One of the most frequent questions we receive before guests book their Thailand golf holiday with us is “Should I bring my own clubs” or “Are the rentals at the courses any good?”. The answer to this question has a lot to do with you as an individual golfer, but here is what I can share.
As far as the quality of rentals goes, the majority of Thai (and other Asian country) courses and resorts that we deal with will have new updated equipment from a top of the line club company. Most courses now days have a rental agreement with a top manufacturer where they will only rent that companies clubs and advertise the brand on their website, in turn the manufacturer will replace the equipment for the latest technology every year or at the most every two years. So yes, the equipment is the top of the line but it is still used and a duffer may have been the first to use that driver and on his first swing roofed his drive causing a sky mark, so expect the odd blemish.
Now I stated that the decision is an individual one whether to bring your own clubs or not, here are some tips to help you decide.
Bring your own set if:
- Playing multiple times at courses in a close proximately to each other
- Going to continuously comment “I would have done much better with my own sticks”
- Blame every single mishit on the clubs, ultimately driving your playing partners crazy
- Have very custom-tailored clubs to your specs (a course is not going to have a 4” long 5up clubs)
- Cannot putt without anything but your beloved “Scotty”
- Are a raving club thrower (let’s face it, it’s not polite to throw other people’s clubs)
- You carry a picture of your clubs in your wallet next to your family photos (You will miss them too much)
Try some rentals if:
- You are in the market for a new set and would like to test drive some modern equipment on the golf course
- You will be doing quite a bit of traveling within your holiday and don’t want the hassle of lugging around clubs
- Are going for the pure joy of enjoying the scenery and experience and score is not your priority
- Have a persimmon driver and wonder why your buddies keep out driving you
- Usually comment “wow, those rentals are better than my own set” when visiting courses
- Prior to your trip, your friends ask “You’re not really bringing those relics are you?
- Would just like to try something new on the golf course and compare to your own clubs
With some horror stories of airlines losing golf clubs, as one US Open qualifier found out can be a serious inconvenience, many decide to leave their clubs at home for their golfing holiday. The pros of this is that many of the Indochina courses do have the latest and greatest with many of our Thailand courses carrying TaylorMade rentals and our Vietnam courses almost exclusively with Titlesist including Scotty Cameron putters. This could give you the ideal on course test of some of the newest equipment. It can also give you the ability to blame the odd missed fairway, green or putt on the rentals, and hey, don’t we all want to blame something else other than ourselves? Or you may just want to feel free of the hassle dragging your clubs to and fro if you are playing several different courses or countries during your trip.
The cons are that the equipment is different than yours and may take a little of getting used to. The other major factor is the cost. Most courses charge $30 – $60 for a set of clubs per 18 holes and if you are playing a lot of rounds this can add to the cost of your golfing holiday. The equipment conditioning could also vary depending on the course. To be sure of what you are getting and to avoid any disappointing surprises, I would suggest checking ahead of time the price and type of rentals being offered.
I personally like to leave my blades at home and choose to rent graphite shafted cavity backs and swing for the fences while enjoying the beauty of the courses and the pleasure of playing abroad.
If you have any other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact a Golfasian representative and we will help you plan the ultimate golfing getaway.
*As a side note. I have had my clubs lost by airlines in the past, and even had to play an event with rentals, but my clubs were never truly lost but instead took a little vacation of their own and the airlines always managed to recover them and return to me.
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