COUNTRY PERSPECTIVE SERIES | Q3 2026 | THAILAND

A Conversation with Varit Pakdeeyingyong, Country Manager — Thailand, Jebsen & Jessen Technology Turf & Irrigation

Interview by the Regional Marketing Manager | Jebsen & Jessen Technology – Turf & Irrigation | 8–10 min read

Introduction Note

Thailand is not simply a golf market. It is one of Asia's most closely watched golf destinations — a country where the condition of a fairway at 7 a.m. on a Tuesday morning can directly influence a TripAdvisor rating, a tour operator's rebooking decision, and a golfer's next holiday itinerary. With approximately 250 golf courses, the stakes of course management in Thailand carry a commercial weight that few other markets in Southeast Asia can match.

We sit down with Varit, Country Manager, to explore what makes the Thai golf market genuinely distinctive — and what it demands of the people and technology that keep its courses playing at their best.

Setting the Scene

Varit, Thailand has a reputation as one of Asia's premier golf destinations. From where you sit, what does that mean in practice for course managers?

It means pressure, honestly. Good pressure, but pressure, nonetheless. When a golfer flies in from Japan, Korea, the UK, or Australia specifically to play golf in Thailand, they arrive with expectations that have been built by years of international marketing, award-winning rankings, and word of mouth from fellow golfers who have been here before. They are not comparing your course to the one down the road. They are comparing it to the best courses they have played anywhere in the world.

That is a very different operating environment from a course that serves primarily local members who understand the context — who know that it rained heavily last week and that the fairways need a few more days to recover. International visitors, by and large, do not come with that grace. They come with high expectations, and if those expectations are not met, they show up in reviews and rebooking rates almost immediately.

So, when I talk to course managers here about investment in irrigation, equipment, or turf management programmes, I try to make one thing clear: this is not a cost. This is the product. The condition of the course IS the product that Thailand's golf tourism industry is selling to the world.

International visitors do not compare your course to the one down the road. They compare it to the best courses they have played anywhere in the world.

How many courses does your team work with across Thailand, and where are they concentrated?

Thailand has somewhere in the range of 250 courses nationwide, with around 100 to 150 of those genuinely oriented toward international visitors. Our work is concentrated in the major golf corridors Bangkok & Surrounding, Chonburi, Rayong, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Phuket, Ayutthaya, Chiangmai, Nakorn Ratchasima, etc.

Each of those areas has its own microclimate, its own soil characteristics, its own water management challenges. What works in Chiang Mai does not necessarily translate to Phuket. That regional variation is one of the things that makes this market genuinely interesting to work in — and genuinely demanding.

The Climate Paradox: Too Much and Not Enough

Thailand has a distinct wet and dry season pattern. How does that shape the operational reality for golf courses here?

Thailand's climate creates what I think of as the management paradox. The wet season runs roughly from May through to October — courses receive significant rainfall, conditions are generally green and lush, and water is abundant. Then from November through to April, you have the dry season, which is also peak tourist season. The weather is beautiful, the skies are clear, international arrivals peak — and water becomes critically scarce.

So, the period when courses are under the most commercial pressure — when the international visitors are arriving, when the tour operators and travel agencies are watching most closely — is exactly the period when water is hardest to come by. You must harvest enough during the wet season to sustain the course through the dry months. The large lake systems that you see on most well-designed courses here are not just aesthetic features. They are strategic reservoirs. If a course has not managed its water storage properly through the wet season, it will be fighting a losing battle when the tourists arrive in January.

And climate variability is adding complexity to that calculation. The transitions between seasons have become less predictable. We have seen extended dry spells arriving earlier than expected, and intense rainfall events that arrive suddenly and challenge drainage infrastructure. What was a reliable seasonal rhythm is now something courses must monitor and respond to much more actively.

The period when courses are under the most commercial pressure is exactly when water is hardest to come by. The lake systems are not just aesthetic features. They are strategic reservoirs.

When water runs short during the dry season, what are the consequences for a course that is not well prepared?

The consequences are visible and immediate, and in a market like Thailand, visibility matters enormously. Fairways that lose colour and firmness, greens that harden and lose pace consistency, tee boxes that show stress — these things do not go unnoticed by experienced golfers. And in the age of social media and online review platforms, a course that is struggling through a dry spell can find that reality documented and shared with a global audience within hours of play.

