Golf Tips, Editorials & Course Reviews
The full archive
Brett's column runs in the Bangkok Post, where his byline carries several hundred published pieces going back over two decades. This page is a growing, hand-verified index — not a copy — with every entry linked straight to the original on bangkokpost.com.
Brett also appears in a 22-video golf tuition series on YouTube, compiled by another user (channel "shipper89") rather than by Brasier Golf itself. Watch the playlist on YouTube ↗
Paths crossed — golfers Brett has met
A running thread in the column: firsthand encounters with the players who shaped the modern game, from a British Open caddie yard in 1971 to a Seniors Tour bag decades later.
Paths CrossedWatching Gary Player dominate the Piccadilly World Matchplay at Wentworth — and what his relentless practice habit taught a teenager skipping school to see it.
Paths CrossedOn Graham Marsh — a maths teacher turned five-continent tour winner — and crossing paths with him on a course development in Australia.
Paths CrossedTalking swings-in-older-age with Ian Woosnam on a Polish driving range — shortly before Woosnam went out and shot a 62 to win the tournament.
Paths CrossedAccidentally waking a napping Peter Thomson in a PGA reception room — and being left momentarily speechless once he realised who he'd disturbed.
Paths CrossedMeeting a humble, high-flying Ian Baker-Finch just after his 1991 Open win, then again years later as his form quietly unravelled.
Paths CrossedMeeting a newly married Colin Montgomerie in Singapore, well before the difficulties that would later become public.
Paths CrossedWatching a teenage Seve Ballesteros lose a match to Lee Trevino at the Venice Lido — and coming away in awe of a natural talent already fully formed.
Paths CrossedA hole-in-one prize in 1998 led to a courtside week with a young Tiger Woods at the Johnnie Walker Classic — and a kindness from Earl Woods that stuck.
Paths CrossedAbandoning a round at Lost Tree Club to walk behind Jack Nicklaus instead — then studying his transition move up close at a clinic days later.
Paths CrossedOffering to caddie for an elderly Seniors Tour player in Florida, with no idea he'd just approached a 72-time worldwide tournament winner.
Paths CrossedCaddying at Royal Birkdale in 1971 alongside Bob Charles without realising, at the time, he was walking next to a British Open champion.
Paths CrossedAn LPGA caddying job, some forged paperwork, and a scuffed green in front of JoAnne "Big Mama" Carner that nearly ended the week early.
Paths Crossed£20 for the week, a bed and breakfast, and an initiation on the range as a teenage caddie at the 1971 British Open.
Paths CrossedMeeting Ernie Els in a private room at Wentworth's clubhouse, as part of an entourage accompanying the club's new owner.
Paths CrossedTagging along on a practice session with Nick Faldo at Phuket's Blue Canyon — and finding a far friendlier man than his reputation suggested.
Paths CrossedOn Phil Mickelson's history-making 2021 PGA Championship win at 50 — the oldest major champion ever, and a sixth major to his name.
Paths CrossedA trip to Florida to understand how David Leadbetter turned coaching celebrity into a business empire — and what that means for marketing a golf-teaching career today.
Golf Tips
Swing mechanics, setup and short-game technique — the instructional backbone of the column.
Golf TipSmall setup adjustments for golfers who've lost flexibility and swing speed over the years, but whose muscle memory still expects the old swing.
Golf TipA single, simplified technique for pitch shots around the green, aimed at golfers who overthink whether to hit it high, low, or spinny.
Golf TipWhy teeing the ball lower — against the usual "tee it high" advice — can find more fairways without sacrificing total distance.
Golf TipWhy every golfer needs a small pre-swing trigger movement, to avoid tensing up and freezing over the ball after a good practice swing.
Golf TipSmall full-body posture corrections that separate a beginner's swing from an experienced player's efficient transfer of energy.
Golf TipCorrect foot angle and weight distribution at address, and why standing off-centre quietly undermines everything that follows.
Golf TipThe ideal top-of-backswing position, and the correct sequence — hips, then torso, then arms — for a well-ordered downswing.
Golf TipA downswing feel — imagining the club as heavy in the hands — for generating more clubhead speed regardless of which clubs are in play.
Golf TipSpine angle and core stability at address, and why a slouched or over-arched back quietly derails the swing before it starts.
Golf TipWhy "keep your head down" is bad advice, and why keeping the head still — chin up — is what actually keeps a swing on track.
Golf TipThe four basics of putting — reading, aim, stroke mechanics and distance control — and why getting all four working together at once is deceptively hard.
Golf TipBlade versus mallet, and why length, weight, balance point and loft all matter more than most golfers realise when picking a putter.
Golf TipA shaft-plumbing trick for spotting slope, and how it holds up against newer, more technical approaches to reading a green.
Golf TipWhat actually counts as repairable damage on a putting green — ball marks, spike marks, old plugs — and the etiquette of fixing it.
Golf TipDivots, bunker rakes and pitch marks — the small habits that keep a course in good shape for the group behind you.
Golf TipWhy reading a putt from behind the hole versus behind the ball changes what you see — and how to practise both.
Golf TipWhy the transition from backswing to downswing is where most swings quietly fall apart — and how to slow it back down.
Golf TipWhy lessons and short-game practice beat range time alone for anyone taking up golf for the first time.
Golf TipAfter 28 years of tips, the one on the ankles — what force plates confirm about the Nicklaus ankle-roll and clubhead speed.
Golf TipWhy chasing clubhead speed has become non-negotiable in modern golf, and what amateurs can actually learn from tour-level numbers.
Golf TipThe lie-based rules for choosing between a chip, a pitch and a putt from around the green — and why three shots from 150 yards should be the ceiling.
Golf TipWhy putting is a matter of technique rather than nerve, whatever the popular wisdom says.
