Is Khao Kheow worth just shy of $100 US ?

[maxtroy]

Just looking at a golfbar schedule and happened on Khao Kheow :

1400  Green fee and caddy fee

250     transport

700    buggy  (optional )

250  comp fee

300  caddie tip

50    caddie drink

2950   baht 

Looks like I will be playing even fewer rounds of golf in thailand this winter .  Even specials run by Treasure Hill roll up to

2000 baht when the chips are all counted .  It really is time to introduce optional caddies if they want to keep

golf affordable for the average ex pat .

 

[Kanga]

KK in October only 800 green fee plus 350 caddy fee........

Prices have not gone up that much compared to previous years but  think it is the exchange rate which makes it seem that much more expensive.

Drop the cadde drink, walk and play with a bar that doesn't run a comp and save a third in the example above 

.........or is it an excuse to start another we don't really need a caddie thread........... 

[sulu]

1 hour ago, Kanga said:

KK in October only 800 green fee plus 350 caddy fee........

Prices have not gone up that much compared to previous years but  think it is the exchange rate which makes it seem that much more expensive.

Drop the cadde drink, walk and play with a bar that doesn't run a comp and save a third in the example above 

.........or is it an excuse to start another we don't really need a caddie thread........... 

"Seem" that much more expensive ? 

You've already saved the guy 600 Baht, almost $20 USD by correcting the KK greens fee. LOL

You do realize that quite a few visitors are not able to walk the golf course ?

If it's biting you hard, the only real solution is to play 1 less round per month (or whatever). I typically am in Patts for 2 months or more and play between 2 and 3 times a week. I guess if I had to I'd simply cut out 1 of the rounds per month and I'd be (mostly) "back on budget". 

[Kanga]

4 minutes ago, sulu said:

I guess if I had to I'd simply cut out 1 of the rounds per month and I'd be (mostly) "back on budget". 

I agree you have to cut your cloth accordingly......

Interestingly Pattana is maintaining its green fee at 850 in November when I think normally it would be a lot higher.

They did however increase the caddie fee to 400 earlier this year which is an unfortunate trend along with Green Valley/Silky/Phoenix/Parichat and Bankapong and Royal Lakeside. 

 

[sulu]

50 minutes ago, Kanga said:

I agree you have to cut your cloth accordingly......

Interestingly Pattana is maintaining its green fee at 850 in November when I think normally it would be a lot higher.

They did however increase the caddie fee to 400 earlier this year which is an unfortunate trend along with Green Valley/Silky/Phoenix/Parichat and Bankapong and Royal Lakeside. 

 

Well, prices do go up. The caddie fee hadn't changed since I first got there in 2012.

There are also deals cut between a golf bar and a golf course. Apparently some businesses understand the value of repeat/regular customers.

An example would be the Golf Club with Green Valley. They play at GV EVERY Monday so they get a deal on greens fees. I expect other bars do the same. I believe Traveler's Rest on Soi Lengkee probably has a deal with Burapha - they play there every week as well. Or at least did last time I was there (Feb 2018).

[Scuba+]

I used to play 3 times a week for my 4-6 month trips, now i live Pattaya full time I've given up golf, it's just not worth the 25-35k a month.

I did try playing 1-2 times a week but it isn't enough to maintain my 5 handicap.

After the first couple months I don't miss it anymore, just have to find other things to do

[Scuba+]

Just looking at a golfbar schedule and happened on Khao Kheow :
1400  Green fee and caddy fee
250     transport
700    buggy  (optional )
250  comp fee
300  caddie tip
50    caddie drink
2950   baht 
Looks like I will be playing even fewer rounds of golf in thailand this winter .  Even specials run by Treasure Hill roll up to
2000 baht when the chips are all counted .  It really is time to introduce optional caddies if they want to keep
golf affordable for the average ex pat .
 

Don't the golf club also add on a fee for charity also? used to be braces for caddies (someone was getting free shags I'm sure).

Also comp fee is hardly worth it, i came first and won 700 baht, just wastes money really. In other bars with many more golfers you will always get a bandit \ sandbagger who comes on with a daft handicap and wins

[sulu]

3 minutes ago, Scuba+ said:

Don't the golf club also add on a fee for charity also? used to be braces for caddies (someone was getting free shags I'm sure).

Nope. Often the first place winner or the nearest the pin winner will toss their winnings to the "Caddie Smile" program the bar runs.

Purely voluntary.

 

3 minutes ago, Scuba+ said:

Also comp fee is hardly worth it, i came first and won 700 baht, just wastes money really. In other bars with many more golfers you will always get a bandit \ sandbagger who comes on with a daft handicap and wins

Well, that goes for every bar I've played with. 700 for 1st is pretty low but then the prizes are generally determined by the number of golfers that day.