We have seen situations in the past where courses with inadequate water storage or ageing irrigation infrastructure have had to make difficult choices during severe dry seasons — reducing play on certain holes, limiting tee times, or simply accepting a deterioration in conditions that took months to fully recover from once the rains returned. Those are not situations any course operator wants to be in, and they are largely avoidable with the right infrastructure and planning.

Courses in the Eastern Economic Corridor regions Chonburi, Rayong, and Chachoengsao, which includes the Pattaya area — have received particular attention from researchers and operators around water management, given the density of courses and the competition for water resources shared with communities and industry in the region. The courses that have invested in closed water systems, efficient irrigation, and proper lake management have navigated dry seasons considerably more confidently than those that have not.

What International Standards Actually Demand

Thailand hosts significant international events — LPGA tournaments, the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship. What level of scrutiny is required from a course management perspective?

Tournament preparation is a different level of intensity altogether. When the Honda LPGA Thailand comes to Siam Country Club at Pattaya, or when the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship is held — as it was at the Waterside Course in 2022 — the standard expected is world-class in every respect. The fairway surfaces, the green speeds, the bunker consistency, the rough height — everything is specified, audited, and judged by the most knowledgeable eyes in the sport.

What those events reveal is how much margin a well-managed course has built into its day-to-day operation. The courses that host major international events without drama are not performing differently in the week before the tournament. They are simply maintaining that all year round, a standard that is close to tournament ready. The equipment is maintained properly. The turf programme is consistent. The irrigation is precise. When the event arrives, it is a step up in intensity, not a scramble to reach a standard that was not there before.

The courses that struggle with tournament preparation are usually the ones where day-to-day consistency has been compromised — older equipment running on deferred maintenance, irrigation systems that require manual override because the automation is unreliable, turf programmes that rely on reactive chemistry rather than preventive management. You cannot paper over those gaps in the week before a major event.

The courses that host major events without drama are not performing differently in the week before the tournament. They are simply maintaining that all year round, a standard that is close to tournament ready.

Grass variety selection comes up a lot in conversations about sustainable performance in tropical conditions. What are you seeing in Thailand right now, and where is the opportunity?

Grass is one of the areas I am most excited about as we look ahead. Thailand is at an interesting point — there is a growing awareness among course owners and managers that the variety choices made at construction or last renovation are not always the right fit for where the market is today. International playing standards have risen, water management has become more critical, and the expectation for consistency of surface has never been higher.

Two varieties are generating real interest for us right now. Paspalum — specifically Pure Dynasty — performs exceptionally well in tropical, high-traffic conditions. It tolerates heat, handles humidity, and crucially responds well to recycled or variable-quality irrigation water, which is a genuine operational advantage in parts of Thailand where water quality is not always consistent. For courses that are managing a mixed water supply or relying on lake water for irrigation, that tolerance is not a small thing.

On the greens, Mach1 ultra-dwarf Bermuda delivers the pace and trueness that both international visitors and tournament standards require. The combination of Pure Dynasty fairways and Mach1 greens reflect the kind of considered agronomic decision we are encouraging across our client base — matching the variety to the specific demands of the surface, the climate, and the playing standard the course is aiming for.

We are actively working to bring both into Thai courses this year, and I see significant opportunity to grow from there. The conversations are happening, and the appetite is there. Course owners who have seen what the right grass selection can do for consistency and maintenance efficiency are increasingly open to making that investment.

The Business Conversation

How do you approach conversations with course owners and GMs about investment in infrastructure? The costs can be significant.

The framing of the conversation matters enormously. If you walk in talking about the cost of a new irrigation system, you will almost always encounter resistance. Capital expenditure is a difficult conversation in any industry, and golf course owners in Thailand are no different from business owners anywhere — they want to understand the return.

So, I try to change the frame. I ask them to think about what it costs them not to invest. What is the cost of an ageing irrigation system that cannot deliver precision — in terms of water wastage, in terms of the labour required to compensate manually, in terms of the turf quality you are accepting as normal? What is the cost of a dry-season crisis that forces you to reduce play or accept visible deterioration during peak tourist season? What is the cost to your reputation on the review platforms, and how does that translate into occupancy and green fee revenue for the following season?

