King's Island Golf Resort and Country Club
is the first golf course ever built in North
Vietnam. Located in Ha Tay province, in the
shadow of Ba Vi Mountain, 45 km outside of
Hanoi, it is an exclusive golf and recreational
resort. The property includes approximately 350
hectares of rolling landscape located along the
shores of Dong Mo Reservoir, incorporating two
18-hole golf courses consisting of Lake Side and
Mountain View, club house and all kind of golf
facilities. The two courses have been designed
by Robert McFarland around a golf school, the
luxury hotel (80 room) and corporate villas. The
Resort is also a sports center, horseback
riding, tennis, boating and hiking in nearby Ba
Vi National Park and Tan Vien (Gently King)
Mountain which overlooks the site and from which
King's Island gets its name. The majestic Ba Vi
Mountain range and over 1,100 hectares of water
surface ensures that the 350 hectare Kings
Island Golf Resort & Country Club is one of the
most scenic golf destinations in Southeast Asia.
If the lush beauty of the Island, or a beautiful
caddie saying "nice putt" doesn't get you to
smile, make a lesson appointment with the
resident PGA professional Robert Bricknel, an
American with a solid sense of humor: he is very
happy to live in very good relationship with
Vietnamese but reproaches to Alexandre de Rhodes
to have written the local language in Roman
printing with the French pronunciation !!! The
resort is open to non-members on weekdays,
except Saturdays and Sundays reserved for
members only.
A second golf resort,
Chi
Linh Star Golf & Country Club,
opens 27 holes near Sao Do Town at 48 kms from
Hanoi along the road going to Halong Bay.
The course at Chi Linh was designed and is also
being constructed by an Australian company,
I.G.C.S. (Independent Golf Course Services). The
"exceptional piece" of land of 160 hectares on
which the course is being constructed around a
natural lake of 40 hectares lies within a
beautiful valley. The place has already been
chosen in the 15th century by Le Dynasty for the
Royal Orchard : it is surrounded by rolling
forest hills, and nestles beside the large lake
complete with rolling creeks and natural water
flowing from the surrounding area. 11 holes over
27 have water risks (6 over water and 5 touching
water. The resort is supposed to respect the
original landscape and conserve for future
generations a piece of nature with exceptional
features and history.
Dalat has the chance to host a course which has
been ranked n°1 in Vietnam by Golf Digest in
2001. Nestled in the Central highlands, the
Dalat Palace
Golf Club gently slaloms onto the
rolling hills overlooking the Xuan Huong lake,
named after an eighteenth century woman poet,
and the fairways weave through the oversized
pine trees. Antoine Sirot, its manager says :
"It is a golf retreat that soothes the senses,
invigorates the body and calms the mind."
Since its opening in 1922 (originally a 9-hole
course created at the demand of Emperor Bao
Dai), the city has hosted golfers from around
the world, including American champion Billy
Casper. In early 1994, The Dalat Palace Golf
Club emerged once again as the ideal golf
retreat in Southeast Asia with the revival and
expansion.
The course features par 3's ranging in length
from 164 to 234 yards and par 5's up to 556
yards. These varied lengths with some water
hazards and sloping fairways going up and down
allow a true examination of one's golfing
skills. It requires that players use each club
in their bag which is the hallmark of a great
golf course. Therefore four different tee areas
adapted to each hole allow players to determine
their own degree of challenge on the course to
enjoy it at its best.
A new club-house is to be erected near the
practice range which, is located on a top hill
with an overview to the lake, the Dalat Palace
Hotel and the city of Dalat. Besides that the
first of the back nine holes are located on the
hill sloping down to the lake and the Flower
Garden.
The Dalat Palace Golf Club is also the only golf
course in South East Asia with bent grass tees,
fairways and greens - considered to be the
ultimate playing surface in golf. The large,
undulating bent grass greens are maintained to
impeccable standards among the finest greens in
Asia. So definitely, the Dalat Palace Golf
Course is one of the courses to be played in a
golfer's life.
The
Ocean Dunes
Golf Club in Phan Tiet has
been designed by the three times Masters
champion Nick Faldo in the years 1996/98. "Ocean
Dunes Golf Club is an outstanding natural site
with sand dunes, sea breezes, beach vegetation
and panoramic ocean vistas". said Faldo "We have
let the dunes determine the routing and the look
of the golf course. It should have the feel and
the playability of the early seaside courses,
but with a tropical climate."
Located on the seashore, in the northern
outskirt of the quiet fishers' city of Phan
Tiet, Ocean Dunes Golf course lies in front of
and around the Novotel Coralia Hotel which opens
its windows on the beach. It features a
6,746-yard, par 72, golf course which slaloms
through the seaside dunes and coastal breezes
shape the course's day-to-day characteristics.
Nick Faldo is coming every year for a follow up
and implementation of certain improvements on
the course. He designed Ocean Dunes golf in a
way that makes it a playable course for high
handicap players who will enjoy the openness of
its links-styling, but also with exciting
opportunities for more experienced players who
will appreciate the challenges posed by the
ever-present ocean breezes. In fact even if
there is only a part of the holes which are near
the beach, winds are blowing every and palm
trees indicate clearly the sense of the main
ocean wind.
