Burapha Golf Club

Overview

Burapha Golf Club is the most accomplished tournament-host venue in the Pattaya region and one of the few Thai courses with a dual-major-winner architectural pedigree. The 36-hole, two-course, Gary Panks + David Graham co-designed championship complex opened in 1995, originally as a members-only club and later opened to the public, located in Sriracha district, 35 minutes north of central Pattaya and 109 km from Bangkok. The two courses — East Course (A+B) and West Course (C+D) — both stretch over 7,000 yards from the back tees, with the championship setup reaching up to 7,400 yards.

Where Laem Chabang International is widely considered Pattaya's best layout (Jack Nicklaus design), Burapha is widely considered the most active tournament venue in the region, having hosted across nearly three decades:

• 2010 Thailand Open (PGA Asian Tour, ONE Asia)
• Singha Pattaya Open (2002-2016, ASEAN Tour)
• Cotto / Windsor Open (2003-2008)
• Chevrolet Championship (2004-2005)
• Amateur World Golf Championship (2004)
• Thailand Amateur Golf Open (2004-2008)
• Omega Tour Royal Classic (1997, Asian Tour)
• Asian Masters Final (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)
• Mercedes Benz Junior Championships

For golfers traveling through Pattaya wanting a second world-class round to pair with Laem Chabang on a multi-day trip, Burapha is the consensus second choice. For tournament aficionados wanting to walk fairways professionals have competed on, Burapha's tournament density makes it uniquely satisfying.

The Designers — A Major-Winner Partnership

Burapha's architectural pedigree is unusual: it's one of ten courses worldwide co-designed by Gary Panks and David Graham as Graham & Panks International between 1988 and 1997. To understand the course, it helps to understand the men.

David Graham — The Player-Architect

Anthony David Graham, AM was born 23 May 1946 in Windsor, New South Wales, Australia, and turned professional at age 16 in 1962. After a successful spell on the Australian and Asian tours, he joined the US PGA Tour in 1971, where his career trajectory took him to two major championships:

• 1979 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills, Michigan — won in dramatic fashion, double-bogeying the 72nd hole to fall into a playoff with Ben Crenshaw, then holing long putts on each of the first two sudden-death holes before winning at the third extra hole
• 1981 U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club, Pennsylvania — shot a final-round 67 to overturn a three-shot deficit to overnight leader George Burns and win by 3 strokes

Graham is the only Australian male golfer to win two different men's major championships and the first Australian to win a U.S. Open. He is the fourth Australian major champion in history, following Jim Ferrier, Peter Thomson, and Kel Nagle. He won 5 times on the Senior PGA Tour and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2015.

His relevance to Burapha: Graham was a player-architect, meaning his design philosophy was informed by competing at the highest level. He understood what made tournament-grade courses work — strategic options off the tee, demanding approach shots, varied risk-reward decisions, fair-but-challenging green complexes. Burapha bears these fingerprints across all 36 holes.

Gary Panks — The Career-Architect

Gary Panks (1942-2024) was born and raised in Michigan, where he was captain of the Michigan State University golf team before graduating in 1964 with a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture. Panks's early career took him through public-sector landscape architecture: New York Roadside Development, Maricopa County Parks (Arizona), the Department of the Interior, and the City of Phoenix Parks Department.

He entered private practice in 1971 and began designing golf courses exclusively in 1978 under Gary Panks Associates. Panks completed approximately 50 courses over his career and received recognition including:

• Silver Creek Golf Club (White Mountain Lakes, AZ) — selected by Golf Digest as Arizona's "Best New Public Course" for 1986
• Grayhawk Talon Course (Scottsdale, AZ) — one of his most-celebrated American designs
• The Raven at South Mountain (Phoenix, AZ)
• 2009 Arizona Golf Hall of Fame inductee
• ASGCA (American Society of Golf Course Architects) Fellow

Panks passed away on 19 March 2024 in Paradise Valley, Arizona, at age 82.

