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EXTREME GOLF For geometrically inspired adventures of a different hue, trek to the latest area to capture the imagination of Thailand's tourism wizards: not the Golden but the freshly hatched Emerald Triangle. A quick flight to Ubon Ratchathani province in the country's far east will bring you within a few hours' drive of the hills where Laos and Cambodia abut the Land of Smiles. At the moment there isn't much to see except trees. But the Tourism Authority of Thailand envisions a 600-hectare-plus zone spanning the three countries, featuring resort towns, handicrafts, botanical gardens, a war museum, a Khmer cultural center and the piece de résistance—a golf course where playing 18 holes would add up to a stroll across three frontiers.

But tread carefully: military experts say the proposed golf course site at the center of the triangle is saturated with land mines. According to Thailand's Deputy Defense Minister, Yuthasak Sasiprapa, explosive antipersonnel devices are strewn along the Thai border as well as liberally sprinkled throughout the Laotian and Cambodian sectors. De-mining the area will cost upwards of $11.5 million, he says, adding to the more than $46 million the Tourism Authority believes it will take to get the project off the ground.

The other hitch is that none of the three countries agree on where the borders actually are. Thailand and Laos are still in dispute over a kilometer stretch at Chong-Bok, right in the heart of the Emerald Triangle, and Thailand and Cambodia have been feuding for years about where one country starts and the other ends.

Still, if the project ever materializes, the lure for adventure sports junkies should be near irresistible. Imagine it: Extreme Golf, a surefire X-Games hit, where players are advised to carry a minesweeper along with their three wood, and a round really might cost an arm and a leg.