Bangpakong Riverside Country Club

Bangpakong Riverside Country Club opened on July 21, 1990, as the first golf course in Chachoengsao Province, built alongside the Bangpakong River about 90 minutes east of Bangkok. The address is Saen Phu Dat, Ban Pho District — a location that puts the course well outside the congestion of the Bangkok metropolitan area while remaining a practical day trip from the city.

Designed by Thai architect Chird Boonyaratavej, the 18-hole parkland layout plays to par 72 across 7,140 yards from the back tees, with a rating of 73.8 and a slope of 128. Five tee positions bring the course down to a minimum of 5,470 yards. The course won the Asia Popular Award in 1991, one year after opening, and has maintained its original design layout without significant changes in the decades since.

Course Overview

The founder’s stated aim when commissioning the course was to build something challenging but accessible enough that golfers of all levels could enjoy it and the design reflects that intention. Fairways are wide by Thai parkland standards, the terrain is flat throughout, and the overall layout does not manufacture difficulty through narrow corridors or blind shots. Palm trees line many of the holes, flower beds and lakes are distributed across the property, and bunkers are placed with enough visibility that they register as strategic elements rather than surprises.

What the scorecard does not communicate is the Bangpakong River wind. The course sits exposed along the riverbank, and the prevailing breeze that comes off the water has a way of transforming straightforward-looking holes into genuine tests of ball flight management. A hole that plays as a routine mid-iron approach in still conditions can become a two-club problem when the wind comes in off the river, and golfers who do not account for it early in the round tend to find the back nine frustrating. Albrecht Golf reviewers note it as a place that rewards returning visitors who have learned to read the conditions a “wonderful place, wide, long, good for scoring” when you know what you are dealing with.

The practice facilities include a driving range and putting greens. The clubhouse carries a pro shop, locker rooms, and a restaurant. The course is open to the public and caddies are available.

Chachoengsao itself gives visiting golfers an easy side trip: Wat Sothonwararam Worawihan, home to the revered Luang Pho Sothon Buddha image, is a short drive away, and the century-old weekend market at Talad Baan Mai beside the river is worth the stop if the schedule allows.

For golfers on Bangkok golf packages looking to play outside the immediate city orbit, the Bangpakong corridor offers several courses within the same day-trip distance Thai Country Club and Royal Lakeside Golf Club are both within a short drive of Bangpakong Riverside and provide a useful contrast in style and difficulty.