Grand Prix Golf Club is the course to build a Kanchanaburi golf trip around. Laid out over an abandoned sapphire mine at Bo Phloi, 34 kilometres north of the provincial town, it is the project of Dr Prachin Eamlumnow, the man behind the Bangkok International Motor Show, and the only course in the province with an Asian Tour event on its record: the Royal’s Cup of February 2022, followed by four straight years as a Qualifying School venue. Expect a 7,111-yard par 72 of doglegs, raised greens and more than 95 bunkers, and conditioning that no other course in the province matches. A must-play, and worth the drive from Bangkok on its own.
This profile covers who built it and when (the sources disagree), the published card, the holes to plan for, the tournament record, the drive from Bangkok, the hotel, and how it compares with the former Nichigo resort.
The course itself
The club’s own account is that Dr Prachin found “the land of old gemstone mine covering more than 2,000 rais” in Bo Phloi, a former blue-sapphire mining district, and spent more than 500 million baht turning 400 rai of the 2,400-rai estate into golf. The official site credits the design to Dr Prachin “in collaboration with Mr. Prayad Chinnaraj”, a golf-course professional who, the Thai magazine HotGolf notes, wrote its course-superintendent column; most English listings spell him Prayard. MGR Online credits the drawings to the Masterplan company through Prayad Chinnaraj, with Dr Prachin co-designing and checking. The opening year is genuinely unclear: HotGolf records October 2011, the Thai daily MGR Online and the Chong Dan sub-district office an official opening on 26 October 2013, and agents say 2010, 2011 or 2013.
The published card has five tees: 7,111 yards from the black, 6,627 blue, 6,258 white, 5,841 yellow and 5,534 red, par 36 and 36 (the card’s own red subtotals add up to 5,334 and its hole-by-hole figures to 5,371, so read the forward tee as roughly 5,400). Agents quote 7,136 and Wikipedia’s tournament record lists the Royal’s Cup set-up at 7,215, so treat any total as approximate. The club calls the layout a “combination format of flat green, multi tiered green and link course” defended by “wind, pond and more than 95 sand bunkers”; a 2013 profile in the Thai daily MGR Online calls it a semi-links and lake course, deliberately open so the mountains stay in view, with one flooded working left as a reservoir-sized lake, Bermuda 419 fairways and Novotek greens. HotGolf found doglegs on nearly every hole, several blind from the tee, bunkers at driving distance, and raised, fast, deceptive greens that are the real test. Golfasian says “A large river bisects the course and adds to the natural scenery.”, and Golfsavers describes a river that “flows through the Grand Prix course, dividing it in places”. The club’s own map shows that water as lakes from the old workings, in play on many holes.
The motorsport theme is real: LENGOLF reports that “each of the 18 holes carries the name of an automobile brand”. On conditioning the sources agree, which is rare in this province: Golfsavers’ users score it 4.5 out of 5, a March 2026 reviewer there wrote “Still one of my favorites in thailand, worth the 2 hour drive north from bkk”, and Golfasian’s April 2026 review praised a “well kept course and clubhouse”.
Tournament pedigree
The Royal’s Cup, played from 24 to 27 February 2022 for US$400,000, was the first full-field Asian Tour event in Thailand that year and, in the Asian Golf Industry Federation’s words, “the Tour’s maiden visit to Kanchanaburi”. The promoter was Grand Prix International, “the company behind the Bangkok International Motor Show (BIMS)”, which Dr Prachin chaired. Taiwan’s Chan Shih-chang opened with a 64, closed with a 68 and won on 265, 23 under par, three clear of Sadom Kaewkanjana and Sihwan Kim. The 2017 and 2018 Royal Cups were played at Phoenix Gold in Pattaya, not here, and there has been no edition since.
Since then the club has become a Qualifying School fixture: two First Stage sections in the 2024 school (12–15 December 2023 and 9–12 January 2024), one on 10–13 December 2024, two in 2025 (2–5 and 9–12 December) and another scheduled for 8–11 December 2026. Expect the course to be closed to visitors on those dates.