When you put it in those terms, the conversation becomes less about spending money and more about protecting revenue. And for a course that is genuinely tourism-facing — where a meaningful share of rounds come from international visitors whose booking decisions are shaped by online reputation — the case for well-maintained infrastructure is not difficult to make if you present it honestly.

I ask them to think about what it costs them not to invest. The conversation then becomes less about spending money and more about protecting revenue.

Are Thai course operators becoming more sophisticated in how they think about these investments?

Meaningfully so, over the time I have been in this market. There is a generation of course managers and owners who have travelled widely, who have played at and visited courses in Japan, Korea, Europe, and the United States, and who have seen first-hand what well-resourced, professionally managed facilities look like. They are not satisfied with a lower standard simply because it might be locally accepted. They know what is possible, and they are increasingly motivated to close the gap.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand's commitment to golf tourism is also raising expectations at a national level. The Thailand Golf Travel Mart — which TAT held in September 2026, bringing together international buyers and Thai golf businesses at one platform — is a clear signal of how seriously Thailand takes its position as a world-class golf destination. When that level of institutional investment is being made in marketing Thailand's golf product to the world, course operators feel the expectation from the top down as well as from their own customers.

What I find encouraging is that the most forward-thinking operators are not just asking about equipment and products — they are asking about long-term management partnerships. They want to understand how to build a programme, not just how to solve today's problem. That is a mature conversation, and it leads to outcomes that are genuinely better for the course and for the relationship.

Looking Ahead

If you had to identify the two or three things that will most determine which Thai golf courses thrive over the next decade, what would they be?

Water strategy would be the first. The courses that invest seriously in closed-loop irrigation, lake management, and smart water application will have a structural advantage that becomes more significant with every passing dry season. Water access and water cost are going to become increasingly prominent operational factors in Thailand, and the courses that have already built the infrastructure to manage this efficiently will be well-positioned. The ones that have not will be managing a growing vulnerability.

The second would be equipment and technology investment — not as a one-time purchase, but as an ongoing commitment. A course that maintains its fleet properly, that keeps its mowing equipment in the condition that delivers consistent cut quality, that operates irrigation systems capable of responding to actual conditions rather than preset programmes — that course presents a consistently better product to the golfer. Over time, that consistency is what builds reputation, and reputation is what drives return visits and referrals in a tourism-dependent market.

The third — and I think this is underappreciated — is people. The golf industry in Thailand, like much of the region, is finding it harder to attract and retain skilled agronomy and maintenance professionals. The younger generation has wider options, and working on a golf course is not automatically the aspiration it once was. The courses that invest in their people — in training, in proper working conditions, in the tools that make skilled work more manageable and less purely physical — are the ones that will hold on to the talent that the rest of the industry is losing. And skilled, motivated maintenance teams are what deliver quality on the ground, regardless of what the equipment specification says.

Skilled, motivated maintenance teams are what deliver quality on the ground, regardless of what the equipment specification says.

Finally — what is it about the Thailand market that keeps you engaged and motivated?

Honestly? It is the standard that this market holds itself to, and the sense that what we do here matters visibly. When a course in Thailand is playing at its best — when the fairways are true, the greens are consistent, the course is presented beautifully — you see it in the faces of the golfers coming off the 18th. International visitors who have come a long way, who have invested real time and money in this experience, and who are leaving having had exactly what they hoped for. That is a tangible outcome.

Thailand's golf industry has earned its international reputation through decades of commitment to quality. Our role at Jebsen & Jessen is to be a part of that — to be the team that gives course operators the tools, the support, and the knowledge to meet the standard that this market demands. I do not take that responsibility lightly.

Connect With Our Thailand Team

Whether you are planning a turf renovation, considering an irrigation upgrade, or navigating a water management challenge in the dry season ahead, our Thailand team is ready to have an honest conversation about what is right for your course.

Visit turftech.jjsea.com or reach out through your local Jebsen & Jessen Technology office.

This article is the third in our Country Perspective Series, exploring how sustainable golf course management principles apply across different markets in Southeast Asia. Previous instalments covered the regional strategic outlook (Q1) and a Malaysia market perspective (Q2).