Red Mountain Golf Club Phuket -

The most challenging golf course in Phuket, Red Mountain Golf Club may also be the island’s most dramatic.

This 6900-yard, 18-hole layout – a sister property to fellow Golf in a Kingdom member Loch Palm GC – winds its way through a truly stunning 1400-rai former tin mine in the heart of Phuket’s central highlands. For its unique location alone, Red Mountain is one of Asia’s most exciting courses, but the layout is more than mere eye candy. The course has been cleverly routed to take advantage of a huge variety of landforms and dizzying elevation changes. Scars left from the tin mine era have been imaginatively incorporated into the overall scheme, creating a unique character and several risk-reward scenarios golfers will never forget. The par-4 16th feels like it has been laid out along a mountaintop, while the par-17th drops more than 100 feet tee to green.

Course architect Jon Morrow and co-designer Al Tikkanen did a wonderful job in allowing the terrain to speak for itself. Former mining pits have been flooded to create sprawling, sparkling water hazards. Mountainsides were scraped away to reveal the native red clay form the boundaries on multiples holes, contrasting beautifully with the green turf, white sand and blue sky.

Features

GETTING THERE: 15 minutes from Patong and Karon beaches.
BEHIND THE SCENES: Al Tikkanen is a gifted course shaper who, in his long career helped craft several of Asia’s top tracks for Robert Trent Jones II.
IN THE CLOUDS: Despite being routed through a former mine, Red Mountain plays atop some of the highest points on Phuket, with stunning long views.