Amata Golf and Country Club - Thailand

The buggies awaiting the golfers

    Some 1 and a half hours from Bangkok, in Amata City in the province of Chonburi, I was fortunate to be invited to have lunch at the Amata Golf and Country Club. What a treat for the eyes. 18 holes of championship golf course awaits the golfer. I have long given up golf, and taken up marathon running in 2000 and have not looked back since. Still, I was most appreciative of the lunch and meeting up with my friend Krid's friend, Khun Thon.  The greens are a welcome sight for a sore bum and I had stepped off the plane after a 2 hour 15 minutes flight, to be taken by Krid by pickup for another hour or so and here I was, in the oasis of greenery. 

Undulating greenery

       Thailand's Chonburi province is the 'Detroit of the South East Asia' with as many as 30 plus car and truck manufacturers setting up huge factories employing tens of thousands of skilled and non-skilled workers. In addition, there are thousands of supporting companies providing the entire supply chain of parts and subassemblies for these car assemblers and manufacturers (the difference between the manufacturer and assembler is that manufacturers have Research and Development divisions and can, in theory, design new models direct from their factory to suit the territory and/or marketplace. 

Beautiful scenery from the clubhouse

The Clubhouse is setback some 0.5 km from the main road, and the transferrable membership stands at 2 million baht (this is expensive than some apartments and condominiums near Bangkok !). The Japanese expatriates who work in and around Chonburi would surely form a big part of the membership. My host, Khun Thon is a business owner dealing in the manufacture of paint for industrial, car and domestic use.     

Lunch 

    I may one day, retire to a less strenuous hobby like golf, and get used to applying the sunscreen on my parched skin, get a golf cap, bag, shorts, a decent pair of clubs (my current scorpion clubs are, in one word, old)  and do what tens of thousands of middle aged folk in business do and socialise and get sunburnt, while working to lower down my handicap. 17 years ago, after I had taken up the game for about 10 years, I had come to the conclusion, I had no talent in golf, and the time factor, the social network, the early mornings and weekend sacrifices would take its toll on the family bonding. I said 'forget it'. And never played a game again since.  

    But then again, I ask myself, why do a stupid thing twice ??