Nikanti Golf Club
Such is Thailand's popularity among those who travel with their clubs in tow that the country is expected to overtake Spain as the most popular golfing destination within a decade. The vast majority of visitors spend at least a few days in Bangkok and, while there is certainly a good selection of appealing layouts that lie within the capital's boundaries, only a handful can be considered among the region's best. Nikanti, a radical design from local architect Piraporn Namatra, is one such course.
Located an hour's drive to the west of the city, Nikanti is almost the complete antithesis of what has become the norm. For a start, it measures less than 7,000 yards and, rather than having the traditional front and back nines, features instead three loops of six, each comprising two par-3s, two par-4s and two par-5s. Don't have time for a full 18? Just play 12. Want to have another go at that reachable but dangerous par-5 18th? Go ahead and play that final loop again. Nikanti's flexibility aside, its generous fairways, highly contoured green complexes and, unusually for pancake-flat Bangkok, rolling terrain are the club's main characteristics.
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