The Royal Lakeside Golf Club originally in the mid 1990’s but was extensively renovated in 2011. The golf courses is almost exactly half way between Bangkok and Pattaya and takes around one hour form both places – also its roughly 45 minutes from Suvarnabhumi Airport. AS its name suggests the courses is very close to the mouth of the Bangpakong River with some holes hugging the riverbank and others are dominated by the large lagoon which encircles the course.
The riverside location and proximity to the sea ensures cooling onshore breezes most days and sometimes these can get stronger making the courses more difficult. The course is very attractive with many native bird species enjoying the water. You will also encounter plenty of colourful flowers, shrubs and trees which makes for a really enjoyable days golfing.
The course maintenance is usually pretty good, and the newly laid greens are medium paced and roll true.
There are plenty of wide-open spaces at Royal Lakeside with generous fairways and light rough which means that you can easily find your ball. The redesign created some significant mounding alongside some fairways and close to some greens which makes the approach into the green more difficult.
You should be able to score well here if you can avoid the waster bunkers which line many of the fairways and the numerous and ever-present water hazards.
The golf course is adjacent to the marina and the entrance is marker by a small lighthouse which you can see from the 9th tee.
The clubhouse is totally “over the top” and looks more like a palace or museum than a clubhouse. However, once inside you will find excellent locker rooms and a restaurant that serves excellent local food.
We would add one word of caution when booking this course and that is that the course allows 5 & 6-balls and if you get stuck behind one of them it can get very frustrating.