Area Information


Mountain shadow golf club

MOUNTAIN SHADOW is a classy course set on gently sloping land with an abundance of mature mango trees and palms – mainly of the oil palm type. The feeling is that of being in a private and exclusive estate and a day’s golf here is always privilege. Course designer Ronald Fream is one of the world’s best and created this appealing course in 1993.


Although not long, difficulty is enhanced by offset greens, some with steep slopes. The large clubhouse is buried in a horticulturist’s dream – further add in to the exclusive feel A most attractive golf course, always kept in pristine condition.

An 18-hole course, it was built by Pattaya Group as Panya Hill before becoming Natural Park Hill. The Legacy Group bought it and changed the name to Mountain Shadow, also buying the nearby Crystal Bay and the Legacy Golf Club in Bangkok (originally Winsan). Despite being closed during part of 2004, the course is in fine condition. Playing here is always joy. Like its bigger sister course of Crystal Bay, emphasis has been placed on beautiful short holes – all four playing over flower-bedecked rockery and water. Similarly, three pf the pa fives feature water with the fourth having an unusual split fairway.

Most of the par fours are slight doglegs - placing a premium in positioning of the drive. As the course is heavily covered with delightful palms and trees, keeping the ball on the short stuff is vital.
There is little rough – there does not need to be. The greens are some of the best area.

Very short off the Whites(5,838 yards), most golfers would go foe the Blues(6,276 yards), with the bigger hitters preferring the Blacks(6,722 yards). The front nine is the longer of the two nines, but the course is balanced-up by having more demanding holes o the back nine. The opening holes of the front nine gently lead you in to the course. The attractive par 5 3rd is downhill with a large lake o clear on the green approach. The par 5 6th is also tough, as is the long par 4 7th. A good score is readily available on the nine.

The back nine opens with a fine par 4. The drive needs to be kept to the right avoiding nasty trees on the left. This opens up one of the most attractive looking greens in the Kingdom – perched into a small slope with much trouble on the left. The remarkable 11th has one of the very few split fairways in Thailand. Playing downhill off the tee, it appears that you are going to end up in a grove of palms, with no sign of green. Indeed, most first time players do finish up by a palm after couple of shorts. The most direct route is a silver of fairway to the left but this is not a good option – particularly when the pin is set to the right of the well-protected green.
Taking the righthand side turns the hole into a double dogleg. An interesting hole. The 13th, 14th and short 15th are also good. The 16th is only short par 4 but has a very
sharp dogleg right uphill that needs care. Again unusually, the short 17th has two greens and two sets of tees. This must be one of the most visually exciting holes in the region – particularly on the more often used righthand hole. The par 4 18th is a long slog uphill. Then it time to return to the clubhouse.Set in a veritable forest of
mangoes and palms, all the after-golf areas are upstairs,including
a handy balcony. Service and food are generally excellent.
As the course is quite difficult to find, it is pretty quiet most weekdays – offering a relaxed day’s golf with lots of shade. There is also a “natural” driving range. Hitting off turf(always best), there are a variety of target greens. This is located on the way 10th tee. Play Mountain Shadow once and it will become a favorite for most.

Mountain Shadow is tricky to fid, being tucked behind Crystal Bay over the railway line to Bangkok. First time visitors to play Shadow might well be advised to head to Crystal Bay and take directions from there, learning the best way. Alternatively, head to Bangphra International and turn left when you hit the final T junction (turning right leads to Bangphra). The course comes up on the left after a few kilometers.

Green Fees have been pitched at quite a high level, but group booking should attract a good discount. Such as sports days and cheaper afternoon rates might also be had from time to time.
Contact #s : Mountain Shadow 038-393-001-8. Owned by Legacy Golf. www.legacygolf.com


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Crystal bay golf club – a brief review

CRYSTAL BAY is a competent golf course and has been designed for the golfer who does not want to play an extremely tough course. Neither it is easy and with a four-tee option, golfers can select their own degree of difficulty. The course meanders through palm trees and is a veritable garden. The clubhouse is palatial and reminds one of a colonial mansion. It sits on an elevated position overlooking most of the course. This is a fine course and always offers a pleasant golf experience.

Crystal Bay is a 27-hole layout (A, B and C Nines) that opened back in 1998 – the first of many golf courses developed by the Panya Group. The course was designed by Takenaka Design. It opened as Panya Resort, then was sold and became Natural Park Resort, sold again and renamed Crystal Bay. All these sales left a lot of
members without playing rights but this situation was eventually sorted. It is now very much a commercial course and visitors are welcome.
Crystal was one of Thailand’s first golf and property developments and occupies slightly sloping land close to the sea. Three condominium towers (with attractive swimming pool and a gym complex) were built and one of these now mainly operates as a golf lodge, under the control of the club management. The estate has been gradually developed over the years and now there are some fine homes on the estate. However, the golf course retains an open feel as housing is set well back.
The site originally contained several coconut palm stands and many of these have been retained. Some native trees have also been added, but he course is essentially open – rough always being kept low.
Character has been added by quite a lot of water and rock/flora landscaping – particularly around the clubhouse and on the short holes. The elephant topiary hedges by the huge clubhouse are notable. The course has wide fairways for the most part – encouraging golfers to open their shoulders and go for big drives. This is not really necessary as the course is not a monster. Each of the finishing holes are dramatic playing up to the clubhouse with its large cascading water feature catching the eye.
Despite being closed for a period in 2004, the course is in excellent shape. None of the three nines stand out in terms of design of difficulty – as evidenced by the Slope Ratings. The general theme of the course is colorful short holes over water, par fives with in play and a few slight dogleg par fours for interest. Some moderate mounding has also been created to give both visual and playing interest. Bunkering is mainly limited to around greens themselves are medium-sized with gentle slopes. Yardages are about even for each nine – around 3,500 yards off the Blue Tees and slightly over 3,200 yards on each of the White Tees.
Course A lies at the southern end of the site and water is in play on 8 out of the 9 holes. However, the water really only comes into play on a couple of holes.
The most interesting holes are the last three of the nine – the par 4 7th has water all down its left, the 8th is a visually delightful par 3 over water and the par 9th plays down a beautiful corridor of palms and native trees before ending with a green perched over water.

Course B sit directly in front of the clubhouse and again, there is water to most holes – possible affecting your golf more than Course A does. The star hole is the par 5 3rd. An interesting hole, the drive is over water to a large landing area, limited by an O.B. left and bunkers right. The hole then turns sharp left with a stream crossing to negotiate Other holes that stand out include the 4th, 5th, 8th and 9th.

Course C is to the north of the site and is skirted on the internal way to Mountain Shadow. The far holes have some fine old native trees and this nine has

the most character. Unfortunately crossed by a large power line, the designer has managed to thread this way trough and produce a varied collection of holes. Most interesting holes are the 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th and 8th. There is some outstanding garden work around the adjoining 4th and 7th short holes.
Drinks huts are functional, carts are available and there is a covered driving range just beyond the clubhouse. The Golf Lodge is excellent. Most rooms are large are on high floors and have stunning views from wide balconies over the golf course to the sea some three kilometers  away. Views to rear are into a small hillside over the railway. Both clubhouse catering (recommended, excellent food) and the driving range stay open until 9 p.m..
Crystal is very easy to get – being straight up Sukhumvit Road and a little past the Bangphra turn-off. Green Fees have been pitched at quite a high level,
but group bookings should attract a good discount. Such as sports days and cheaper afternoon rates might also be had from time to time. Contac #s : Crystal Day 038-349-370-80. Owned by Legacy Golf. www.legacygolf.com