About Londoner Golf Club

We are an established, 20+ year old society for amateur golfers, in fact we will be 25 in 2024! We exist for members to play competitive golf in a fun, friendly and fair manner according to the rules. We welcome and support players to gain their initial handicaps. We believe our Londoner Way helps our members enjoy their golf and get the most out of our events.

We play our regular competitions (Medal and Stableford) at golf courses in and around Bangkok, every second and fourth Saturday of the month. We have three Away Weekends each year for our major competitions, an annual Match Play competition and several inter-society matches.

Our generous sponsors provide prizes for each competition and we encourage you to support them. Our customisable club shirts are very popular and help to create a sense of community.

Membership provides organised Saturday golf competitions at popular Bangkok courses, managed handicaps, annual competitions and our Londoner Christmas Dinner and Awards, a favourite within the society.

Interested in joining? Drop us a line at londonergolfclub@gmail.com or complete the Subscribe process using the button (note for existing members, subscribing on the website is a way that you can have access to non-public content - there isn't any right now but we may make some in the future).

THE LONDONER WAY

  • Members are welcome to invite guests to our events. The member will play with and have responsibility for their guest on the day.
  • Groupings are arranged to allow everybody to golf with a wide variety of members. Requests for groupings are discouraged. We group players in a society way, i.e. anyone can, and will, be grouped with anyone. The startsheet groupings are sent on email and are available on True Handicap before events.
  • By default we play the course as we find it and the ball as it lies. A decision will be made before each competition if Preferred Lies will be in operation.
  • We do not use drop zones unless otherwise stated.
  • Players are responsible for knowing the rules of golf, Londoner local rules and local rules of the course. If you are unsure about a situation, check with your playing partner to avoid misunderstandings and disputes.
  • Players and markers should not be put under undue pressure to agree to an interpretation of a situation. If in doubt a player should play 2 balls. Check with the committee after the round for a ruling on which interpretation of the situation is applicable, before signing your scorecard.
  • We will always try and find the most equitable solution to a challenge e.g., when reaching a ruling conclusion or deciding on eligibility for a competition.

Local Rules (updated February 2023)

Order of Precedence of rules (Highest to Lowest)
1. R&A Rules of Golf
2. Londoner Golf Club Local Rules
3. Course Local Rules

  • Bangpakong Riverside Hole #3 - Advertising hoarding protecting drinks hut. Free relief allowed.
  • Free relief is available for dangerous situations due to an animal hazard.
  • No penalties will be applied due to caddies marking balls on the green without consent.
  • Relief on opposite side of red penalty area: When a player's ball is in or last crossed the edge of a red penalty area the player may also drop the ball on the opposite side of the penalty area in addition to the normal options.
  • Vintage Hole #2 - The penalty is a Red Penalty Area even though it has previously been marked as Yellow.
  • Vintage Hole #13 - The drop zone on Hole 13 is available for use. It can be used if your ball ends up in the vegetation between the tee box and the red penalty area.

Rationale for Local Rules

  • Rationale for our Local Rule about Dangerous situations due to animal hazards. In general, it is rare that a player's ball lies in a place that is dangerous to the player. However, this situation could occur. Therefore, we take the position that:

It is unreasonable to expect the player to play from a dangerous situation, such as near a live snake, a bees’ nest or red ants’ nest (i.e., not a single ant) and unfair to require the player to incur a penalty. With respect to red ants, if in doubt if the situation qualifies, follow the guidance in the undue pressure item above by playing 2 balls and take photos to help with the ruling.

LONDONER GOLF CLUB HISTORY

The origins of the club are from the mid-1990s as the British Embassy Golf Society, based in the Queen Vic Social Club in the British Embassy grounds in Wireless Road, Bangkok.  The first home course was the President Golf & Country Club in Minburi – now renamed Suvarnabhumi Golf and Country Club - and the first games were played at a 07:05 start.

In 1999 the UK Foreign Office decided that the Golf Society was not allowed to be included in the balance sheets of the British Embassy, so the Golf Society had to find a new home and the Londoner Brew Pub, then located at Sukhumvit Soi 33, agreed to become the society’s spiritual home and sponsor with the club becoming known as the Londoner Golf Club, captained by Bruce McLaren.

The first home course of the new era Medal rounds was Bangpakong Riverside, with 16 players in the first game all in one flight with the winner rewarded with cash prizes.

Competitions against other Bangkok golf societies was the norm with teams competing regularly against each other in MatchPlay leagues with names like the Johnny Walker league (at Bangpoo golf course), the PWC Golf League for trophies such as the Waterford Crystal Trophy, the CPY Trophy, the Coffee Pot and the Meinhardt Cup.

The society evolved the years throughout with more people organising, the introduction of flights from 2003, different event formats and additional courses being played, namely Royal Lakeside in Chonburi. Around this time the Londoners settled on playing on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of each month.

Matchplay competitions had ceased being the focus of golf society competitions by 2006 and the society continued to evolve and grow with the introduction over time of different competitions, away weekends, additional sponsors as well as the captaincy passing on to different custodians of the society.

In 2015 the original Londoner Brew Pub on Sukhumvit Soi 33 closed, reopening in 2017 at the current venue on Pattanakarn Road and remains our key sponsor and our spiritual home. At this stage the grand, wooden honours boards in the old pub had to go as there was no place for them in the new building. Fortunately the internet saved the day and the need for an accurate memory - see the Honours Boards on this website.

The number of players each game has grown (averaging 32 from 2018-2023) and the membership distribution list is at close to 300 people across more than 20 nationalities. We became known as Bangkok’s friendliest Golf Society in the mid 2010s and are proud of our inclusive nature - we don’t mind if you are a novice golfer or a scratch one - all are welcome. The courses we play at evolve as we take circumstances such as distance, price, layout, availability, conditions and other factors into account when getting deals for our members to play regular competition golf that follows the rules whilst also being fun.