Clark in Thailand: Chapter 3

An early start today and my driver is waiting diligently for me at the Hilton lobby. He’s taken control of my golf bag, so unless I absolutely need it, he’s safe keeping it in the trunk of his shiny black Camry. In a flurry of weaving in and out of morning traffic narrowly missing other cars and scooters by inches….we are off and cruising out of the city to Royal Ban Pa-In golf club. Upon arrival I’m warmly greeted Thai style with all the bows and clasped hands by my caddie “Nan”. Barely as tall as my golf bag she can’t weigh 80 lbs. She’s incredibly gracious but absolutely speaks zero English and I can tell she’s as timid as she is diminutive.

 

She’s all about smiling though and I’m ashamed to say the first image that came to mind was a fruit bat. Apparently there is no caddy dental plan or Nan has a high deductible as evidenced by her snaggly smile. I tried out the 2 way AI translation ear piece to share some dialogue with her, but she was just too shy to say much of anything.

 

Today I’m going to be on my own. 

No Problem.

This course is in beautiful condition with fast true greens and playing long today from the blue tees at 6,600 yards. Perhaps a bit much as the lush fairways were very soft and offered no roll out whatsoever making for some challenging approaches. The layout is very well bunkered and most every hole forces the player to negotiate water.  I played solidly today and made 5 birdies but did make some mistakes just due to lack of course knowledge.

I started out as a single player stuck behind 2 foursomes of Japanese but was joined by a well spoken gentleman from Bangladesh. He went to school at U-Mass and is now running the family business. Turns out Walmart is his biggest account. He’s proud to say 40% of all garments sold by Walmart come from his factories. I would assume despite any tariffs due he’s not starving.

Play today was not fast by any means so we had plenty of time to chat….. which was fine because Nan just kept smiling and nodding but not saying a word. 

It was certainly a nice day with pleasant company but I guess I’m spoiled as a good caddie sure makes a difference in the quality of the experience. 

Tomorrow I’m off to a new venue called Cascatta. I’ve heard good things so I’m hopefully optimistic.

I might also add that despite her shortcomings, I gave Nan a big tip just in case she’s close to meeting her dental deductible. 

"Nan" caddie of the day

Fruit Bat

Green Speed at 10 and I would agree

Views of the course

Views of the Course

Views of the course

Views of the course

Nan & Roy

Stuck behind 3 groups at the turn

On the links

View from the clubhouse

View from the clubhouse

Clark in Thailand: Chapter 2

Let me begin by saying I’ve played golf on some pretty darn nice courses around the world and once again Thai Country Club does not disappoint. On the outset, this club is basically in an industrial area outside the city of Bangkok, but from the moment you enter the gates and marvel at the perfectly manicured grass and greenery, you know you have arrived at someplace special. Everything about this club is top-notch and the level of service is extraordinary. The bag drop is a well oiled machine and you are given a key fob with a number on it. You use this fob to purchase things in the abundantly stocked pro shop or on the golf course at the amazing refreshment stations which beckon a stop every three holes. A halt at one of these stations does not mean you have to grab and go. Golf here is different and if the foursome wants to stop for a couple beers and some dim sum, or a chicken leg, they just let people pass and join back up whenever they can.

The caddies fall right into place as well and are happy to do whatever their assigned golfer chooses to do. Today I went off with another Japanese gentleman, but we were joined by a lanky player from Australia who had decided to stop and have a beer and snack, leaving his original group, but slotting in with us seamlessly. My caddie today is “Nit” who has worked at this club for 26 years. I can say with absolute certainty that Nit knows every bump, swale, break, bunker and inch of Thai Country Club. She was an absolute pleasure to work with today and we became instant friends. Always smiling, she kept referring to herself as “old lady” and let it slip that she was 48 years old. I just can’t accurately judge age by looking at some of these gals because they are moving constantly and they just seem to age so very well. 

The only downside to my experience today was that I had taken an extra hour and arrived early so I could use the manicured driving range and spectacular short game area. Much to my dismay, I got ushered to the tee without so much as a practice swing or hitting a single putt. I could have held my ground, but the club staff was just trying to get me out in front of a larger group and they wanted me paired up instead of waiting behind foursome after foursome. I get it, but I was still not the least bit happy about it and my play certainly suffered the first few holes because of my poor attitude and zero warmup. 

Being around Nit soon eased the mood and I quickly realized just how fortunate I am to be where I’m at, doing what I love. Case closed…..and on a positive note I’m coming back to play here twice more before departing so team Nit-Clark will be reunited again with a plan to beat old man par.

Nit the "old lady" of Thai CC

View towards 18 green

My crew today

Getting ready to birdie 18

Lovely par 3

Nit

Nit and her fellow caddie... They are so pleasant to be around. You just can't help but smile

How they can funtion in this head to toe polyester is beyond me. 93 degrees today!!

Clark in Thailand: Chapter 1

Well lads, the Thailand adventure is underway and I’m writing this as I am nestled into a comfy overstuffed booth in the Hilton lounge sipping on a frothy handmade cappuccino. After 25 hours sitting on planes,  I arrived last night in Bangkok after midnight actually so completely out of sorts time wise I had trouble going to sleep. By the time I got my things unpacked and a degree of order to the room that will by my home for the next 12 days, it was well into the early morning hours. I had instructions from “Nueng” my assigned driver, to be downstairs at 830 am sharp and ready to roll, thus any rest and much needed recharge time was short lived. 

Today’s course was Royal Gems City…. A course I had played before featuring a front nine composed of 9 of the most famous holes in golf, including the church pews of Oakmont, the Road Hole, 17 at TPC and others. The second nine is a pretty darn close replica of the back 9 of Augusta National, complete with slick firm greens and elevation changes. There are no pine trees here, but they have replaced those with eucalyptus trees, and as the course matures, it will really be something. I was paired with a very nice gentleman from Japan today who was nothing but smiles. He struggled a bit off the tee but compensated his game by being a great chipper off some very tight lies and he managed several nice up and downs. As luck would have it I drew a wonderful caddie named “Mew”. Aside from being very attractive and having the appearance of a 20 year old, despite her 36 years, she had her yardages down to the number. A couple holes into the round and she had my club selection down pat. Before I left I took a chance and purchased an AI language translator. It consists of 2 ear pieces and you can set the accompanying app to conversation mode. This allows me to speak in English and the wearer of the second ear piece hears the translation in Thai and vice versa. It’s not perfect, but it certainly allowed Mew and I to converse with each other as well as share a bunch of laughs for those phases that were “lost in translation.”

Despite running on fumes, I played well today to the delight of Mew and myself and shot +2 on a tough track. Tonight I’ll get a good nights rest and head for Thai Country Club tomorrow. It’s going to be a great day.

Mew & I

Mr. Up & Down from Japan

My crew today

Mew and I on the 12th of the National

The Girls & I

Royal Gems clubhouse

A look at the 12th