Golf TipOn being recognised in Thailand as Douglas Brasier's nephew, and why there's no single "correct" top-of-swing position — some things a golfer should leave to instinct.
Golf TipWhy a stumble after a good shot on the course is no cause for concern — a well-balanced follow-through is something to build on the range, not chase mid-round.
Golf TipA couple of degrees of clubface error at impact becomes tens of yards of miss by the time the ball lands — and it's easy to blame the wrong culprit.
Golf TipWhy good players so rarely have a bad setup — and why grip, stance, posture and alignment deserve daily practice of their own, mirror included.
Golf TipLosing flexibility doesn't have to mean losing the game — the equipment choices, particularly head design and shaft stiffness, that keep golf enjoyable well into later decades.
Golf TipA New Year's putting challenge: Tour pros need barely 26-28 putts a round, and most club golfers use ten more than that — a gap worth closing.
Golf TipThe golf swing happens too fast to think through in real time — why repetition on the range is what turns a sequence of separate movements into one fluid motion.
Golf TipThe tilt formed at the hips, not the waist, that sets the axis the whole swing rotates around — and why getting it wrong overloads the arms and hands.
Golf TipWhere clubhead speed really comes from in the downswing, and the role of rotation in generating it.
Golf TipPractising a swing change in Thailand's heat calls for patience — fewer balls hit per session, more practice swings, and a real pre-shot routine.
Golf TipA simple rocking test at address to check your weight is correctly distributed, and the balance line the whole swing should rotate around.
Golf TipA four-step exercise for standing correctly to the ball — from holding the club straight out in front to settling into position as it reaches the ground.
Mental Game
Psychology and course management: pressure, emotion, patience and decision-making, as distinct from the physical swing.
Mental GameWhy simulating on-course pressure at the range, rather than just hitting balls, is what actually transfers to better play in competition.
Mental GameOn staying self-aware through all 18 holes, so a bad shot doesn't spiral into the kind of frustration that costs several more.
Mental GameWhy good course-management decisions, not just good swings, are what a low score is actually built from.
Mental GameWhy golf is more psychological than physical, and how indecision over the ball separates a good player from a very good one.
Mental GameFear, habit and doubt on the course are just thoughts passing through — not facts. On why repetition in practice is what keeps them from taking over.
Mental GameWhy confidence can evaporate in a ten-minute stretch of a round, and what a repeating swing has to do with getting it back.
Rules
Official Rules of Golf explainers — relief options, penalties, scorecard procedure, and the odd rule most golfers only half-know.
RulesReader questions on embedded balls and ball-on-ball contact, answered against the actual Rules of Golf rather than clubhouse folklore.
RulesThe Thirteen Articles drafted in 1744 by the Gentlemen Golfers of Leith — golf's rulebook before it needed one.
RulesFlagstick etiquette and who has the right to tend the pin when there's no caddie on hand.
RulesThe penalty for playing a wrong ball, and why marking your own with a unique symbol is cheap insurance in the rough.
RulesThe story of Roberto de Vicenzo's incorrect 1968 Masters scorecard, and how a modern rule change would have spared him.
RulesA quiz-style column on wrong-ball mix-ups and temporary-water relief in penalty areas, testing how well readers actually know the rules.
RulesFree relief applies when a sprinkler head interferes with your stance, swing or lie — but not simply because it sits in your line of play.
RulesOnly the player can judge a lie unplayable — and once declared, there are three distinct one-stroke relief options to choose between.
RulesWhy moving an out-of-bounds stake to improve a lie draws a penalty, and how to take free relief correctly from the wrong green.
RulesAnswering reader questions on search time limits and the penalty for accidentally moving a ball on the green or in a bunker.
RulesThe proper procedure for dropping and replacing a ball — from marking it on the green to correctly taking relief in a defined area.
RulesFour ways to take relief from an unplayable lie in a bunker, from playing back to your previous spot to accepting a two-stroke escape.
RulesA refresher on when and how to play a provisional ball, sparing a long walk back to the tee if the original turns out to be lost.
RulesThe correct way to drop a golf ball under the modern rules — released from knee height, straight down, without touching player or equipment.
RulesWhat happens if a club breaks mid-round, and how a golfer who starts with fewer than fourteen clubs can add more without delaying play.
RulesWhy a scorecard error in your favour gets you disqualified, while one against you simply stands — a distinction worth knowing before signing.
RulesNo penalty applies when balls in play collide — but the correct next step depends on which ball was moving and which was at rest.
RulesThe rules on asking for advice mid-round and on playing a wrong ball — two easy, costly mistakes for an unwary player.
Out of Bounds — opinion & essays
When the column steps outside instruction — personal essays, family history, and a wider view of the professional game.
Out of BoundsAttempting to qualify for the US Open at Donald Ross's historic Aronimink Golf Club — and finding out firsthand how far the modern game has moved on.
Out of BoundsBrett marks his uncle's induction into Sweden's Golf Hall of Fame — and the six-decade career of course design and coaching behind it.
Out of BoundsA case for plainer speaking within the business of golf, after a tongue-in-cheek column struck an unexpected chord with readers.
Out of BoundsAn old-school PGA professional's tongue-in-cheek Christmas wish list for the professional game, hoodies and all.
Out of BoundsA school-days aside on being told he'd never amount to much, followed by the unexpected discovery that British Prime Minister Theresa May — born Theresa Brasier — is a distant cousin.
Course reviews
Course Review
Coore & Crenshaw's design on a tsunami-scoured stretch of Bo'ao, and why it announced a new seriousness in Chinese golf course architecture.
Read the dispatch →Course ReviewA return visit to one of Thailand's most durable golf business models, from arrival to the first tee.
Course Review
On why a golf course built hard against the sea is never played the same way twice.
Read the dispatch →