I expect there aren't all that many in the low season but in the high season, with 20 or more players, 1st place is generally in the 1,000 Baht range.

You will NEVER leave the bar with more money than you arrived with. 

[maxtroy]

11 hours ago, sulu said:

"Seem" that much more expensive ? 

You've already saved the guy 600 Baht, almost $20 USD by correcting the KK greens fee. LOL

You do realize that quite a few visitors are not able to walk the golf course ?

If it's biting you hard, the only real solution is to play 1 less round per month (or whatever). I typically am in Patts for 2 months or more and play between 2 and 3 times a week. I guess if I had to I'd simply cut out 1 of the rounds per month and I'd be (mostly) "back on budget". 

Actually it is only 250 baht as you still need to pay the Caddie fee of $350 . The 250 baht discrepancy must have been a clerical

error as , unless vouuchers are involved , you generally pay upon arrivl at the golf course . Nevertheless still not worth the asking

amount for an average golfcourse .

Yes you are spot on when mentioning , for many golfers , walking is not an option due to age and health reasons. 

 

[maxtroy]

13 hours ago, Kanga said:

KK in October only 800 green fee plus 350 caddy fee........

Prices have not gone up that much compared to previous years but  think it is the exchange rate which makes it seem that much more expensive.

Drop the cadde drink, walk and play with a bar that doesn't run a comp and save a third in the example above 

.........or is it an excuse to start another we don't really need a caddie thread........... 

Yes a 25 % swing in the exchange rate is pretty hard to ignore .

Yes I will take any opportunity to promote golf without the charity program known as caddies in Thailand .  I am not

saying to do away with them but give golfers the option of taking one or not .

[sulu]

11 hours ago, maxtroy said:

Yes a 25 % swing in the exchange rate is pretty hard to ignore .

Yes I will take any opportunity to promote golf without the charity program known as caddies in Thailand .  I am not saying to do away with them but give golfers the option of taking one or not .

Not happening anytime soon. I'm guessing at least half the caddies would be out of work.

[LOTTELLEE WINNA]

In the major cities of Thailand there is no need for any fit and able person to be unemployed.

6 hours ago, sulu said:

Not happening anytime soon. I'm guessing at least half the caddies would be out of work.

 

[sulu]

6 minutes ago, LOTTELLEE WINNA said:

In the major cities of Thailand there is no need for any fit and able person to be unemployed.

That very well may be but at what kind of $$$ ? Comparable to other work ?

My understanding is that if a caddie does 1 loop per day and makes 7-800 Baht he/she is doing pretty well overall.

Not so ?

 

[LOTTELLEE WINNA]

1 hour ago, sulu said:

That very well may be but at what kind of $$$ ? Comparable to other work ?

My understanding is that if a caddie does 1 loop per day and makes 7-800 Baht he/she is doing pretty well overall.

Not so ?

 

Typically a caddy in Pattaya will earn from caddy fee (say 300 from the 350 caddy fee), plus a tip of 300+. Some golfers will tip 400, occasionally more. Giving a total of (say) 650. This of course has to be balanced by a) low season - so quiet that the gals sometimes don’t get a loop (some courses find groundskeeper jobs for those occasions, but many don’t; b) Rainy days where the gals will earn zero. Now, really good caddies (few and far between) are in high demand, they can earn serious cash.

The going rate for a 7/11 type job is 400thb a day. Over the course of a year the average caddy won’t earn much more than this.

I have nothing against caddies, indeed I know a few of the gals very well. I do however object to compulsory caddies....this concept is in effect pointless job creation exercise. A veritable tax on golf.

Edited October 25, 2019 by LOTTELLEE WINNA

[Thamesbank]

What's killing the golf especially for expats is most courses won't allow sharing the carts. Single use and many courses have compulsory carts, ie you can't walk. So on top of the green fee add 600/700 for a cart you don't want.

Start of low season cost of caddy minimum 350 baht, plus expected "tip" of another 300. May well be increased again for high season.

With high season pricing about to start, will be even less expats playing. Aiming for Korean/Jap tourists

[maxtroy]

Just now, Thamesbank said:

What's killing the golf especially for expats is most courses won't allow sharing the carts. Single use and many courses have compulsory carts, ie you can't walk. So on top of the green fee add 600/700 for a cart you don't want.

Start of low season cost of caddy minimum 350 baht, plus expected "tip" of another 300. May well be increased again for high season.

With high season pricing about to start, will be even less expats playing. Aiming for Korean/Jap tourists

Insult to injury you have to then pay a caddy to drive the overpriced buggy that you are not allowed to share . BTW the only time  I have been involved in a buggy colliding with a person is when my Thai caddy drove into another caddy . Thank Buddha there was no serious injury because , as per local course rules , even if you are not driving the buggy you are responsible for any damages by or to said buggy .

