PLEASE NOTE THIS IS JUST HISTORY OF THE CHIANGMAI GOLFERS CLUB & COSTS ETC HAVE CHANGED IN 2023:

BASED ON SINGLE PERSON: Full costs approx 9,500 baht for 3 days of Golf but if more than 1 person we discount so make up a team of 4 or more and write to us as the more that come the cheaper it is: Green Valley was 3500 baht for one day at which includes transport, Golf fees, club hire, shoes, chair, Cart, transport for the day & buffet luncheon & shopping at the factories you want to see. Includes snacks, water & soft drinks. Hotel not included. Royal Chiangmai budget around 3000 baht a day. Includes transport full Golf hire and fees plus Cart. A-la carte meal snacks & shopping of your choice & Transport. Hotel not included. If you want to stay at Royal Chiangmai for a night then they do have a good special which we can book for you or  [ take a look ].

ChiangMai- Lumphun with full hire and fees plus Cart for 2 people look at a price of 3300 baht per day per each including transfers snacks and drinks & a-la-carte meal at the Chiangmai-Lumphun course. Hotel not included.

was started the Chiangmai Golfers Club in the small Aussie Cafe opposite the Prince Hotel run by Mark Ellenden & partner Tay, Ric Cameron from Aus and Tama Ruru from NZ and joined later by Jim from Australia. As it got off the ground it moved from the Aussie Cafe to Phil Williams Pirates Cove Restaurant in the old city on Ratchamanka Rd. Again it moved as Phil sold the bar & went back to the Philippines & passed away later in the UK..

We started with Visa runs to Mae Sai from the Aussie cafe that Mark ran. Mark was a good host & he would get expats and visitors to join in recreational Golf and it worked well. Hats off to Ric Cameron and Mark for taking control as we started with hiring a Van that Ric bought. It was a VW combi with TV etc for a few months and Tama did the advertising in the Chiangmai Trader News which he owned & did the odd drive to Mae Sai doing the runs. We all put in to make this work and it did work with the team. The VW was slow up the hills and ended up giving it back to the Thai owner who luckily was a good friend of Tama's and refunded our money--not the best wagon to use on the Mae Sai run which has many hills heading North & back.

Ric then went ahead and bought a good Toyota Hiace then after a time had Tic a Thai man drive the visa runs and take over the driving for Ric. It was a lot of fun in those days but the Van also had problems as Tic drove over a hill on the way to Mae Sai one day and drove into the back of a car stationary in the middle of the road--not his fault but the dopey driver was parked in the middle of the road?

We suffered the odd other problem like exhaust etc but managed to get the Club rolling & it was Ric who took over the reins and made it work. Ric however was really into his Visa Runs as this took most of his time & the Golf was really Mark's. It was also hilarious at times with balls going in all sorts of directions including one day when Mark Ellenden managed to lob a ball into a shop outside the Gymkhana club knocking over 2 glasses on the counter??

Then we had a few golfers who managed to lose more balls than I can name. Ron Tyre from the Uk had the odd trouble with hitting the divets rather than the ball & blaming the club. Ron was a fixture as he would have his side car decked out with an armchair for his wife. He died at McKean Rehab centre some time later. But plenty of antics some players were "new" playing golf in the 40 degree temps at times that made even the toughest foreigner temperatures rise???.The mix of nationalities made it even more comical but of course this was a Social Club and thats part of the fun.

Lucky there were drink pit stops at various holes along the way and one could buy a beer to cool off but everyone had their moments and of course after the games it got even merrier. This is the beauty about living in the "land of smiles" as we did just that after each game. Mark and Tay eventually returned to Darwin and were sadly missed---we never ever heard from Mark again although think he was in Darwin 2011 with wife Thanyaporn whose still in Australia we were told by our friend [H] Hayden.....

The Aussie Cafe changed hands with Ray Symonds from West Australia a non golfer taking over and Ric went back to Brisbane for work. Tama headed back to the farm in NZ but we still keep in touch and he still has business interests in Thailand as at 2023.

In the meantime the Club changed its name to the Chiangmai Social Golfers Club as many thought we were a golf course & not to be confused. Tama spends RnR time in his condo in ChiangMai & NZ now? One never knows but many of the own hands have disappeared & ChiangMai is full of newcomers. It was good back 20-30 years ago but as the world changes so does ChiangMai.

Roger Mack USA and in front Ron Tyre [DCD] from the UK. Ron used to get around in a sidecar with his wife in an armchair?? only in the land of smiles. Ron passed away in ChiangMai at McKean Rehabilitation Centre but was a comic on the Golf circuit often taking out a duff shot on his golf club [ie losing it???] but a nice chap.