The holes worth knowing
14th (par 3, 172 yards from the black tees to 105 from the red, stroke index 10): the signature hole. HotGolf puts the tee about 10 metres above the green. The green is an island in sand rather than water, ringed by one huge bunker, so a miss is a plugged lie and the drop makes club selection a guess in wind. The reward is a 360-degree view over the back nine.
18th (par 5, 594 yards from the black, 487 from the red, stroke index 1): HotGolf’s recommended hole and the card’s hardest. Water cuts into the fairway at 220 yards, so it is a lay-up or a 270-yard carry, with water right and sand left; the second shot is a safe line left or a 200-yard carry over water to shorten an approach that otherwise plays long and uphill between bunkers to a two-tier green.
7th and 12th (par 3s of 170 and 205 yards, stroke indexes 2 and 3): the card’s toughest holes after the 18th; the trouble here is the approach and the putt, not the length.
Location and getting there
The address is 91 Moo 13, Chong Dan, Bo Phloi District, Kanchanaburi 71160. The entrance is off Route 3086, the Bo Phloi to Dan Chang road, about 7 kilometres past Bo Phloi town; the club’s own figure is 34 kilometres from Kanchanaburi town (Golfasian: 30 minutes).
Kanchanaburi has no commercial airport, so this is a road trip whether you land at Suvarnabhumi (BKK) or Don Mueang (DMK). Published figures run from 160 kilometres and two hours (LENGOLF) to 180 kilometres and two hours (the club and the Thai press) and roughly three hours (the Asian Tour); all are approximate and depend on clearing the city. The 96-kilometre M81 motorway from Bang Yai, toll-free from 31 October 2025 and tolled since January 2026, delivers you to the town end of the province, after which Route 3086 runs north.
Practical notes
- Caddie and cart. Both compulsory per LENGOLF; the Thai booking site golfdd lists the cart as required, and the club’s own page says its caddies drive it, from from a fleet of 100 battery buggies. Golf attire and no metal spikes, per GolfLux; fivesomes allowed; open every day. Tipping norms are in our guide to caddies in Thailand.
- Heat. HotGolf warns that Bo Phloi is notorious for midday heat, and the Thai daily MGR Online describes a deliberately open layout with only as much tree shade as necessary. Take the first tee times and, ideally, sleep on site. Our best time to golf in Thailand guide has the seasonal picture.
- Staying on site. The hotel has 24-square-metre deluxe rooms and 48-square-metre suites, all with view balconies, plus pools, massage and a meeting room; listings give 50 rooms (Golfsavers, LENGOLF) or 60 (MGR Online).
- Clubhouse and practice. On a hilltop, “one of the most beautiful viewpoints in Bo Phloi” in the club’s words, with pro shop, restaurant, driving range and putting green. Night golf is listed by Golfsavers and LENGOLF but not on the club’s own site; ask when you book.
- Pricing. Mid-market by Thai standards and in the same bracket as the province’s other resort courses, which makes it the province’s value round (verify current rates, which change with season and booking channel). See our Thailand golf cost guide.
Is it right for your trip?
Book it if you want the best-conditioned, most serious golf in Kanchanaburi, a tournament pedigree you can name, a hotel room a buggy ride from the first tee, and a layout that rewards thought over length. Five tees down to about 5,400 yards and open fairways make it playable for mixed-ability groups; the test is on and around the greens.
Skip it if your idea of Kanchanaburi golf is jungle and river scenery: this is open, mounded mine land with mountains on the horizon, and for the Kwai Yai setting you want the Nichigo Resort & Country Club, now Artitaya, which has the scenery but patchier turf. Skip it too if you want to walk (you cannot), if you are visiting in early December, or in the January window the school has also used, when Qualifying School takes the course, or if a single day trip from Bangkok must also fit the war sites on the other side of the province.
For the wider picture, start with our Kanchanaburi golf guide, then the Golf in Thailand hub and the Thailand golf course directory; our Thailand golf trip planner shows how a Kanchanaburi leg fits between Bangkok and Hua Hin.