Thankfully it is only golf and easy enough to spend the day at the pool when that days golf course doesn't feel like ( relative ) good value. .

Fact is , compared to golf courses in the West when the costs are summed there really isn't good value in Thailand golf anymore .

Probably a good opportunity for places like Vietnam and Cambodia to step up and provide value added golf packages .

[LOTTELLEE WINNA]

1 hour ago, maxtroy said:

Insult to injury you have to then pay a caddy to drive the overpriced buggy that you are not allowed to share . BTW the only time  I have been involved in a buggy colliding with a person is when my Thai caddy drove into another caddy . Thank Buddha there was no serious injury because , as per local course rules , even if you are not driving the buggy you are responsible for any damages by or to said buggy .

Thankfully it is only golf and easy enough to spend the day at the pool when that days golf course doesn't feel like ( relative ) good value. .

Fact is , compared to golf courses in the West when the costs are summed there really isn't good value in Thailand golf anymore .

Probably a good opportunity for places like Vietnam and Cambodia to step up and provide value added golf packages .

You are so right in terms of value for money. I am currently working on a consultancy project in New Zealand. Playing on a really nice course, which costs $900 a year (18,000thb equivalent)....playing twice a week, it works out at 180 thb a round - now that’s good value.

[Craven Moorehead]

Golden ferret golf society is playing there this Monday, 2500 baht includes breakfast at golden ferret, transport to and from, green fees, and buggy. They have breakfast, and leave for the course at 10:30 am

[Thamesbank]

On 26/10/2019 at 13:04, Craven Moorehead said:

Golden ferret golf society is playing there this Monday, 2500 baht includes breakfast at golden ferret, transport to and from, green fees, and buggy. They have breakfast, and leave for the course at 10:30 am

So add in caddy tip and refreshments after, looking at 3K plus.  100 dollars

[Scuba+]

So add in caddy tip and refreshments after, looking at 3K plus.  100 dollars

Yep, 39,000 baht \£1k a month if you play 3 times a week which is the norm. Worth it? personal choice i guess

[Thamesbank]

21 hours ago, Scuba+ said:

Yep, 39,000 baht \£1k a month if you play 3 times a week which is the norm. Worth it? personal choice i guess
 

Many of us don't even have that much to spend monthly

[Thamesbank]

Emerald have just confirmed GREEN FEE 1300 bt from 1st November. Plus 600 bt single use cart and 350 for caddy.

[farcanal]

Said it before, and I'll say it again...love the caddies.

To me (and my mates) a day out at golf is all about fun and enjoyment, and the caddies most definitely add to that.

We are all competent golfers but number one priority is going out and having fun during our 2 weeks holiday. If we knock 4 balls in the lake it's no big deal,  we enjoy ourselves with the added bonus of more fun later in the day/night. Caddies fees are chicken feed, given some of the amounts I see  being spent in this forum on drinks and P4P.

[Rikamaroo]

Firstly to answer the OP question KK is an excellent course and it is worth 100 US all in. One of the best courses out from Pattaya.

The strong baht is making everything more expensive but in relative terms Thailand is still cheap.

My friends and I transferred our golf trips from europe to Thailand 5 years ago and even allowing for the reduction in exchange rate Thailand is still much better value. And more fun.

Must be tougher for expats though who live and play there all year.

I am in the UK now and it's cold and raining and soon the really crap weather will descend upon us. What I wouldn't give to have the chance to play KK for 75 quid. Sometimes you just dont know how lucky you are!

And with a lovely thai lady smiling at you all the way around. Heaven.

 

 

 

 

[Thamesbank]

15 hours ago, Rikamaroo said:

Firstly to answer the OP question KK is an excellent course and it is worth 100 US all in. One of the best courses out from Pattaya.

The strong baht is making everything more expensive but in relative terms Thailand is still cheap.

My friends and I transferred our golf trips from europe to Thailand 5 years ago and even allowing for the reduction in exchange rate Thailand is still much better value. And more fun.

Must be tougher for expats though who live and play there all year.

I am in the UK now and it's cold and raining and soon the really crap weather will descend upon us. What I wouldn't give to have the chance to play KK for 75 quid. Sometimes you just dont know how lucky you are!

And with a lovely thai lady smiling at you all the way around. Heaven.

 

 

 

 

Yes for those of us who live in LoS, getting tougher. Used to play weekly, this past low season cut down to twice a month.

High season about to kick in, prices will go up. Now looking at playing the 9-hole courses around Sattahip.

No caddies at those courses. Or compulsory carts.

 

And remember, you may get the male caddies ...!!!!

Edited October 30, 2019 by Thamesbank
Forgot something