Graham & Panks International (1988-1997)

The partnership produced 10 courses worldwide, with Burapha among them. The complementary skills — Graham's tournament-player sense for strategic shot demands, Panks's landscape-architect sense for terrain integration and visual drama — produced courses that play well at every level while rewarding skilled play.

This pedigree puts Burapha in rare company. Most Thai courses are designed by single architects or by regional design firms. A course co-designed by a US Open + PGA Championship winner working alongside an established American architectural specialist is genuinely unusual in Asia and is one of the reasons Burapha has hosted so many tournaments over its life.

Location & Access

Address & Contact

• Address: 281 Moo 4, Tumbol Bung, Sriracha District, Chonburi 20230, Thailand
• Phone: +66 38 372 700
• Distance from Bangkok: ~109 km (~1.5 hours by car via Motorway 7)
• Distance from central Pattaya: ~35 minutes (~25-30 km north)
• Distance from U-Tapao Airport: ~50 km / ~45-50 min
• Distance from Suvarnabhumi (BKK): ~100 km / ~1.25 hours

Driving Directions

Take Motorway 7 (Bangkok-Chonburi route) and exit at the Nong Khae / Rong Po junction. The course is signposted from there. From Pattaya, drive north on Sukhumvit Road, then transition to Motorway 7 northbound; the trip is straightforward and the course is well-known to local taxi drivers.

Booking Transfers

Most international golfers use pre-arranged minivan or sedan transfers through the booking platforms (Golfasian, Golf Pattaya, Thailand Golfers, Golf Tours Thailand, Golfsavers, Golftripz). Round-trip rates from Pattaya hotels typically run ฿1,500-2,500 for a sedan or ฿2,500-4,000 for a van for a group, often bundled into golf packages.

The 36-Hole Layout

Burapha's defining feature is the two-course / four-loop / nine-by-nine arrangement — A, B, C, D loops combined into the East Course (A+B) and the West Course (C+D).

East Course (A+B) — 7,185 yards

The East Course is described as "wide fairways and perfect for the up-and-coming golfer" — meaning it's the more playable, forgiving of the two layouts. This doesn't mean easy: 7,185 yards from the back tees is championship length. It means the strategic demands are slightly less punishing for moderate ball-strikers.

Loop A (~3,500-3,600 yards)

• Rolling terrain with challenging elevation changes
• Strategic bunkering as the primary defensive feature
• More demanding off the tee than Loop B due to the elevation movement

Loop B (~3,500-3,600 yards)

• Open parkland design with wide fairways
• Beautiful water features integrated into multiple holes
• More forgiving for tee shots, more demanding for approach shot precision (water in play)

East Course Signature Holes

• East Hole 8 (Par 3) — A beautiful downhill par-3 over water with a well-protected green. Visually stunning, demands careful club selection — the elevation change makes club distance estimation tricky
• East Hole 18 (Par 5) — A dramatic finishing hole with risk-reward options. Water guards the approach to the green — long hitters can attempt to reach in two but a missed shot leaves real trouble. The kind of hole that decides scorecards

West Course (C+D) — 7,081 yards

The West Course is positioned as "a challenge for more advanced and professional golfers" — meaning it has the more demanding strategic test of the two. This is the course that has hosted most of the professional tournaments at Burapha.

