DaveTindall365

It’s Monday morning in Phuket and I’ve arrived at the golf course wearing a yellow wristband. Tomorrow I’ll swap it for a pink one. On Wednesday: a green one.

If I said on Sunday it would be red, golf fans may start to solve the riddle. Tiger Woods famously wore red on Sundays, an idea passed to him by his Thai mother Kultida. In Thai culture each day is associated with a lucky colour and today (Monday) it’s yellow.

My wristband certainly brings me some good luck on the par-4 5th when a leaked drive to the right stops within inches of the water. But it can’t work miracles and I do find the wet stuff on another couple of holes.

My caddie for the day is Ning – all the pink-clad caddies are female, which is common in Asia – and although English isn’t her native tongue she speaks the language of golf perfectly. Unfortunately for me that often involves “water water” or “bunker bunker” but she seems to accurately assess how far I hit each club after just one drive and iron to the par-4 opener. Beyond that she’s like all the Thai people I come across – happy, super polite and helpful. She has a great chuckle too.

I play the front nine in warm sunshine but Ning’s warning of “rain come” after a glance to the darking skies in the distance manifests at the 13th. Unfortunately 13 is considered unlucky in Thai culture too so the heavens open. That makes the already more difficult and longer back nine play harder but it doesn’t dampen the mood.

Overall, Laguna Phuket is a very enjoyable, scenic test. Fairway bunkers are strategically placed and a sharp short game is needed. The greens are on the slow side for my round due to the rains which is just as well as the combination of quick surfaces and slopes would really make it a challenge. 

I spoke with general golf manager Stephen Chick for more insight.

Tell me about the course. What are its key attributes? 

I will list a few key attributes here: integrated resort destination, PGA-branded Academy, Championship standards, scenic tropical setting, accessibility, hospitality, international membership community, lifestyle location within Phuket and event capability.

How challenging is it for a low handicapper? 

The course is challenging for all levels of players, but it is very pretty on the eye during your round so that helps you forgot some of the challenges. The biggest challenge would be around the greens, although position off some tees is crucial. Once you’ve managed that then chipping and putting requires skill to navigate some of the slopes around the greens.

How would an 18-handicapper or higher get on at Laguna Phuket? 

The beauty of an 18 handicap is you know you have one shot to spare on each hole so if you’re off the tee smoothly then you can relax around the greens but there is water waiting around the fairways in case you are not accurate off the tee.

Does it handle the rains well?

Yes, very well. As all greens are raised they naturally drain well.

What is the course record – both for men and ladies? 

The current course record is held by a 16-year-old female, who scored 58 in May 2026 at the recently hosted Annika Invitational. Her name is Marisa Tojai.

What tournaments has it held? 

Laguna Golf Phuket has been the host venue for the Singha Laguna Phuket Open for 10 years which is an event on the All Thailand Golf Tour which has sometimes been co-sanctioned with the Asian Development Tour and Asian Tour. Recently, it hosted the Annika Sorenstam Foundation as well as the Sir Nick Faldo foundation and World Amateur.

Have you had any famous people playing the course – either golfers or celebs? 

Legends such as Sir Nick Faldo and Gary Player have been to Laguna Golf Phuket and celebs such as Maroon 5 have played too.

Any other things about the course you’d like to tell us about?

Laguna Golf Phuket also has the only PGA branded Golf Academy in south-east Asia and we have four PGA professionals available for golf lessons.

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The beauty of Laguna Phuket is that the experience goes way beyond golf.

I’m here with my girlfriend and the resort is perfectly set up to cater for and entertain couples, families and golfers too.

While waiting to tee off I chat to an English guy who is here with three other mates and their families. Some are here to play golf; others to sample the beautiful hotels and on-site attractions.

Angsana

We stay at two of the property’s six hotels. First up is Angsana where we enjoy the luxury accommodation of a Loft – a two-floor apartment that overlooks a lagoon. It’s a perfect place to unwind.

On arrival, we’re greeted with a gong and given wrist bracelets with our names on! What a wonderful welcome! 

Then it’s a champagne lunch at the Rava Beach Club where our glasses are topped up by a man in a white suit on stilts while a girl in a sequin red dress plays a saxophone. For a moment I think I’m still on the plane from Manchester having an odd dream but, no, this is real!

Later that day we attend a Thai Inhaler Workshop, a peaceful aperitif for the rather excellent his and hers, side-by-side, Thai massage that follows at the award-winning Angsana Spa.

Muscles and joints loosened up – very welcome after a long flight – we enjoy a pre-dinner cocktail on the beachfront at Xana before tucking into some superb local fish dishes at Bodega & Grill.

Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket

For the final two nights we switch to the Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket which has more of an authentic Thai feel and a strong beach vibe. Our room looks out to the beautiful Andaman sea and sitting on the balcony watching the waves is an absolute treat.

Better still is to wander outside to the newly-refurbished Casuarina Beach Club where the sea is a greenside chip away. Mediterranean food and cocktails at primetime sunset as the ocean laps. A fire starter show on one night. Take it all in.

We also enjoy sushi there on our final day, fresh from the indulgence of a second Thai massage – this one outside in the garden. It takes relaxation levels off the scale as the sounds of the sea and tweeting birds provide a blissful soundtrack.

As well as tucking into a hearty breakfast – local and international offerings – at Laguna Cafe we also enjoy dinner at La Trattoria – seafood pizza for me, steak for Jane – and, most memorable of all, authentic Thai cuisine at Benjarong where we sample the signature dish: Flambeed Phuket lobster served with sweet red curry sauce (this one has Michelin Plate recognition no less!).

On day three we’re back to to the Laguna Cafe for lunch before heading further afield.

Beyond Laguna Phuket

While more golf and further unwinding around the pool are tempting options, we also want to see a little more of Phuket.

The ideal option is to book an air-conditioned van. Our driver takes us on a round trip to see the street art and bustle of Phuket Old Town, the beautiful temples at Wat Chalong and, after a slow, steep and winding hillside climb, the giant and spectacular Big Buddha. It’s a must-see and a definite personal highlight. We’re lucky as Big Buddha only recently opened again after landslides. 

Driving home we view the sights and sounds of Phuket’s west coast including Karon Beach and Patong Beach.

Conclusions

• This really was a wow experience from start to finish. I took it in as part of a couple – on booking.com couples rate Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket at 9.2 out of 10 for a two-person trip – but families and groups of golfers would enjoy it just as much.

• How did someone shoot 58 on Laguna Phuket?! Hats off to Thai teenager Marisa Tojai. Remember the name.

• After a great chat about golf in Asia with Samir Wildemann, the General Manager at Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket, one thought is that golfers looking for a bigger, longer trip could base themselves at Laguna Phuket, play some other courses (Red Mountain, Blue Canyon) in Phuket too and then even travel on to Vietnam, something of a hidden gem for golfers.    

• The real acid test of a holiday destination is a) would you recommend it to others? b) would you go back? For Laguna Phuket, the answers are easy: yes and yes. The Thai people are an absolute delight and all the staff just can’t do enough.

• May is considered the low season but although we had bursts of rain at points, sunshine more often than not won the battle of the skies. Don’t presume that the rain symbol on your phone means it chucks it down constantly. It doesn’t.

Guaranteed sunshine at other times of the year obviously push prices up in peak season but here are the costs for our trip in late May.

Some prices

Our rather grand two-storey suite (One-Bedroom Loft) at Angsana costs under £200. A more standard Laguna Room – King is around £110 in late May.

Our Premier Ocean Front Room (King Bed) at Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket costs £160 per night. Members get it for just £135 and that includes breakfast. 

More details can be found here:

Websites
Lagunagolfphuket
Laguna Golf Rates and Memberships

Instagram
Lagunagolfphuket

Final thought…

This was my first trip to Thailand and I’m sure it won’t be the last.

After posting a photo of my round at Laguna Golf Phuket and asking if anyone has stayed here, one friend on X, Mike Miller, replied: “Hell of a complex; massive. I quickly worked out you need to tee-off early. Afternoon/evening was pretty much exclusively for: alcohol, utterly superb fresh seafood and massages. Happy days!”

Mike, a Kiwi, has travelled far and wide so his view is respected.

If Laguna Golf Phuket hadn’t appeared on your radar before… well, it needs to. Wonderful people, wonderful resort and a golf course that will want you coming back for more.

SEPTEMBER 13

This is my second trip to New York but first since 2004. I remember the year as England were playing in the Euro finals and, on the giant screens in Times Square, I watched them lose on penalties to Portugal. Sigh. It’s Jane’s fourth but first since 2017.

DEPARTURE

Jane lives 15 minutes from Manchester airport which is handy for our 2.30pm departure. We fly with Aer Lingus (Ireland’s national airline). Here’s a window shot just before landing and, in the distance, a first sighting of the Manhattan skyline. Flight time: 7 hours 45 minutes although, due to tailwinds, we beat that.

Below: We’ve landed. Cameras on, trying to capture the skyline. It’s within touching distance now. Well, 17 miles away to be precise (John F. Kennedy airport Terminal 7 to Manhattan).

We’ve pre-booked a pick-up car. It takes a little while to arrive but Jane seems happy as we wait for our driver (Guo from China) just outside the terminal. Well, why wouldn’t she be? We’re in New York!

