our group also gave them 20baht tip for each birdy we made on top of there normal tip,I have had some great caddies,great fun,great laugh and many nice relationships, I have many fond memories of caddies .

 

Great to hear your positive experiences regarding caddies. Like you, on courses I play regularly, I have a particular caddy pre booked and invariably had nothing but good things to say about these caddies.

However, important to note that, IME, ‘membership’ is not available at many golf clubs in the Kingdom.  Even where it is, I have never heard of anyone handing their wallet over to a caddy, this is not something I would ever recommend. 

[not at home]

5 hours ago, LOTTELLEE WINNA said:

Great to hear your positive experiences regarding caddies. Like you, on courses I play regularly, I have a particular caddy pre booked and invariably had nothing but good things to say about these caddies.

However, important to note that, IME, ‘membership’ is not available at many golf clubs in the Kingdom.  Even where it is, I have never heard of anyone handing their wallet over to a caddy, this is not something I would ever recommend. 

I am surprised at your IME,as IME  Golf Course Memberships are available at many Golf Courses,or should I say we’re as I got fed up with Golf and stopped playing,I personally was a Member of 3 Golf Courses,and was an associate Member of another,at the time of this I believe there were only 10 of us Farang given this opportunity then things changed and I believe that there aren’t any now Thais only (Royal Hua Hin),when we had these Memberships it was in the good old days  of 72-75    baht to the UK pound,the Cost of the full Memberships were 100,000baht and of course no Yearly Maintenance Fees, I had played Golf around Thailand and Memberships were readily available.

[Scuba+]

I usually only keep 5×100 baht in the golf bag. This avoids any temptation a rogue caddie may have

[LOTTELLEE WINNA]

1 hour ago, not at home said:

I am surprised at your IME,as IME  Golf Course Memberships are available at many golf Courses,or should I say we’re as I got fed up with golf and stopped playing,I personally was a Member of 3 golf Courses,and was an associate Member of another,at the time of this I believe there were only 10 of us Farang given this opportunity then things changed and I believe that there aren’t any now Thais only (Royal Hua Hin),when we had these Memberships it was in the good old days  of 72-75    baht to the UK pound,the Cost of the full Memberships were 100,000baht and of course no Yearly Maintenance Fees, I had played golf around Thailand and Memberships were readily available.

I played Royal Hua Hin several times a couple of months back. Caddies were a mixed bag - from the outstanding (male caddy who played off 12 and just couldn't do enough to help), to the downright abysmal (Facebook checking, phone going off, walking from the tee area when there are still golfers teeing off). Really liked the course though. 

Many courses don't have memberships available, although many others do. Would be interested on your views about the advantages of club membership.

[fatjack1]

I've had mostly good experiences with caddies.  Part of it may be expectations.  Part of it may be I also try to make sure they are into the game with us too.  But I admit I have never tossed a caddy my wallet and left the scene.  I don't usually go anywhere in Thailand with less than 10,000 baht on me.  And I always make sure to have lots of smaller bills (100s, 20s).  We all have our thing and mine is I am prepared with exact change should the need arise.

The concept of tempting someone making 400 baht a day with that much uncounted money is foreign to me.  I have caddies who I'd give them and extra 5000 if they had a good enough story and needed it.  But I don't want to tempt one to steal.  

I wouldn't do it in the states either.  I guess to each his own.

On the topic of memberships I passed on two opportunities in the LOS and regret both.  I could have bought a lifetime at Green Valley for around 45,000.  The guy repping them to me was a scoundrel so I assumed these were a scam somehow.  My mistake.  I also passed when a friend (bookie in UK) suggested I get a membership at Siam while they were in remodel for 90,000.  I thought to myself "that place sucks.  No one wants that".  Maybe I should listen more.  

Just bought one here in the states.  Two courses.  Own the house on the 11th fairway.  About done with visits to Thailand.  One more to clear out the condo and put it up for sale.  Anyone want a nice condo?    

[LOTTELLEE WINNA]

1 hour ago, fatjack1 said:

I've had mostly good experiences with caddies.  Part of it may be expectations.  Part of it may be I also try to make sure they are into the game with us too.  But I admit I have never tossed a caddy my wallet and left the scene.  I don't usually go anywhere in Thailand with less than 10,000 baht on me.  And I always make sure to have lots of smaller bills (100s, 20s).  We all have our thing and mine is I am prepared with exact change should the need arise.

The concept of tempting someone making 400 baht a day with that much uncounted money is foreign to me.  I have caddies who I'd give them and extra 5000 if they had a good enough story and needed it.  But I don't want to tempt one to steal.  

I wouldn't do it in the states either.  I guess to each his own.

On the topic of memberships I passed on two opportunities in the LOS and regret both.  I could have bought a lifetime at Green Valley for around 45,000.  The guy repping them to me was a scoundrel so I assumed these were a scam somehow.  My mistake.  I also passed when a friend (bookie in UK) suggested I get a membership at Siam while they were in remodel for 90,000.  I thought to myself "that place sucks.  No one wants that".  Maybe I should listen more.  

