Phuket, Thailand · 5 to 12 October 2026

Thailand
Benders
Tour 2026

Eight lads. Five rounds. Seven nights. One free day nobody will remember. Everything you need to know is on this page, so no excuses for missing the van.

Grand Mercure Phuket Patong
Red Mountain · Blue Canyon · Loch Palm
Cart and caddie on every round
--Days
--Hours
--Mins
--Secs
Day by day

The Itinerary

All pick-ups are from the Grand Mercure Patong lobby. Tee times are confirmed, so the van leaves on time whether you're in it or not.

Mon
5
Oct
Day 1 · Arrival

Land, check in, first drink

Airport transfer to the Grand Mercure Phuket Patong is included.

Check in, dump the clubs, find the pool bar. Early night recommended. Early night not expected.

Tue
6
Oct
Day 2 · Round 1

Red Mountain Golf Club

Pick-up 09:30Tee times 10:30 and 10:40Cart and caddie included

Opening round on the hardest track of the week. Nothing like a gentle start.

Wed
7
Oct
Day 3 · Round 2

Blue Canyon, Lake Course

Pick-up 09:00Tee times 10:30 and 10:40Cart and caddie included

Earlier pick-up as it's the far end of the island. Bring plenty of balls, there's water everywhere.

Thu
8
Oct
Day 4 · Round 3

Loch Palm Golf Club

Pick-up 09:00Tee times 10:10 and 10:20Cart and caddie included

Three rounds in three days. Free day tomorrow, so tonight is fair game.

Fri
9
Oct
Day 5 · Free day

No golf. Recover. Or don't.

Nothing booked. Boat trip, beach, massage, or a sensible day by the pool.

Ideas welcome. Whoever suggests a 7am hike is buying the first round. Foot massage, facial and the best flat white in town are all listed under Highlights.

Sat
10
Oct
Day 6 · Round 4

Red Mountain Golf Club

Pick-up 09:30Tee times 10:30 and 10:40Cart and caddie included

Second crack at Red Mountain. You know where the trouble is now. Doesn't mean you'll avoid it.

Sun
11
Oct
Day 7 · Round 5 · Final

Loch Palm Golf Club

Pick-up 11:30Tee times 12:30 and 12:40Cart and caddie included

Late tee time for the final round, so a lie-in is built in. Last night in Patong follows.

Mon
12
Oct
Day 8 · Departure

Transfer out

Hotel to airport transfer is included. Check-out and go home broken.
Where we're playing

The Courses

Three of Phuket's best. Two of them twice. Every round comes with a cart and your own caddie.

Red Mountain

Rounds 1 and 4 · Tue 6 and Sat 10 Oct

Carved out of an old tin mine in Kathu, with huge elevation changes, red rock walls and views across the island. Regularly rated the best course in Phuket and it plays like it. Take the cart path seriously.

  • Designer: Jon Morrow
  • Par: 72
  • Location: Kathu, about 20 minutes from Patong

Blue Canyon
Lake Course

Round 2 · Wed 7 Oct

The sister course to the famous Canyon Course, which hosted the Johnnie Walker Classic. The Lake Course is a bit more forgiving off the tee but lives up to its name, with water in play on most holes.

  • Designer: Yoshikazu Kato
  • Par: 72
  • Location: North Phuket, near the airport. Longest transfer of the week.

Loch Palm

Rounds 3 and 5 · Thu 8 and Sun 11 Oct

Red Mountain's next-door neighbour, built around the huge Crystal Lake. Wider fairways and a friendlier layout, so this is where the scores should come. The final round is here, so the tour will be decided on it.

  • Designer: Sukitti Klangvisai
  • Par: 72
  • Location: Kathu, about 20 minutes from Patong
Who's going

The Squad

Eight golfers, two fourballs, one van.

Off the course

Patong Highlights

The best of everything within a short walk of the hotel, researched and rated. Walk times are from the Grand Mercure lobby. Prices are a guide, in Thai Baht, and the bars will change them whenever they feel like it.

🍳 Best Pad Kra Pao

Kaab Gluay

Phrabaramee Rd, north Patong · 8 to 10 min by Grab

The one place in Patong where Thais actually eat. Southern heat, proper holy basil, fried egg on top. Michelin-listed and open until 2am, so it works after the bars too. Say "mai phet" if you don't want it hot, or don't say it and find out.

