Last updated: 9 September 2026
Most golf trips to Thailand are not all golfers. Couples, families and groups of friends turn up with a mix — some playing every day, some playing never — and the trip lives or dies on whether the non-players have something better to do than wait.
This is the practical version: which bases genuinely work for a mixed party, how to structure the golf so nobody is abandoned, and how to split a bill where people use wildly different amounts of it.
A round of golf in Thailand is not four hours. With a caddie, a cart, a stop at the turn and the heat, plan on five and a half hours door to door, plus transfers. A golfer leaving at 6.30am is back by 2pm. One leaving at 11am has lost the day.
So the rule is simple: early tee times, and never golf every day. Four rounds across seven nights leaves three full days with the group. Eight rounds across fourteen does the same. Groups that book golf every single day are the ones that come home having had two separate holidays.
| Base | For the golfers | For everyone else |
|---|---|---|
| Pattaya | 34 courses, median ฿2,500 | Beach, islands, floating markets, a serious food scene and shopping. The easiest base for a mixed group. |
| Hua Hin | 11 courses, median ฿1,950 | Quieter beach town. Spa, night market, vineyards and the royal palace. Suits couples over party groups. |
| Chiang Mai | 17 courses, median ฿1,900 | Temples, cooking schools, elephant sanctuaries and cooler weather. The most interesting non-golf days in Thailand. |
| Phuket | 7 courses, median ฿2,800 | Best beaches of the lot, but the golf is the most expensive and the island is big. Fewer, better rounds. |
The golf is the expensive part and only some of the party uses it. On a typical fortnight the golfers spend two to three times what the non-golfers do once green fees, caddies and carts are in.
What works: split the shared costs evenly, and the golf separately. Hotel, transfers to and from the airport, and group meals go in the common pot. Green fees, caddie fees, carts and golf-day transport come off the players. It takes one conversation before you book and saves a fortnight of quiet resentment.
Our trip cost calculator prices both halves separately if you want the numbers in front of you.
If some of the party is coming along to watch, sit in the cart or play nine and stop, a few things matter more than the course rating: a decent clubhouse, a pool, somewhere to sit that is not the car park.
Resort courses do this best. Bonanza Golf CC and Santiburi Samui CC both sit inside resorts where a non-golfer can spend the morning by the pool rather than waiting. At the budget end, Sawang Resort Golf Club in Hua Hin makes the caddie optional for long-stay guests, which is unusual in Thailand and useful if someone wants to walk a few holes without committing.
Tell us how many play and how many do not, and the courses come back with rates for the golfers. Free, no obligation.
Yes, better than most golf destinations. Pattaya, Hua Hin and Chiang Mai all have courses within an hour of beaches, markets, spas and day trips, so the non-playing half of the party has a real day rather than a wait. Phuket has the best beaches but the most expensive golf.
Plan on five and a half hours door to door once you include the caddie, the cart, a stop at the turn and transfers. An early tee time gets the golfers back by early afternoon; a late morning start writes off the whole day.
Split shared costs — hotel, airport transfers, group meals — evenly, and keep golf costs with the golfers. Green fees, caddies, carts and golf-day transport typically make the players two to three times more expensive than the non-players over a fortnight.
At most Thai courses yes, usually for a small fee. Some clubs charge a follower fee of around ฿800 per cart. Check when you book, as policies vary and a few clubs do not allow it at busy times.