Loop C (~3,500 yards)

• Tree-lined fairways demanding accuracy off the tee
• Less forgiving driver lines than the East Course
• More subtle landing-zone definitions

Loop D (~3,500 yards)

• More open fairways but heavily guarded by lakes and undulating greens
• The water-feature density on Loop D is higher than elsewhere on the property
• Undulating greens — true reading challenge, fast and sloping in places

West Course Signature Hole

• West Course Par-3 8th — Offers stunning views of Pattaya. The par-3 8th is the West Course's most photographed hole and is regularly featured in Pattaya golf marketing imagery
• The Dunes Nine — between the 6th and 7th holes the course reaches the highest point on the property, offering panoramic views of Pattaya's skyline, Laem Chabang port, the ocean, and nearby islands (Koh Larn, Koh Sak in the distance)

Combined Course Strategy

For multi-day visitors, the standard Burapha experience is playing both courses across two days:

• Day 1: East Course (A+B) — get a feel for the property, play the more forgiving layout, score better
• Day 2: West Course (C+D) — apply lessons learned, take on the more demanding layout

For single-day visits, East is the recommended choice for casual golfers; West is preferred for tournament-quality experience.

Course Conditioning

Reviews from 2024-2025 consistently report excellent course conditions:

• Both courses usually in excellent condition
• Greens run true and fast
• Fairways wide and forgiving (especially East)
• Rough described as 'murder' — go for the safe option off the tee; missed fairways are heavily penalized
• Greens are consistently in tip-top condition
• Some seasonal variation — the property is well-maintained but rainy season can soften conditions briefly
• Bunkers well-maintained with appropriate sand depth

Specific 2025 reviewer note: "Nice course, knowledgeable caddies, clubhouse facilities very clean, some challenging holes, great for any level or handicap."

Tournament History — Three Decades of Hosting

This is the deepest tournament hosting record of any Pattaya-region course, including Laem Chabang.

Asian Tour & ONE Asia Events

• Omega Tour Royal Classic 1997 (Asian Tour)
• Thailand Open 2010 (PGA Asian Tour / ONE Asia, August 2010) — the headline event of Burapha's tournament history

Long-Running Tournament Series

• Singha Pattaya Open 2002-2016 (ASEAN Tour) — 14-year continuous hosting, one of the longest single-venue runs of any Asian professional tournament
• Cotto (Windsor) Open 2003-2008 — 6-year run
• Chevrolet Championship 2004-2005
• Thailand Amateur Golf Open 2004-2008 — 5-year hosting

Specialty Events

• Amateur World Golf Championship 2004 — global amateur event
• Mercedes Benz Junior Championships — multiple editions
• Asian Masters Final 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 — 4-year run as the Asian Masters championship final venue

This is a genuine tournament-grade course with active competitive credentials — not a course claiming championship status without backing it up.

Pricing & Booking

Standard Green Fees

Burapha's pricing structure operates on tiers — the search for "1800 / 2200 / 1000 THB" pricing options reflects the range:

• Weekday round (East or West, 18 holes): ~฿2,500-4,000 walk-up
• Weekend round (East or West, 18 holes): ~฿3,500-5,500 walk-up
• 36-hole / both-course packages: discounted vs. two separate rounds
• Twilight tee times: typically ~฿1,500-2,500 for late afternoon
• Visitor / tourist rates vs. member / Thai resident rates — tiered pricing common

Caddy & Cart

• Caddy fee: typically ~฿450 (compulsory across Pattaya golf)
• Caddy tip recommended: ฿400 (paid directly to caddy after round)
• Golf cart: ~฿700-900/round (optional, recommended in heat)
• Club rental: ~฿1,500-2,500 depending on set quality

Group & Non-Golfer Policies

• Group limit: 5 golfers/group on weekdays, 4 golfers/group on weekends (faster pace of play enforced)
• Non-golfer accompanying golfers: ฿500 fee payable directly to the pro shop

Discount Booking Channels

Multiple third-party discount booking platforms typically offer 20-35% below walk-up rates at Burapha:

• Golfasian — established Pattaya golf booking
• Golf Pattaya (golfpattaya.com)
• Thailand Golfers (thailandgolfers.com)
• Golf Tours Thailand (golf-tours-thailand.com)
• Golfsavers (golfsavers.com)
• Golftripz (golftripz.com)
• Pattaya Golf Courses (pattayagolfcourses.com)
• Pattaya Golf Net (pattayagolf.net)

These typically bundle green fee + caddy + cart + transport from your Pattaya hotel, often with breakfast or lunch included.