Out of the winds, eight ponds offer water
hazards to 12 holes while greens of #9 and 12,
and tees of #13 have beautiful direct look to
the beaches and their permanent white toped
waves.
Ocean Dunes course was ranked the #1 course in
Vietnam in 1999 & 2000 by Golf Digest. The Asian
Golfer gave the course a "A+" rating, "one of
the finest golf clubs of the world. The hole-9,
par 3, is one of the Best 500 Holes in the World
(by Golf Magazine - December 1999).
Sculpted out of the coastal dunes, along the
Eastern Sea, the Ocean Dunes Golf Club is the
ideal respite from the demands of daily life.
Brilliant sun, windswept dunes and sea breezes
makes it one of the most exciting links style
courses in the region.
First of all,
Vietnam Golf & Country Club is located in Ho Chi
Minh City in Thu Duc District. The green clean
ridge where sits the luxury housing estate
surrounding the two 18 hole courses is such a
contrast with the traditional housing all around
that it can be seen from the planes landing at
Ho Chi Minh City airport.
The 7,106-yards West Course was designed by
Taiwanese Master Golf Course Architect Chen King
Shih. Since its opening in 1994, the West Course
has hosted the first Vietnam Amateur Open
Championship. The Course features narrow
tree-lined fairways and fast smooth greens.
The tranquil-looking West Course's teeth lie in
its championship length. Only single-digit
handicap players are permitted to play off the
Gold Tees. Even from the White Tees, this course
can provide a very long afternoon to a low
handicap player if his driving is not on target.
The West Course played host to the very first
PGA Championship when the Asian PGA Tour rolled
into town. The West Course was also the site of
the very first SEA Games qualifying tournament
where Vietnam's Ministry of Sports selected 12
participants from a field of 40 local Vietnamese
to form the nucleus of the first Vietnam
National Golf Team.
The 6,946-yard East Course was designed by PGA
Tour legend Lee Trevino and opened in 1997. It
has been the setting for the ASEAN Charity '99
Golf Tournament to benefit the Ho Chi Minh
Hospital for the Poor.
This course is a links-style layout featuring
rolling fairways, over 110 strategically placed
bunkers, and greens that will have you crawling
to Dave Pelz for putting lessons. The East
Course's undulating greens are the undoing of
many an unsuspecting player.
To score well on this course, a player must play
smart and set up a good approach shot which will
give him a relatively straight putt - which is
something easier said than done on these greens.
Many a championship and US$5 Nassau bets have
been won or lost due to the putting skills of
the players.
The
Bo
Chang Dong Nai Golf Resort
is located along National Road 1, at 50/60
minutes ride from downtown Ho Chi Minh City.
After crossing a plantation of gum trees,
visitors arrive in one of the most dramatic
scenery in southern Viet Nam.
Occupying an area of about 300 hectares of
magnificent tropical country-side, the Resort
provides natural landscape and perfect
environment for an ideal round of golf.
Embraced by picturesque trees and flowers of a
tropical forest, Bo Chang Dong Nai Golf Resort
gives a really distinct shape and such a
dreamlike feeling in golf rounding.
In addition to the picturesque 27-hole (which
will become 36 and more), Dong Nai Resort offers
many activities for non-golfers as well like
horse riding or just relax with a Mai Tai on the
veranda of their spacious and fully-equipped
villa while the kids frolic in the Children's
Playground.
For tournaments which require a more informal
atmosphere, the Resort also has an Outdoor
Barbecue area, perfect for large gatherings.
For players who wish to fully relax after their
round of golf, or non-golfers looking to ease
the pleasurable aches from their first horseback
riding lesson, Dong Nai Resort has a fully
equipped massage room and sauna area.
If you're looking to get away from the hustle
and bustle of the cities,, Dong Nai Resort is
the place for you! Come and feel a totally
different experience ever.
Song Be Golf Resort,
open in 1994 at 22kms (35' drive) from HCMC, is
said to be Vietnam's first International
Standard Championship Golf Course. This is
widely regarded as one of the most challenging
and stimulating in the country. The 100 hectares
of the golf resort was built out of the natural
landscape of fruit orchard and coconut palms and
was opened for play since 1994.
The resort comprises of an 18 - hole Par 72
Championship Golf Course that measures over 7200
yards (6339 meters) at its longest and sits
within 104 ha of natural land. Carved out of
natural surrounds, the Golf Course is officially
rated in accordance with USGA/SGA requirements.
Song Be Golf Resort offers golfers a walk
through unspoilt eco - friendly Vietnamese
landscape, passing villages, ceramic factories,
bamboo forests and farmland. This is a walking
course and all the caddies are female.
Current facilities include driving range,
pro-shop, tennis courts, locker rooms, two
restaurants and guest villas. Additional
facilities to be available in the future include
swimming pool, gymnasium, sauna, reading room
and function rooms.
At Song Be, the emphasis is on offering golfers
a challenging course which they will enjoy
playing on a regular basis. At the same time, we
aim to provide golfers a warm atmosphere in
relaxing surroundings.
How to get there
Take the Highway no.13. The golf course is about
22 km or 35 minutes drive from the centre of Ho
Chi Minh City and from the Tan Son Nhat airport.
Any taxi driver can get you there for about
US$12 or ask the hotel concierge.
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