Hua Hin has once again shown the quality of regional golf courses and golf course management with Black Mountain and Banyan being awarded top honours at the 2014 Asia Pacific Golf Summit. This comes on the back of Hua Hin being named by the International Association of Golf Tourism Operators as 2014 Golf Destination of the Year in Asia/Australasia. The 2014 Asia Pacific Golf Summit set out to recognise the best in the Asian golf industry, showcasing some of the most exemplary people engaged in the business of golf Asia.
The awards were made at the recently concluded Gala Awards Banquet of the 2014 Asia Pacific Golf Summit held in Singapore on November 14-15. “We believe that our industry is all about people and the quality of service they offer to golfers and we feel that the time has come for us to recognize the people behind the wonderful golf experiences that we get to enjoy in Asia,” said Mike Sebastian, chief executive officer of the Asia Pacific Golf Group, the owner of the Asian Golf Awards program. Black Mountain Golf Club was named best course in Asia, best championship course in Asia and best course in Thailand.
It is the fourth year in a row Black Mountain has collected the top award for Thailand, reflecting the quality and attention to detail at the course, which opened in 2007. Harald Elisson was also named as the Best Club General Manager of the Year. Thai Country Club in Bangkok was named first runner up behind Black Mountain in the Thailand awards category, with Banyan Golf Club third. Banyan’s Stacey Walton was named among the top three general managers of the year in Asia, while other Banyan employees were also recognised; Stuart Daley was named Asia’s golf operations manager of the year, Khun Minachai Srichanya received the course superintendent of the year award and Khun Kannika Namthong was awarded caddie of the year.
“This is a very special new category and the Best Caddie of the Year Award which went to our girl Kannika Namthong was a totally overwhelming experience for her. To get on an airplane for the first time in her life and fly to a venue like Marina Bay Sands Resort in Singapore blew her away – a life-time experience for her,” said Stuart Daly, director of golf operations at Banyan. Our congratulations to the management of these two fantastic golf courses; here’s a summary of The Awards they received…..