It’s rush hour and rush hours in New York don’t involve much rushing. We should probably catch the train but succumb to the lazy option of the taxi which crawls through traffic and takes around 90 minutes to drop us at our hotel. On the plus side, from the back seat I manage to capture this pleasing shot as the sun starts to set just after 6.30pm (sunset is 7.07pm in NYC in mid-September).

HOTEL

Our accommodation – the Ace Hotel New York – is a recommendation from my brother’s wife, Emma. She stayed there with my two nieces the previous December. It’s an arty 12-story boutique hotel in Midtown so a cool location too (20 West 29th Street). The John Lee Hooker album is the hotel’s; the Salt & Vinegar Pringles are ours.

Here’s a video, revealing among other things a SMEG fridge, a guitar and chic wallpaper.

The SMEG is ideal to keep the milk which I pour on these – Strawberry Milkshake Frosties! What a find! Locating a local shop selling cereal is always a massive moment for me on any trip abroad. The sugar count is admittedly a tad high but they taste fantastic. There’s no spoon in our room so I shovel them out of a cup using the end of a tube of toothpaste. Needs must. Ten ‘resourceful’ points to me.

SEPTEMBER 14

Our first full day and, helped by the five-hour time difference with the UK, we’re up and about early.

The Subway is a very efficient way of getting about. We’re heading from Midtown to Downtown – about a 20-minute ride.

I always like to capture the sounds of a city when abroad. It helps place you.

Jane grabs a coffee from a health-food store near Wall Street station.

The New York Stock Exchange.

9/11 MEMORIAL AND MUSEUM

This is near the very top of my must-do list. It still seems astonishing the tragic events of September 11 actually happened. Woody Allen, who made so many great films about/set in New York, once pointed out that the terrorists were repulsed by American culture and yet decided to attack New York in a way that was beyond the imagination of a Hollywood director.

I remember arriving at work in Leeds the day it happened and watching the second plane hit live on TV. My naive instant take was that there was some weird forcefield throwing planes off course and causing them to crash. It soon became clear that New York was under attack. I had been in America the previous month, covering a golf tournament in Atlanta.

It was a very moving hour and a half I spent in the museum (could easily have been much longer). It’s huge inside, the scale, space and muted acoustics allowing a deeper reflection.

Before entering, I looked into the fountains where the Twin Towers once stood.

Some of the personal artefacts that were recovered really humanize what happened that day. It can seem abstract when you witness the planes crashing and read on a page the number of people (2,996) who died but seeing shoes/backpacks really hits you. Every life lost was a tragedy and sent its own wave of devastation.

Jane had already been to the 9/11 Museum on a previous New York visit so, with me having a fear of heights, she opts to make the short walk to the One World Observatory – Its website says: “The best views of New York City from the tallest tower in the USA.” Jane’s pics back that up.

YANKEE STADIUM

Next stop, it’s back on the Subway. We’re heading to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx to see one of the world’s most iconic sports teams/institutions: the New York Yankees.

Here we are pre kick-off. Or throw off? First pitch? Start time: 13.05 under blue skies. Ticket prices: £61 each. View: up in the gods but excellent.

Jane looks very American (the hat, the teeth). I look very English (Fred Perry shirt).

Not much happens in baseball for large chunks and it’s a slight surprise that it still exists in its present format given the reduction in attention spans and thirst for quickfire action in our current culture. But there’s enough music blaring out – including this from New York’s finest, The Ramones – as each player comes out to bat/change of innings to keep everyone entertained. Plus plenty of fast food and beer to tuck into as well.

At one point the game is halted and a senior military man starts singing the national anthem which feels a bit odd to a Brit (imagine them stopping Liverpool v Man Utd after 25 minutes to sing God Save The King).

The Yankees get hammered 7-1 (the above video shows their only run) as it happens and star player Michael Judge (his name wins the battle for shirt space) makes no impact. We don’t see a home run either although that doesn’t detract from a great first visit to Yankee Stadium. My first baseball game, Jane’s second.

As a footnote, the Yankees gain revenge over the Red Sox the very next day, winning 5-2, and even make it all the way to the World Series but their hopes of title glory are ended (4-1) by the LA Dodgers.

CENTRAL PARK

We stop off here – another New York must – for a stroll. Just over the road is the Dakota hotel where John Lennon was shot dead by Mark Chapman on the evening of 8 December, 1980. There’s no acknowledgement of that near the hotel itself but plenty of love for the late Beatle elsewhere in Central Park where his ashes are scattered. I can remember hearing the news of his death at school the morning after. I’m a huge Beatles fan and recall Imagine going to No.1 shortly after his passing (it only got to No.6 in the UK chart when he first released it in 1975).