For the most current 2026 pricing direct from the course: +66 38 372 700 or via Burapha's Facebook page.

Clubhouse & Practice Facilities

The clubhouse is resort-grade in scale and quality:

Dining

• Verandah Lounge — premium dining
• Green Terrace — outdoor dining with course views
• Garden Room Restaurant — main restaurant offering authentic Thai and international cuisine
• World-class catering described as "finest of food and service"

Pro Shop

• Fully equipped golf shop — clubs, apparel, balls, gloves, accessories
• Brand-name golf equipment available
• Apparel for purchase if you're under-prepared

Locker Rooms & Concierge

• Luxurious locker rooms
• Concierge services — coordinating tee times, transport, lessons
• Well-maintained shower facilities

Practice Facilities

• Driving range — full-size, multiple stations
• Putting greens — multiple practice greens
• Short game practice areas — chipping zones
• Practice bunker — sand-trap practice
• All free for paying golfers before/after rounds

Resort & Non-Golfer Amenities

• Swimming pools (multiple, hotel-resort scale)
• Tennis courts
• Exercise / fitness equipment
• On-site hotel accommodation — for multi-day stays
• The "Resort" in Burapha Golf & Resort is a real resort, not just a marketing term

Strategy & What to Bring

Recommended Equipment

• Bring your own clubs if possible — rental sets are decent but a personal bag plays better
• Multiple gloves — humidity makes glove rotation important
• Plenty of golf balls — water hazards across both courses; expect to lose 4-8 balls per round at minimum
• Hat / visor — strong sun even in cool months
• Sunglasses — bright fairway and green surfaces
• Long socks if walking — protection against insect bites in the rough
• Insect repellent — for early morning rounds and shaded areas

Recommended Strategy

• Stay out of the rough — multiple sources describe it as "murder"; play to the wider parts of fairways even at the cost of yardage
• Respect the bunkers — Panks designed them as primary defenses; plan around them off the tee
• Read greens carefully — especially on the West Course; sloping greens punish quick reads
• Use the caddies — they know breaks and lines that aren't visible to first-time players
• Plan for the 8th hole on the West (par 3 with views) — not just play but appreciate the moment
• East 18th risk-reward — decide on the tee whether you're going for the green in two; commit to the strategy

Etiquette & Dress Code

• Collared golf shirt — required
• Golf shoes or appropriate athletic shoes — soft spikes
• No denim in the clubhouse
• Pace of play enforced — group size limits exist for this reason
• Tip your caddy — ฿400 minimum, more for excellent service
• Phone use — keep on silent, minimize on-course conversation

Best Times of Year

November - February (Cool Season)

The optimal golf season in Pattaya. Temperatures drop to 22-30°C, humidity is lower, conditions are firmest. Booking essential during these months — international golf travel concentrates here.

March - May (Hot Season)

Hottest months — 30-38°C peak temperatures. Early morning tee times (06:30-08:00) recommended. Twilight rates may apply for late afternoon. Course may play firmer (good for distance), but heat fatigue is real.

June - October (Rainy Season)

Greenest course conditions but daily rain risk. Mornings often sunny; afternoons can bring storms. Cheapest rates of the year. Book mornings only and be prepared for occasional weather delays.

