California-based Robert Trent Jones II Golf Course Architects has signed on to design a second course at Thai Country Club southeast of Bangkok along the route to Pattaya. The club is about a 35-minute drive from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK).
Thai Country Club opened in 1996 with a course designed by Denis Griffiths. The club has a decades-long relationship with the Asian Tour, having hosted the 1997 Asian Honda Classic won by Tiger Woods as well as the Volvo Masters four times and the Thailand Open three times.
A routing map shows the plans for a second course at Thai Country Club near Bangkok, which will be designed by Robert Trent Jones II Golf Course Architects and should open its first nine holes in 2027.
The new 18-hole course will feature a loop design that flows around the perimeter of the property and the club’s original course. The new layout will offer wide, contoured fairways that should provide a variety of shotmaking options. The front nine is scheduled to open in 2027, and the back nine should follow shortly after. A new practice facility also will be constructed.
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“This is about creating one of Thailand’s absolute best golf experiences,” Trent Jones, chief operating office of RTJ II, said in a media release announcing the course. “We’re adding a new course to complement Thai Country Club’s storied reputation while establishing its own distinct character.”
Mike Gorman, the senior project architect of RTJ II, said sand bunkers will be used sparingly on the new course. Instead, the focus will be on the shape and positioning of fairways to create interest. “By shifting the emphasis to strategic fairway design, the course will present an engaging challenge for the low-scoring golfer while remaining fun and approachable for those newer to the game,” Gorman said in the media release.
“We studied how this land naturally wants to connect,” Gorman added. “The routing emerged from land we carefully selected in collaboration with the ownership. It emphasizes subtle elevation changes, natural contours that feed balls toward and away from targets, and landforms that reward both strategic thinking and creative play. The playing strategy will change from day to day as hole positions change, emphasizing the flow of the ground to get the ball close to the pin.”
Robert Trent Jones II Golf Course Architects also recently announced that it will renovate Mena House Golf Course, which sits less than 250 yards to the side of the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt.
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Jason Lusk is Golfweek’s travel and golf course architecture editor, as well as the magazine’s creative director. He has written for and designed Golfweek for more than two decades.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Robert Trent Jones II firm to design new golf course in Thailand
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