Just bought one here in the states.  Two courses.  Own the house on the 11th fairway.  About done with visits to Thailand.  One more to clear out the condo and put it up for sale.  Anyone want a nice condo?    

The change thing is a real feature of Thailand - businesses of all descriptions will open in the morning and have no 'float' whatsoever. I too make sure I have lots of smaller bills for tips and drinks.

[not at home]

17 hours ago, LOTTELLEE WINNA said:

I played Royal Hua Hin several times a couple of months back. Caddies were a mixed bag - from the outstanding (male caddy who played off 12 and just couldn't do enough to help), to the downright abysmal (Facebook checking, phone going off, walking from the tee area when there are still golfers teeing off). Really liked the course though. 

Many courses don't have memberships available, although many others do. Would be interested on your views about the advantages of club membership.

Having. Membership of a Golf Course in Thailand  to me is a no brainer but ,! that is dependent on how often you play,if you are an expat or a frqueht visitor,in my case when I had my Memberships we played 6 Days a Week,we played Match Play twice another Day was taken up by one of the lads did a roll up.the other Days we played as we fancied when we turned up,if you are considering buying a Membership what you need to take into account is ,do you only play with a small group of friends? would you have anybody else to play with at that Course if something happened to your friends, then you need to work out how many times you play or intend to play,then factor in the cost of Membership,now also the Yearly Maintenance Fees,which I am told rise every Year, your age,your fitness then juggle the figures around and ask yourself is it worth it?

 In my case it was an easy decision, in Hua Hin originally there was only the one Course Royal Hua Hin,designed and built by a Scottish Railway Engineer who was over working on the Thailand Rail System,then as more people (Thais) became associated with the Game entrepreneurs decided to Construct Golf Courses following the American System? Style? Golf Courses and Homes, 4 new Courses Springfield,Palm Hills,Majestic Creek and Lake View we’re constructed under this System,unfortunately for the Golf Courses this did not take off,as Plots of Land on the Courses were Sold but no Home Construction took place,this was just before Thailnd had the crash financially,the teaser to selling the Land for Homes was Free Membership of the Course,no outside Members allowed at this time.

After a long time Owners of the Land Plots insisted on the right to sell their Golf Memberships,Bingo and happy Golf for us,the Memberships were originally for 25 Years,depending on when the Memberships started depended on how many Years were left on it, in my case it was 2 at 23 Years and 1 at 22Years, I payed 100,000 baht for each of them at round about 72-75 baht to the UK pound which worked out at the time around 1,400 UK Pounds an absolute steal for the ammount of Golf I played and of Course no Yearly Maintenance Fees,so I would normally play all my Golf Weekly for 6 Caddy tips 1,500 baht ,where we had the concession Golf Royal Hua Hin we payed the grand sum of 2;000 baht per Monthso in our case we had it easy.

As I mentioned earlier I packed in playing so I sold 2 of my Memberships one for 300,000baht,the other for 225,000baht the third one I gave away to a Thai man who I had met on the Driving Range,he was watching his son practice and unfortunately they had very little idea,he had seen me helping a few friends with their game and asked me  if I would take a look at his son I did and he defanitely had potential I told his Father he needed a regularCoach to guide him as I didn’t have the time but helped the boy when I could,later by asking some Thai people we got the boy fixed up with a Thai Coach I had got him some Clubs not great but a lot better than what he had,his Father was a nice guy but his job was poorly payed and he couldn’t afford lessons or good clubs but he tried,when I eventually packed the game in I gave the boy a full set of Clubs I was using and gave them my last Membership which had about 10 Years to run. I felt that I had been lucky in my Golf in Thailand and it felt good to give a little help.

So LW my advice to you would be look at some of the questions I mentioned consider the time you are here,the times you play,the Cost of Membership and the Maintenance you now have to pay jiggle it about and I am sure you will come up with your answer, I hope if you do take Membership that you get the enjoyment and pleasure out of it like I certainly did,good luck to you.

[Scuba+]

Guys often join a course because they think it will save them money, then play more often to justify the membership plus all the caddy fees and tips and what you have is more expensive golf

[not at home]

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

Guys often join a course because they think it will save them money, then play more often to justify the membership plus all the caddy fees and tips and what you have is more expensive golf

Sorry I don’t agree with you,if a person buys a Membership then he already plays regular Golf,let’s say that regular Golf is 3-4 Times a Week let’s say the Green Fee is 1,000baht(but I am sure it’s more)then it would only take him 2 Years to recover the outlay of his Membership,for regular Golfers you can save a bunch by buying a Membership.

[Scuba+]

Sorry I don’t agree with you,if a person buys a Membership then he already plays regular Golf,let’s say that regular Golf is 3-4 Times a Week let’s say the Green Fee is 1,000baht(but I am sure it’s more)then it would only take him 2 Years to recover the outlay of his Membership,for regular Golfers you can save a bunch by buying a Membership.

