Summit Green Valley Chiangmai Country Club

Water, palms and golf under the floodlights.

Summit Green Valley is the course most visitors to Chiang Mai play first. It sits in the Mae Rim valley about 20 minutes north of the old city, with palms along the fairways, a lake or pond on nearly every hole and the northern hills behind. Two things set it apart from its neighbours. Every hole is floodlit, so you can tee off after dark when the air has cooled. And it was the first course in Thailand certified as a Dark Sky site, so after a night round you can see the stars clearly. Rates are modest by Thai resort standards, with cart and caddie included.

Summit Green Valley Chiangmai Country Club green fees and tee times.

Visitors are welcome every day, but the club asks you to book in advance. Book through the club by phone on +66 (0)53 298 222, by email to booking@summitgreenvalley.com or via LINE at @summitgreenvalley. Golfscape sells live tee times with instant confirmation, and the same times appear in Google’s tee-time listings. Day, twilight and night rounds run every day. The club usually quotes all-in prices covering green fee, cart and caddie, so there are few surprises at check-in. Booking platforms list carts as required, one golfer per cart, and groups of up to five in the morning and six in the afternoon.

The round, in perspective.

Denis Griffiths, who also designed Thai Country Club in Bangkok, laid out the course, which was established in 1990. It plays to par 72 over 7,202 yards from the blue tees, 6,490 from the whites and 5,509 from the reds. The fairways are generous and mostly level, the greens large and receptive at moderate to quick speeds, and water can come into play on nearly every hole. The 1st is a 610-yard par five with a split-level fairway and a lake down the left. The 9th, a 416-yard par four, has an island fairway ringed by water, then an approach to an elevated, steeply sloped green. The 15th asks for a long approach over water to a raised peninsula green. The 18th, a 536-yard par five, curls around the left side of a lake towards the clubhouse.

Know before you go.

Carts

Required, one golfer per cart; fairway access when dry

Group size

Up to 5 in the morning, 6 in the afternoon

Tee-time windows

Morning 06:00–12:00, afternoon 12:08–14:59, night 15:07–17:55

Non-playing companions

฿800 to ride along (off-season); peak-season gallery rate equals the golfer rate

Rentals

Clubs ฿1,200–1,400, shoes ฿200, umbrella ฿100

Caddie tip

About ฿400 for 18 holes, paid in cash

Dress code

Collared polo; no T-shirts, football shirts, jeans or short shorts; knee-length shorts allowed

Singles and pairs

May be paired with another group at the starter’s discretion

Make the trip work.

Decide whether you want a day or a night round. Morning tee times start from 5am, which suits the cooler months and leaves the afternoon free for the city. Night golf runs on all 18 holes, which is useful in March and April when daytime heat is fierce, and Mae Rim’s clear evenings are the reason for the Dark Sky certification. Rental sets cost ฿1,200–1,400, shoes ฿200 and umbrellas ฿100, and bags can be stored at the clubhouse for ฿200 a day. The clubhouse has a Thai Lanna restaurant, a pro shop and locker rooms, and the club says the course drains well in the wet season.

Chiang Mai International Airport (CNX) is on the south-west edge of the city, roughly 30 minutes from the club depending on traffic. From the old city, take Route 107 north towards Mae Rim. The club is on the right just before Mae Rim town, at 186 Moo 1, Chotana Road, about 14 km and 20 minutes from the centre. Grab cars and hotel drivers make the run routinely.

Where it is.

Somewhere to settle in.

Most golfers stay in Chiang Mai itself: inside or near the old city walls for temples and night markets, or around Nimmanhaemin Road for cafés and newer hotels. Both are about 20 to 30 minutes from the first tee. For something quieter, the Mae Rim valley around the club has resorts set among rice fields and hills, close to the Mae Sa waterfalls and the road to the Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden.

Make a trip of it.

Chiang Mai has a cluster of courses within 40 minutes: Chiangmai Highlands, a Schmidt-Curley design in the hills to the east; the Gassan courses to the south; and The Royal Chiangmai Golf Resort, a Peter Thomson design north of the city. Off the course, Doi Suthep temple looks over the city from its mountain, and the Mae Sa valley has waterfalls, elephant sanctuaries and the botanic garden within 30 minutes.

Find your season.

November to February is the best time: dry, clear and cool in the mornings, sometimes cool enough for a jumper on the first tee. March and April are hot and hazy, often with smoke from seasonal burning, when night golf comes into its own. The rainy season runs from about June to October, and the club notes that the course drains well even then.