The Hills Are Alive With The Sound  of…..

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As the sun was setting on the evening of Saturday the 17^th of June, the 3rd round of the US Open was concluding at Los Angeles Country Club.  Halfway around the world, on the outskirts of Hua Hin, Thailand; 70 golfers were taking their places on one of the 18 tee boxes scattered around beautiful Banyan Golf Club. Just like Olympic sprinters, preparing to take their marks in the starting blocks, these equally fine-tuned athletes were beginning their pre-shot routines, taking those last-minute group photos, or like me, polishing off that last bit of sandwich from the restaurant back at the clubhouse. The second and final round of the Hua Hin Open was about to begin.  The first round, having taken place the day prior, was a standard two tee start event.  For the final round, it would be conducted in true “sprint to the finish” fashion.  The thunderous BOOM of the shotgun start, echoed along the limestone faced hill sand with that, the final 2023 Hua Hin Open had begun.

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In its inaugural year, the Hua Hin Open will be an annual event taking place the same weekend as the US Open Championship with Banyan Golf Club serving as the home course.  There are multiple f Speaking with the tournament organizer and head of the Take 5 GolfSociety in Hua Hin, Mr. Sam Sheriff said, “We were thrilled with the turnout of70 golfers in our first ever event.”  Based on the amount of positive feedback from those in attendance, Sam was ready to make his prediction for next year. “We are confident we will have over 120people next year,” he wrote to me via email. Based on my experiences over the course of the weekend and of those in my group, I believe that will certainly be the case next year. With flights quite evenly spread over the handicap spectrum, the two-day, the 36-hole Stableford event, provides an opportunity for all skill levels to take home some prizes. Throw in the goodie bag, two amazing meals, fantastic prizes donated by some great sponsors, and a challenging course with a staff that’s second to none; it will easily meet all the requirements to be a mainstay on your annual golfing calendar. Chris Watson, Managing Director of ForeManagement Group, had this to say about the event, “Fore has always had a strong footprint of golf events in Hua Hin, we feel the Hua Hin Open can grow to be the standout event on Thailand’s domestic calendar!”  Chris also added, “We would like to thank Sam and his team for being such fantastic hosts and are already looking forward to next year’s event.”

I guess you might like to know how my two rounds went.  Well, I enjoy 95.44444% of the course at Banyan and I won’t go into long detail about my feelings or theory, regarding the 10^th hole (it is the dasher of my dreams, and the big tree steals golf balls from my cart when I’m not looking and a tiny bit of my soul even WHEN I am looking). As you can imagine by my ever so subtle hint of foreshadowing in the previous sentence, we started on 10….both days. On this weekend, 10 may have been able to once again crush my dreams of a great score, it couldn’t steal my joy.  I still had a fantastic weekend from start to finish. Great mates, caddies that felt as is they were handpicked to not only suit our game, to also deal with our nonsense, and it even included a noble effort by a member of our group (player or caddy,I’m not 100% sure which) who broke the tension of my 5-foot putt on 18 (our 9^th hole), by breaking wind just as I drew my putter head back. True story, and while everyone laughed, to include myself, I drained the putt.  The remaining round and a half was a continuation of the fun and even included a bit of decent golf, by the others in my group, not me.

So, did I write this in hopes that you’ll remember my blog in 11 months for next year’s registration?  Not necessarily, but you wouldn’t be amiss by adding a reminder to your calendar now.   Am I writing to tell you my true feelings about the 10^th hole?  No, but it’s in there too.  Did I write it so I could fit in a anecdote about breaking wind? No, but it’s always nice when things just work out that way.  My intention is to not only tell you how well this one event went, but if you’re looking for an excuse to get in some golf while in Hua Hin, you won’t be disappointed to look for and take part in, any event with Take 5 Golf Society, or an event with Mr. Sheriff as the organizer. Now go and mark the 15^th and 16^th of June 2024 on your calendar.  The US Open will be at Pine hurst and you should be at the 2^nd Annual Hua Hin Open.

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Written By Justin Goforth