Pravit Raeng-Po

Pravit Raeng-Po owns golf courses in Lamphun province in the north of Thailand, and designs them himself. His name is written ประวิทย์ เริงโพธิ์ in Thai, and in Latin script the spellings Pravit Reang-Po and Prawit Rengpote are also used. The course database Where2Golf credits all three courses in the Gassan group to Raeng-Po himself as the owner. All three lie within Lamphun province, and the group describes itself on its own site as the largest golf complex in northern Thailand. Each is within driving distance of central Chiang Mai.

The first to take shape was Gassan Khuntan Golf and Resort. It was built on land next to Khun Tan National Park, and the Tha river, a tributary of the Ping, runs across the course. It is a par 72 measuring 7,068 yards from the back tees, and island greens, sharp doglegs, holes that bend twice and shots played over water come one after another. At the southern end of the property stands Tha Chomphu bridge, the white bridge known as a railway landmark, and other bridges, weirs and waterfalls are worked into the view. To the east the backdrop is the jungle-covered ridge of the national park. Sources disagree on when it opened: Where2Golf gives 2004, while the Thai golf site HotGolf gives 1998.

Gassan Lake City Golf Club followed in 2005. Lee Schmidt of Schmidt-Curley Design reworked it in 2014, and it reopened as Gassan Legacy Golf Club. There are several par 3s played to island greens, fairways that run along the water, and greens with water down both sides. In November 2006 Gassan Marina Golf Club was added, and in 2017 it was renamed Gassan Panorama Golf Club. It measures more than 7,600 yards from the back tees, which puts it among the longest courses in Thailand. What marks it out is that four par 6s stand in place of the usual par 5s, and the 18 holes run parallel to one another across a large sheet of water.

What the three have in common is the way they use water. To borrow Where2Golf’s phrase, water is very much in play on all of them. More often than not a green is either ringed by water, guarded by water short, or set with water down one side, and together with large kidney-shaped bunkers this narrows down where you can afford to aim. Against the mountains of northern Thailand the scene is something like a garden of man-made ponds.

GoGolf lists all three of the Gassan courses Raeng-Po built, and all three can be booked through GoGolf. They lie close to one another and have accommodation on site, which makes it easy to plan a round on each of them.

Raeng-Po courses you can book on GoGolf

• Gassan Khuntan Golf and Resort (Lamphun, Thailand) — next to Khun Tan National Park, a par 72 of 7,068 yards
• Gassan Legacy Golf Club (Lamphun, Thailand) — opened in 2005 as Gassan Lake City, renovated and renamed in 2014
• Gassan Panorama Golf Club (Lamphun, Thailand) — formerly Gassan Marina. A layout of more than 7,600 yards with four par 6s

Tee times and rates for a given day can be checked on each course page or in the GoGolf app.

See the other golf course architects here.