Samui Profile
Samui Explorer: Where do you come from and what brought you to Koh Samui?
Tom: I am originally from Liverpool in the UK. Just over four years ago some friends and I decided to go and watch the world cup in Japan. We are all huge fans of Dennis Bergkamp, who is afraid to fly. We decided that we would make our way to Japan without going on a plane and document our travels on a website that was highly published in the UK and because of this we ended up with free FIFA tickets! During our trip we came to Thailand and I instantly fell in love with it. I had planned to go to Australia after the world cup but I was so taken with Thailand that I decided to come back here instead.
Samui Explorer: What did you do in Thailand when you first got back here?
Tom: I initially started life here teaching English in Phuket, but then the Tsunami hit the Andaman coast and from then on business dropped dramatically. After a few weeks sitting in the classroom reading the newspapers I decided it was time to move on and headed over to Koh Samui.
Samui Explorer: So why football golf and how did you get started?
Tom: I used to play football as a kid on the beach back in the UK and to make it more interesting my mates and I used to dig holes on the beach and test our skills by trying to get a hole in one. It was quite hard work, not only because of the required digging but because as most of you will know running on the beach is seriously hard work. We then decided to take the game into my garden and the holes were replaced the holes with a chair. This was far more fun because you can move the chair and put obstacles in the way of it making it more and more challenging. I had such fond memories of his childhood game that I decided there was no reason I could not take it into adulthood and decided to rent some land in Choeng Mon in Samui and make an 18 hole football golf course, which is exactly what I have done.
Samui Explorer: Did the game take off here right away?
Tom: Well unbeknown to me at that time the game was already being played in Sweden, I only discovered this surfing the net after my course was completed. Within weeks of opening I had Swedish players enjoying the paradise version of the game and football golf officially took of in Koh Samui. Word of the course got out and now we have quite a few regular players and of course we get lots of holiday makers. The course is quite shaded by trees and we get a good breeze up here so it's a great way to get a bit of exercise and not get too hot in the process.
Samui Explorer: So how do you actually play the game and do you have to be a bit of a Beckham to do the course?
Tom: Not at all! The beauty of this game is that you can take it as seriously or light-heartedly as you like. Of the 18 holes one is a par 2, seven are par 3, seven are par 4, and three are par 5. You will encounter bunkers, bamboo hedges, hills and piles of coconuts on your way round and all need to be negotiated! There are hardly any rules to learn, basically you just have to get the ball in the hole and to keep it fair the most you record that you went over par is 7. We give you score cards and pencils to take around the course to record you scores. To avoid congestion on the course its best to keep your team to a maximum of seven or less.
The course on average takes around and hour and ten minutes to get around, but you can take as long as you like. We have a well stocked bar of ice cold beers and soft drinks, so if you want to stop for a break half way through it's a great place to relax and talk tactics! You will be amazed how quickly you will improve if you practice, we have had a few teams come over that have never played football before and were amazed how much better they were doing by the last hole and certainly how well they were doing by the third time they played!
Samui Explorer: It sounds like great fun, is there anything else you would like to mention?
Tom: The course is open seven days a week from 9 am until 6.30 pm. I am always on hand to give you help and advice on how to improve your game. Football golf is a game for everybody, from couples, to families to groups of friends looking for a good time, and all I really want to say is come up and have a go! If you need directions give me a call on 08 9771 7498
Samui Explorer: Thank you Tom, it's been great to meet you, I am now off out to buy a pair of football shoes!
Tom: You're welcome, but really, any old pair of sneakers will do!!
|
