Golf has become a popular sport worldwide and Thailand is one of the most recognized "golfer's paradise" in the world. Many true golf enthusiasts world dream to put to test their skills and talent in the game of golf on many beautiful and professionally designed golf courses here. No matter how remote the region you're visiting, it's a fair bet that a golf course is never far away. This sunny tropical paradise is also the destination where you can play golf all year around.

Golf is not a new sport here. It has been played in Thailand for almost 100 years, with games reported at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club as early as 1905. The first recognized 18-hole course - Royal` Hua Hin, popularly known as The Railway - was built by a Scottish engineer in 1924 in the seaside resort of Hua Hin.

Today, Thailand has one of the highest concentrations of golfing facilities in Asia. About 80% of the courses were built in the 1990s during Thailand's great economic boom. To ensure their course offered the best facilities, owners recruited the services of some of the world's leading golfers to assist in their design and management. Arnold Palmer, Nick Faldo, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Robert Trent Jones Jr. are among those who put their experience philosophy and signatures behind many clubs.

Their input has proved spectacularly successful for Thai golf courses have all the hallmarks of the world's finest facilities. Golfers can rest assured that they will face the most exacting of challenges from brilliantly conceived individuals holes featuring all kinds of interesting hazards, from canyons to mighty bunkers and daunting lakes.

Large, well constructed clubhouses ensure you begin and end your game in style. In them you will find air-conditioned changing facilities, restaurants, bars and rooms.

These ladies are Thailand's secret weapon in making golf such good fun since they know lots about the course and can offer useful insider knowledge impending hazards, choice of club, where best to lay up, and speed of green.

for post-tournament functions. Some offer massage and sauna; others have accommodation for really keen golfers. Many courses have practice areas, usually with a pro to tune up your game. You can rent a golf cart, hire clubs and shoes, and buy a souvenir hat at the pro-shop.

A highlight of golf in Thailand is its caddy system. In general, the responsibility for carrying the bags and helping to select suitable clubs falls to ladies clad in striking uniforms and hats specially designed to protect them from the tropical sun. These ladies are Thailand's secret weapon in making golf such good fun since they know lots about the course and can offer useful insider knowledge impending hazards, choice of club, where best to lay up, and speed of green. And when it comes to locating lost balls, they display truly miraculous abilities.

Green fees can very considerably but sill inexpensive. Rates change according to time and season, which clubs charging higher fees during busy weekends and lower fees on quieter weekdays. Tours groups can often take advantage of special rates. As a rule, golfers should check tae-off availability well in advance.

Bangkok has many great course spread throughout the city and its suburbs, mostly within 30-60 minutes drive; the popular seaside resorts of Pattaya, Hua Hin and Phuket have a superb array of layouts, many with views of the ocean. If you prefer greenery and mountains, then the northern cities of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, Nakhon Ratchasima in the Northeast, or Kanchanaburi and the River Kwai in the West are excellent alternatives.

These wonderful courses are invariably located close to Thailand's major tourism destinations, ensuing you can enjoy your golf and have a good holiday at the same time, So if you want to bring your family along, they are assured of lots of activities and interesting place to visit.

The combination of incredibly picturesque golf courses, brilliantly landscape with tropical trees, flowers and shrubs, favourable year round weather and inimitable Thai hospitality is truly hard to beat. It's little wonder that so many foreign golfers are repeat visitors. So why not come and visit Thailand, the "Golfing Paradise of Asia" where you'll always be welcomed with a smile.