Pros

• Two championship 18-hole courses (36 holes total) — unmatched variety in single-property visits
• Designed by Gary Panks + David Graham — two-major-winner pedigree
• Most active tournament venue in Pattaya region — over 30 years of professional event hosting
• Excellent course conditions consistently reported (greens, fairways, bunkers)
• East Course beginner-friendly + West Course tournament-tough — caters to all levels in one visit
• Multiple signature holes with views (West 8th, East 8th, Dunes nine)
• Resort-grade clubhouse with three dining options
• Full practice facilities (range, putting greens, chipping, bunker)
• Resort accommodation for multi-day stays
• 109 km from Bangkok / 35 min from Pattaya — accessible day-trip from both
• Knowledgeable caddies consistently praised
• Heavily discounted via 3rd-party booking platforms
• Hosted Mercedes Benz Junior, Asian Masters Final, Thailand Open

Cons

• 35 min from central Pattaya — requires car/transfer; not in-Pattaya
• Walk-up pricing premium — heavily discounted via online booking, walk-up rates significantly higher
• Rough is punishing — high-handicap players will lose balls and strokes
• Some seasonal variation in conditions — rainy season can soften course
• Group size limits enforced — 4 weekend / 5 weekday — requires planning for larger groups
• Booking essential during peak season — popular destination
• Compulsory caddies — adds cost (though improves experience)

Reputation Summary

Burapha is the consensus second-best golf course in the Pattaya region after Laem Chabang International, and the most active tournament venue in the area. The combination of:

• Major-winner architectural pedigree (Graham + Panks)
• Three decades of professional tournament hosting
• 36 championship holes (most properties offer 18)
• East/West variety (forgiving + demanding in one visit)
• Excellent maintenance
• Resort-grade clubhouse
• Reasonable pricing through discount channels

…makes it the default second pick for any Pattaya golf itinerary. Most multi-day Pattaya golf travelers play Laem Chabang + Burapha as the headline pair, often supplementing with Phoenix Gold, Siam Country Club Old Course, or Treasure Hill depending on time and budget.

For golfers wanting tournament-pedigree fairways to walk on, Burapha is unique in Pattaya: the courses where Thailand Opens, Asian Masters Finals, and Mercedes Benz Juniors have actually been contested.

Best For

• Multi-day Pattaya golf travelers — pair with Laem Chabang for the perfect 2-day itinerary
• Tournament-pedigree appreciators — walk fairways the pros have played
• Mixed-ability golf groups — East friendly, West demanding; both available
• Major-winner architecture fans — Graham + Panks pedigree is rare in Asia
• Multi-round same-day visitors — 36 holes lets you double up
• Golf-resort-stay travelers — on-site accommodation works
• Tournament players seeking championship-level conditions

Not Best For

• Pure budget walk-up players — significant discount available via online booking
• Travelers without transport — 35 min from central Pattaya, no walking access
• High-handicap beginners — the rough and water make it expensive on lost balls; smaller courses better for first-Thailand rounds
• One-and-done casual visitors — better appreciated across multiple rounds
• Walking-only golfers in hot season — the heat + course size genuinely demand a cart

Quick Reference Card

| Field | Value | |---|---| | Address | 281 Moo 4, Tumbol Bung, Sriracha, Chonburi 20230 | | Phone | +66 38 372 700 | | Designer | Gary Panks (1942-2024) + David Graham (1979 PGA, 1981 US Open winner) | | Opened | 1995 | | Total holes | 36 — East Course (A+B) + West Course (C+D) | | East yardage | 7,185 | | West yardage | 7,081 | | Max yardage | ~7,400 (championship tees) | | Loops | A: rolling terrain · B: open parkland · C: tree-lined · D: lake-guarded | | Distance from Pattaya | ~35 min (~25-30 km north) | | Distance from Bangkok | 109 km (~1.5h) | | Caddy fee | ~฿450 (compulsory) | | Caddy tip recommended | ฿400 | | Group max | 5 weekday / 4 weekend | | Non-golfer fee | ฿500 | | Tournaments hosted | Thailand Open 2010, Singha Pattaya Open 2002-2016, Asian Masters Final 2013-2016, Mercedes Benz Juniors, more | | Best dining | Verandah Lounge, Green Terrace, Garden Room Restaurant | | Practice | Full driving range, putting greens, chipping, bunker | | Resort accommodation | On-site | | Verified | 2026-04-27 |