The site of Ayodhya Links didn't look promising to Australia architects Ross Perrett and Tim Lobb at first. lt was a flat, treeless marsh near Bangkok. To build a championship-caliber golf course on such property, the archiects had to drain the swamp. They did so by excavating canals and ponds. This generated fill for trees, fairways and greens, whch they shaped into endless humps and rolls. So, arguably, it's links-like, although manmade and far from an ocean.

Today, Ayodhya Links has water in play on every hole lagoons throughout the front and back nines, with the ninth and l8th along the shoreline of a large lake. An estimated 10,000 trees were planted to add beauty and while the turf conditions at this exclusive private club are considered opulent, the course boasts membership in the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program, So it must be growing  turf with sustainable methods and fewer chemicals.

Ron Whitten
GolfDigest
January14,2020