Around Pattaya golf green fee is as little at 400 baht (Plutaluang), 600 baht (Pattavia) for example. Guys i know usually play 3 times a week max if through a bar but the ones who have joined a course often play more frequently, maybe that tails off after a while. Of course its not the same for everyone and you are still stuck with the compulsory caddy fee and tip

[LOTTELLEE WINNA]

3 hours ago, not at home said:

Having. Membership of a golf Course in Thailand  to me is a no brainer but ,! that is dependent on how often you play,if you are an Expat or a frqueht visitor,in my case when I had my Memberships we played 6 Days a Week,we played Match Play twice another Day was taken up by one of the lads did a roll up.the other Days we played as we fancied when we turned up,if you are considering buying a Membership what you need to take into account is ,do you only play with a small group of friends? would you have anybody else to play with at that Course if something happened to your friends, then you need to work out how many times you play or intend to play,then factor in the cost of Membership,now also the Yearly Maintenance Fees,which I am told rise every Year, your age,your fitness then juggle the figures around and ask yourself is it worth it?

 In my case it was an easy decision, in Hua Hin originally there was only the one Course Royal Hua Hin,designed and built by a Scottish Railway Engineer who was over working on the Thailand Rail System,then as more people (Thais) became associated with the Game entrepreneurs decided to Construct golf Courses following the American System? Style? golf Courses and Homes, 4 new Courses Springfield,Palm Hills,Majestic Creek and Lake View we’re constructed under this System,unfortunately for the golf Courses this did not take off,as Plots of Land on the Courses were Sold but no Home Construction took place,this was just before Thailnd had the crash financially,the teaser to selling the Land for Homes was Free Membership of the Course,no outside Members allowed at this time.

After a long time Owners of the Land Plots insisted on the right to sell their golf Memberships,Bingo and happy golf for us,the Memberships were originally for 25 Years,depending on when the Memberships started depended on how many Years were left on it, in my case it was 2 at 23 Years and 1 at 22Years, I payed 100,000 baht for each of them at round about 72-75 baht to the UK pound which worked out at the time around 1,400 UK Pounds an absolute steal for the ammount of golf I played and of Course no Yearly Maintenance Fees,so I would normally play all my golf Weekly for 6 Caddy tips 1,500 baht ,where we had the concession golf Royal Hua Hin we payed the grand sum of 2;000 baht per Monthso in our case we had it easy.

As I mentioned earlier I packed in playing so I sold 2 of my Memberships one for 300,000baht,the other for 225,000baht the third one I gave away to a Thai man who I had met on the Driving Range,he was watching his son practice and unfortunately they had very little idea,he had seen me helping a few friends with their game and asked me  if I would take a look at his son I did and he defanitely had potential I told his Father he needed a regularCoach to guide him as I didn’t have the time but helped the boy when I could,later by asking some Thai people we got the boy fixed up with a Thai Coach I had got him some Clubs not great but a lot better than what he had,his Father was a nice guy but his job was poorly payed and he couldn’t afford lessons or good clubs but he tried,when I eventually packed the game in I gave the boy a full set of Clubs I was using and gave them my last Membership which had about 10 Years to run. I felt that I had been lucky in my golf in Thailand and it felt good to give a little help.

So LW my advice to you would be look at some of the questions I mentioned consider the time you are here,the times you play,the Cost of Membership and the Maintenance you now have to pay jiggle it about and I am sure you will come up with your answer, I hope if you do take Membership that you get the enjoyment and pleasure out of it like I certainly did,good luck to you.

A very interesting post my friend and I thank you for it. You clearly achieved outstanding value for money with your memberships- particularly buying them when the GBP was buoyant. Unfortunately here in Udon Thani there are no golf courses which offer memberships (although somebody mentioned that the small Army course offers some form of annual membership with discount green fee). There is a new 18 hole course currently being built on the outskirts of the city, hopefully they will offer memberships and I would consider that option.

That said, golf up in Udon is relatively cheap...green fees around 200-300 THB + caddy fee of 100 THB + tip (Udon minimum is 200, though I tip more).

[not at home]

2 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Around Pattaya golf green fee is as little at 400 baht (Plutaluang), 600 baht (Pattavia) for example. Guys i know usually play 3 times a week max if through a bar but the ones who have joined a course often play more frequently, maybe that tails off after a while. Of course its not the same for everyone and you are still stuck with the compulsory caddy fee and tip

Yes but your quoting the lowest price possible,anyone with a keen interest in Golf want to play the better Golf Courses,and as you say through the Bar people play more but by the time they pay for the better Corses and Travel then they are over 1,000baht,people who have bought Memberships rarely allow their visits to tail off they are keen,the only thing that prevents them is injury or starting to get on in Years,

Going by your figures playing playing 4 times at 400baht is going to cost in the region of 80,000baht a Year at 600baht it’s around about 90,000baht a Year even at these prices it doesn’t take a long time to pay off a Membership ,I purposely didn’t mention Caddy Fees and tips as anyone wha has or do play Golf in Thailand knows its a thing you can’t avoid.