Isaan Golf Assoc mini roadtrip report

Just a quick report on a recent Isaan Golf Assoc mini-roadtrip.
A small group headed off on Tuesday morning to take advantage of the sports day concessions at Singha Park GC Khon Kaen. For those that are unaware of the price, you can play his “championship” course (by far the best quality course and facilities within 300km of Udon) for just B750 + caddy fee. As usual the course was in very very good condition, and although it was a little busy, the starter had the common sense to start our group on the 11th, and from there we had a clear course in front of us all day. After golf and a little liquid refreshment we headed back to KK and our regular hotel (the Kosa), taking advantage of the special rate that the hotel offers to members of IGA. The evening was spent mainly in “Rocky’s Bar, a friendly hostelry within a stones throw of the hotel, and I made my excuses and left before midnight, as I needed some sleep !!
The following day, after a hearty breakfast at the Kosa, we set of for Roi-et, the main reason for our little trip. We had been told that the small Army course at Roi-et was worth playing, and as none of us had even been there on our travels, let alone played golf there, we were using this trip as a factfinder. There are actually at least three courses in Roi-et, the two army courses, and a fairly new resort course.
The course that we played was the Royal Thai Army Soonpatanagila 6 course, which you pass on your right hand side about 20km before entering Roi-et town.
It is a 10 hole course !! (holes 2 – 9 being repeated). When you look at the card there appears to be very little water on the course, and I can only assume that the current commander of the base has added a lot more in recent times, as there are now several holes that require a 185+ tee shot or a 150+ second shot to clear the water.
It is, in my opinion, a very difficult course, but entertaining to play. High handicappers like myself will always struggle there (and lose quite a few balls), but it was interesting to see the low handicappers also having a few problems. It is a course that I, and everyone else, will want to play again on our next sortee to that area.
We stayed at the Petcharat Garden Hotel, a fairly new hotel, just beyond the moat to the North of the city. Rooms were B620 including breakfast and were very clean and comfortable. The breakfast choice could have been better, but there were plenty of Thai dishes to supplement the chipolata sausages/eggs/toast/pork rolls/fruit.
The hotel has a descent sized outdoor pool which appeared to be kept in good condition (I didn’t get time to try it ).
There is plenty to do in Roi-et during the evening (dozens of very large Thai restaurants and a couple of farang restaurants as well. There are bars, and a very modern looking Thai live music venue (which looked as if it seated about 500+).
The Mai Thai hotel has two separate Karaoke, and a “fish bowl” available for those wishing to take advantage of this type of entertainment.
Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to fully explore Roi-et on this trip, but from the “feedback” I got, there will be another trip in the very near future, which should enable us to “do” a bit more of the town.