Blue Canyon Country Club (Canyon course)

The Canyon course at Blue Canyon Country Club has always oozed a certain style and elegance. From lowly origins as an open cast tin mine, it rose to high-office as the top professional tournament venue in Thailand. The layout no longer wins quite as many accolades as in its heyday, but it still edges its sibling, the also notoriously challenging Lakes course.

The Canyon course represents more than just challenging golf. Laid out over pleasantly undulating terrain, this wonderfully picturesque layout was the standard bearer for golf in Thailand for many years .. three Johnnie Walker Classics and the "Canyon-hole" made sure of that.

On the Canyon's front-nine, water is not your greatest challenge, as much as tight drives through avenues of mature trees. Substantive bunkering also lurks along the fairways and around the large and subtly sloping greens. Water puts in its first telling appearance as you approach the 9th green, an excellent risk-reward par-5. The water level then starts to crank-up at the long par-5 11th and par-4 12th holes.

At the signature "Canyon" hole, the par-4 13th, you must commit to a risky drive over water and clear a 30-foot canyon face on the other side. Tournament professionals invariably try to drive the green, dispensing with a wide dog-legging landing area that provides a safer route for mere mortals. You can negotiate with your caddie how much of the canyon to bite off.

The closing stretch of the back-nine remains on the boil after the "Canyon" hole. At the plunging downhill island-green par-3 14th you may feel the target is the skinniest island green you've ever played to. The elegantly dog-legging short par-4 16th is a gem, and the par-3 17th played across water is also top class ... and long! The resplendent clubhouse and jungle-clad hills provide a perfect backdrop to close out your round at the short, but testing par-4 18th.

Stay&Play at Blue Canyon: onsite accommodation available, see Where2Stay section below.