Dish 100 to 120Open 11am to 2amGoogle 4.5 from ~2,000 reviews
Also good, walkable No.6 Restaurant · 186 Rat-U-Thit Rd, Bangla end · 10 min walk · Patong's busiest Thai canteen, pork kra pao is the order. Queues 6 to 9pm. Dang Restaurant · next door at 188 · same food, no queue.
Best flat white

Campus Coffee Roasters

Patongo, 186 Rat-U-Thit Rd, beside Jungceylon · 8 to 10 min walk

Phuket's best-known specialty roaster, now with a Patong branch. Own-roasted Thai beans, proper espresso, milk done right. The morning-after fix before the van leaves.

Flat white 100Open 9:30am to 7:30pm
Also good Hern Coffee & Bistro · 66 Thawewong (Beach) Rd · 10 to 12 min walk · highest-rated cafe in Patong, 4.9 on TripAdvisor, and the best brunch spot. The Coffee Club · inside Jungceylon · Aussie chain fallback if all else fails.
🦶 Best foot massage

5 Star Massage

225 Rat-U-Thit Rd, opposite the Holiday Inn · 3 to 5 min walk

Closest properly-run shop to the hotel. French-managed since 2006, ten reflexology chairs, spotless, air-con, and zero seediness. Ask for "strong" if you want it to actually do something after 18 holes.

60 min foot 400Open 10am to 11pmFacial ~700 if you want the combo
Also good Golden Touch Massage · Prachanukhro Rd · 8 to 10 min walk · 300 for the hour, 4.8 from 559 reviews. Confirm the price before you sit down. Let's Relax Spa · 209 Rat-U-Thit Rd · 2 min walk · the nicer option, 800 for the hour, book ahead.
🧖 Best facial

Pimnara Spa

Jungceylon, 2nd floor, Bay Zone · 10 min walk

The place blokes on TripAdvisor keep naming for a men's facial. Cleanse, scrub, steam, extraction, mask, plus a head and shoulder rub. Rated 4.7 from nearly 1,000 reviews and walk-ins are fine. It's a shared room of about 20 beds, so no hiding.

Basic facial 500 to 1,200Open 10am to 10:30pm
Also good Let's Relax Spa · 2 min walk · dedicated men's facial on the menu, 60 min, 1,600, private rooms. Spa Burasari · Ruamjai Rd, 5 min walk · number one spa in Patong, steam room and all. Budget 1,500 to 2,500.
🍺 Best Guinness

Irish Times Pub

Ground floor, Jungceylon, Rat-U-Thit Rd · 5 to 10 min walk

The only Irish-owned pub in Phuket and the expat default for a big match. Proper draught Guinness, published prices, screens everywhere for Premier League, Champions League, F1 and golf. Quiz on Wednesdays. Closes at 11:30pm, so it's the warm-up, not the finish.

Pint 360 plus 7% taxChang pint 140Sunday carvery 525
Also good Molly's Tavern · Thawewong Rd, south of Bangla · 12 to 15 min walk · oldest Irish pub in Patong, Guinness, Kilkenny and Magners on tap, live band from 8:30pm, open to 2am. Horn Pub Sports Bar · OTOP Market, 3 to 5 min walk · pure sports bar, cheapest Guinness in Patong by reputation, open to 3am. Avoid Dublin Irish Pub on Bangla. Rated 1.7, repeated 2026 reports of padded bills.
The main event

Bangla Road Breakdown

400 metres of noise, neon and bad decisions, a 10 to 12 minute walk down Rat-U-Thit Rd from the hotel. Closed to traffic from 6pm, quiet until 9pm, peaking 10pm to 2am, clubs to 4am.

10 min walk Beer 100 to 180 THB Happy hour to 9pm Min age 20, bring ID Cash for beer bars

Top spots

Work the strip top to bottom

  • Red Hot · corner of Bangla and Rat-U-Thit, opposite Jungceylon. First bar you hit, open-air, Filipino cover band, no cover. The meet point.11:30am to 3am · beer ~150
  • Soi Sea Dragon · the covered side-soi mid-strip. The go-go soi, plus beer bars with Connect Four and hammer-the-nail. Everyone ends up here.Beer 99 to 190
  • Soi Freedom · opposite side, a dozen cheap open-air beer bars and a live band at the end. Best value round for eight.Beer 80 to 120
  • Illuzion · 31 Bangla Rd. Phuket's superclub, three rooms, DJ Mag Top 100. Book at the door, not online.9pm to 4am · entry free to 700, big names more · beer 200
  • Beach end · Kangaroo, U2, Sunset and Shipwreck bars at the Thaweewong Rd end. Best people-watching seats, Shipwreck has screens and snooker.Beer 100 to 150
  • Bangla Street Food · night bazaar where the old Tiger complex stood. Skewers and pad thai until 2am for lining the stomach mid-session.