TIMES SQUARE

A staple of any trip to New York although it’s a little too commercialised for me. Good for a few photos though, starting with some wide-eyed pointing at a gorilla.

A good day for the step count. With appetites worked up, we find a great little Italian place around the corner from our hotel – Pastagasm.

SEPTEMBER 15

RUNNING THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE

One thing on our must-do list is something not found on the usual tourist ‘Top 10’ list: running the Brooklyn Bridge. On a blog I’ve found, it’s around 1.3 miles in distance (Manhattan to Brooklyn) and the views are spectacular.

It’s 09.18 local time on Sunday morning and getting a little busy although there’s still plenty of room for all us early-morning NYC joggers. Yes, I’ve awarded us such a status. Off we go, full of beans, but what they don’t tell you is that there’s quite a sharp incline when setting off and we’re rather puffing away until the wooden planks start to flatten out.

But what goes up, must come down so it’s fun finishing on the other side.

And those views looking back to Manhattan are incredible. Almost unreal. CGI maybe. A real pinch yourself moment as you soak it all in. A brief bit of white up above thwarts the “not a cloud in the sky” line but it’s 22 degrees, sunny and we’ve got a live, close up view of the most recognisable skyline on the planet.

GOVERNORS ISLAND

New York’s biggest secret? Perhaps to UK travellers at least. No-one seemed to have heard of it when we mentioned it to friends but a trip out to Governors Island on the ferry (seven-minute ride) is a great way to spend the afternoon.

A rather strange place, it has the air of a former military outpost (indeed it once was) but also carries zombie film set vibes. Hence this video.

I think the joke would have worn a bit thin had I spent the whole day walking about like one of the undead so a much better way of getting around the island is to hire a bike from ‘Blazing Saddles’. Well, not quite a bike but a rather clunky go-kart that is a bit of a bugger to ride if truth be told. Certainly solo but when Jane doubles the leg power from two to four we really get going. And look at those views of the Manhattan skyline! Can’t get enough of them today.

With 360-degree views of New York and seven miles of paths (there are no cars!) it’s a great place for photographs/videos. Around this corner we find the “lady with the ice cream” as my daughter called it once.

Having run the Brooklyn Bridge earlier that day, I’m in jogging mode. I think Jane is filming the backdrop more than me but I’m happy to run into shot.

Perhaps the best thing about Governors Island is that you feel like you’ve hired it for the day, perhaps with 50 or so others. There’s loads of space to kick back and, with no-one anywhere near us, we find some comfy shaded outdoor seating to chill out and take in the views.

Below – I never miss a photo opportunity to make a famous big thing look small due to it being far away. The Statue of Liberty gets the perspective treatment here.

Rather than dash for the ferry back (they’re every half hour) we take our time and soak in those iconic buildings with a refreshing cocktail.

The video below catches the laid-back vibe. I think I choose to record this clip as the bar is playing one of my favourite Wings songs – ‘Love Is Strange’. Go Macca! Well, Linda McCartney was from New York so it kind of makes sense.

And here’s a ‘pano’ shot taken during our loop of the island.

And a photo of the famous Staten Island ferry.

WEST VILLAGE

Perry Street and a famous New York attraction – the apartment used by Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City. Here’s Jane outside before we walk a couple of minutes around the corner and have a cupcake from the iconic Magnolia Bakery – also made famous by the 1990s American comedy-drama. Fun fact: the bakery is on Bleecker Street, the subject of a 1964 song by Simon and Garfunkel who, of course, were leading lights in the Greenwich Village folk scene.

And just around the corner, another photo opportunity for Jane!

And here’s 82 Jane Street where a plaque remembers Alexander Hamilton, the First Secretary of the Treasury, who died here the day after his duel with political rival Vice President Aaron Burr on July 12, 1804. Hamilton? Yes, that one! His life story is told in the wonderful hit Broadway musical ‘Hamilton’ which I saw in London a few summers ago.

THE HIGH LINE

The High Line is a 1.5-mile-long public park that runs along Manhattan’s West Side. It’s built on an elevated historic freight rail line. Very pretty with lots of public artwork (spot Andy Warhol in the second pic), places to eat and even live music. It was founded by local residents in 1999 to prevent the rail track being demolished. Lovely chilled atmosphere and some great views.

The Korean district is very near our Midtown Hotel so that inspires tonight’s food choice. The food here at ‘Her name is Han’ is gorgeous.

SEPTEMBER 16

Our final morning. Jane pops to the shops to get some items for her daughters while I make the 20-minute walk to the iconic Grand Central Terminal (42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown).

It’s back to the hotel to check out. Catching the monorail back to the airport is much quicker than the rush hour taxi.

It’s 7.45pm local, the sun is vanishing and it’s time to say farewell to New York and enjoy the overnight flight back to Manchester.