A round at the home of golf, the famous St Andrews course in Scotland but with "none of that chilly wind the area is famous for, no waiting for another group to hit off, and most importantly no spectators to giggle when the shots were fluffed."

Looking down the intimidating fairway to see which part of the rough or the water the ball would probably land in, the only sound was the gentle purr of the air-conditioning. Players may have been hitting off on the iconic old course at St Andrews, but were actually in the basement of a new office tower in the heart of Bangkok.

The Wilding Golf Performance Center, which opened in August at the Interchange Building on the corner of Asoke and Sukhumvit roads is Asia's first 3D SimSurround Simulator, which  set up in a mini amphitheatre, with three huge screens - one directly in front and one on both sides. Experienced Australian professional coach Koray Safak gave some tips on how to improve the games, on a choice to play the old course at St Andrews.


(A putting instructor with student.)
Thanks to the many cameras set up in the amphitheatre connected to the main computer and which record every stroke,  shots can be replayed in slow motion (even comparing them side by side with a video of PGA pro Stuart Appleby), pointing out when arms should have been straight or bent, and see just what is being done that is right or wrong.

The beauty of playing a realistic round of golf controlled by a computer is that not only can you play some of the best courses in the world, you can also replay each shot to see why the ball ends up buried in one of those diabolical Scottish bunkers or plunged into the water faster than a bird of prey after a fish.

And with the click of a mouse you can delete that wayward tee shot that bounced off the Rolls Royce in the car park or the one which went through the window of the clubhouse and emptied the 19th hole bar in record time.

A round really goes quickly as there is no walking involved, the computer takes golfers there automatically, and allows sipping cool drinks in perfect  the air-conditioning as the old course at St Andrews stretches into the distance.

The most challenging hole was the notorious "Road Hole" at St Andrews made famous by Japanese golfer Tommy Nakajima in 1978, who took four shots to get out of the deep pot bunker next to the green when in contention for the British Open. Since then the bunker's been dubbed the "Sands of Nakajima" and St Andrews' 17th - a dog-leg to the right, very close to the beautiful stone building on the course which houses a hotel - is considered the hardest par-4 in the world.

Customised clubs are made to fit (right)
The centre is the brainchild of Shane Wilding, who has more than 15 years of top level teaching and coaching experience in the US, Australia and Asia.

Wilding, who coached on the PGA seniors tour from 2003-2006 with renowned players such as Curtis Strange, Ben Crenshaw, David Eger and Graham Marsh, as well as Australian PGA players including Peter Lonard, Rod Pampling and Paul Gow, now puts his efforts into lifting the standards of young Thai golfers.

One of Wilding's success stories is Suchaya Tangkamolprasert, recently crowned the world's top junior for girls aged 13-14 at the World Junior Championship in San Diego.

"Thai juniors we train are a very talented group," says Wilding. "It's important to train them young and here we have the equipment and technology that's not available anywhere else in this part of the world."

The Wilding Golf Performance Center uses an impressive array of equipment and technology which includes 12 swing bays using the high-tech AboutGolf Simulators, two putting studios and a VIP Corporate Suite complete with Asia's first 3D SimSurround Simulator, all set up in a mini amphitheatre.

The Performance Center is staffed by a team of professional, multi-lingual instructors and utilises an exclusive array of multiple-angle video cameras, swing and putting-analysis software, motion sensors and launch monitors.

Also available are custom club-fitting facilities in the Equipment Performance Lab that uses the world's top radar tracking system to match a golfer's particular swing and body type to the equipment best suited to his or her game.