Royal Hua Hin Golf Course

Overview: Royal Hua Hin Golf Course is Thailand’s historic railway-era golf course, set beside Hua Hin station and close to the town centre. The current course is 18 holes, par 72 and about 6,678 yards, with tight fairways, mature tropical trees and no conventional water hazards. The parkland setting preserves the original landscape and lets the difficulty come from tree placement, angled fairways and small strategic targets rather than from modern resort lakes. Views toward the hills and Gulf of Thailand complete the course’s sense of place.

History: The first nine holes opened during the reign of King Rama VI in 1924. A further nine were added four years later under King Rama VII, with the layout developed by A.O. Robin, a senior engineer with the Thai railways, in conjunction with an Italian architect associated with the royal project. That history makes Royal Hua Hin the first standard golf course in Thailand and one of the country’s most important sporting heritage sites.

Did You Know? The course’s lack of water hazards is not an omission but part of its historic character. Mature trees are the principal defence, and the old fairway corridors preserve the shape of a course built before modern irrigation lakes and engineered resort landscaping became standard. The round therefore feels like a walk through the beginnings of Thai golf as much as a conventional 18-hole game.