Go Go

All on or just off Soi Sea Dragon, no entry fees, menus posted outside

  • Suzy Wong's A Go-Go · far end of Soi Sea Dragon. The original, 30 years old, opium-den look, the famous paddle party. Group-friendly, start here.7:30pm to 3am · beer 99 promo to 190 · lady drink ~290
  • Harem by Suzy Wong's · entrance of Soi Sea Dragon. Biggest go-go in Phuket, red velvet, two stages, room for eight. Phones banned inside.8pm to 4am · beer 99 promo · lady drink ~250
  • Devil's Playground · Soi Sea Dragon entrance. Suzy Wong's 2, hell-cave theme and a choreographed "Devil's Hour".Beer 99 to 190
  • Suzy Wong's 3 · start of Soi Sea Dragon. Newest and best-looking of the lot, terracotta warriors, LED stages, live DJs.Beer from 90
  • Rock Hard A Go-Go · 53 Bangla Rd, upstairs from Oscar's at the top of the strip. One of the first in Phuket, rock music, recently done up. Closest to the hotel.Beer 150 to 200

Regular bars

Sport, bands and somewhere to sit

  • Aussie Bar · 9/1 Bangla Rd, mid-strip. Two floors, 60-plus screens, pool table, pies. The football bar on Bangla. 10% service charge on tabs.9am to late · beer 80 to 100
  • New York Live Music Bar · 68 Bangla Rd. Best bands on the strip, air-con, takes requests, always rammed.6:30pm to 1am · beer from 150
  • Heroes Bar · mid-strip. Small, live band, seats facing the crowd. Easy sit-down between sois.Beer 100 to 150
  • Irish Bar Patong · Sainamyen Rd, 5 min south of Bangla. Celtic and Liverpool pub that opens for any kick-off time, late licence.2pm to 4am · beer 90 to 150
  • Irish Times Pub · Jungceylon, on the way down. The Guinness pick above, for an early-evening match before the strip.To 11:30pm
  • Shipwreck Bar · beach end. Open-air, big screens, snooker, the strip walking past you.To 2am · beer 100 to 150
Meet point: Red Hot, top of Bangla. If anyone gets lost, it's Red Hot at 1am.
Ping pong touts: never follow the laminated card, never go upstairs. Drinks inside are 1,000 a go and the door gets blocked until you pay.
Bills: pay per round in beer bars, read every tab line by line, never leave a drink unattended.
Photos: none inside the go-gos, it's enforced. Ladyboys posing at the top of the road charge 100 to 300 a photo, agree first or walk on.
Getting back: 10 minute walk up Rat-U-Thit. Otherwise Grab or Bolt, fixed price. Tuk-tuks at the Bangla end ask 300 to 600 for the hop.
Other nights: Simon Cabaret ladyboy show, 800 THB, shows 6, 7:30 and 9pm. Bangla Boxing Stadium behind Jungceylon, Muay Thai from 9pm, 1,500 to 1,900.
What you've paid for

The Package

Included

  • 7 nights at the 4-star Grand Mercure Phuket Patong, single Superior Room each
  • Daily breakfast
  • 5 rounds of golf
  • One caddie per golfer at every course
  • One golf cart per golfer at every course
  • All airport and golf course transfers
  • Private VIP high-top touring van for every transfer
  • Daily drinking water
  • 24/7 golf hotline with local support throughout the trip
  • All taxes and compulsory service charges

Not included

  • Flights, airport taxes and visa fees
  • Meals other than breakfast
  • Drinks. All of them.
  • Personal items and gratuities
  • Caddie tips, recommended at THB 500 per caddie per 18 holes
  • Anything you lose, break or regret
Good to know

Essentials

Base camp
Grand Mercure Phuket Patong

All golf pick-ups leave from the hotel lobby. Superior Rooms, one each, breakfast included.

Caddie tips
THB 500 per round

Per caddie, per 18 holes, in cash. Five rounds, so budget around THB 2,500 and bring small notes.

Time zone
GMT +7

Three hours ahead of Dubai, six ahead of the UK. All times on this page are Phuket local time.

Weather
Hot, humid, showers likely

October is the tail end of the wet season. Expect low 30s and a chance of an afternoon downpour. Pack a waterproof and a spare glove.

Money
Thai Baht (THB)

Cards work at the hotel and clubhouses. Cash for caddie tips, taxis and the bars.

Support
24/7 golf hotline

The tour operator runs a round-the-clock hotline for the trip. Number to be shared on the group chat before we fly.

Package cost

Per golfer, based on 8 golfers travelling together, single Superior Room at the Grand Mercure. Flights, food and drinks are on top.

THB 51,500per golfer · group total THB 412,000