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Golf guide • Cambodia • Phnom Penh

Golf in Phnom Penh: fairways in the Khmer capital, along the Mekong

Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, has four eighteen-hole courses less than an hour from the centre: Garden City, which hosted the golf at the 2023 Southeast Asian Games, the East and West courses designed by Nick Faldo at Vattanac, and Grand Phnom Penh, by Nicklaus Design. Golfers come to combine golf with a city rich in history, between the Royal Palace, colonial-era hotels and fine Khmer cuisine. The best period is December to February, in the dry season.

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Phnom Penh was built where the Tonlé Sap meets the Mekong, before the Bassac branches off to the south: the Khmers call this meeting of waters Chaktomuk, "the four faces". Along Sisowath Quay, the golden roofs of the Royal Palace rise above the promenade, boats glide over silt-coloured water and, at dusk, the whole city seems to come down to the riverbank. Behind, boulevards laid out in the French era lead to the Art Deco Central Market and the newer towers.

Cambodian golf is young, but in a decade or so the capital has gained courses of a good standard, all built on the flat former rice paddies that surround it. Dug-out lakes, mounds and paspalum greens stand in for the missing relief. Garden City, to the north-east, hosted the golf events of the 2023 Southeast Asian Games; Vattanac, to the south-east, lines up two Nick Faldo courses punctuated by replicas of Khmer temples.

The trip runs to the rhythm of the heat: tee off at dawn, back to town for lunch, then sightseeing and dinner. Three to five days are enough to play each course and see the essentials, from the National Museum to the Tuol Sleng memorial. Many then carry on to Siem Reap and the temples of Angkor.

The courses

Flat fairway running along a large lake at sunrise, coconut palms and tropical trees at the edge

Garden City Golf Club

  • Architect: Weerayudth Phetbuasak
  • Opened 2013
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

Opened in April 2013 on around a hundred hectares of former rice paddies, Garden City lies some fifteen kilometres north-east of the centre, between National Roads 5 and 6; allow about twenty-five minutes. As the land was perfectly flat, its designers dug lakes and used the spoil to shape the fairways and green surrounds. The palm-lined result tests your iron play on large, undulating greens. The course, 7,361 yards from the back tees, hosted the golf at the Southeast Asian Games in May 2023. A 36-bay driving range and a pool at the clubhouse.

Signature hole. The 15th, a par 3 of about 175 yards, plays to a double green surrounded by sand and water on three sides.

Official website

Vattanac Golf Resort, East Course

  • Architect: Nick Faldo
  • Opened 2019
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

The first of the two courses designed by Nick Faldo at Vattanac, the East opened in 2019 in Chbar Ampov district, about forty-five minutes from the centre. It stands out for its scaled-down replicas of Khmer monuments, including Angkor Wat, the Bayon and Preah Vihear, dotted around the course. The golf itself is serious: water hazards everywhere, carefully crafted bunkers and more than 7,400 yards from the back tees. The World Golf Awards named it Cambodia's best golf course in 2024. The clubhouse is among the largest in the country.

Signature hole. The 12th, a par 3 played entirely over water, to a green with pronounced slopes.

Official website

Vattanac Golf Resort, West Course

  • Architect: Nick Faldo
  • Opened 2020
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

Opened in October 2020, the West is narrower and more rolling than its neighbour. Dragon Lake occupies the centre of the layout and runs alongside several holes; the very large paspalum greens demand precise approaches. With five sets of tees, from 4,935 to 7,249 yards, it remains manageable for every level. Along the way you pass a statue of King Jayavarman VII and a nod to Angkor's Terrace of the Elephants. Vattanac also offers a floodlit eighteen-hole course, the Dragon Turn, for playing in the cool of the evening.

Signature hole. The 8th, a par 5, hides a stretch of water on the left of the fairway, invisible from the tee.

Official website

Grand Phnom Penh Golf Club

  • Architect: Nicklaus Design
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

Designed by Nicklaus Design, Grand Phnom Penh Golf Club is the sporting heart of a large residential district north-west of the city, about twenty minutes from the centre. Extensive earthworks have given relief to flat ground: generous fairways, but raised greens surrounded by mounds, and an exposed course where the wind counts. The finish is the most demanding stretch, with a 17th of over 650 yards from the back tees. It is a private club: visitors play by reservation arranged in advance through a tour operator or a member, and there is no driving range.

Signature hole. The 16th, a par 3 of about 230 yards, is played entirely over water.

Where to stay

Raffles Hotel Le Royal

Opened in 1929 to designs by Ernest Hébrard, Le Royal sheltered journalists during the civil war and reopened under the Raffles name in 1997. Ask for a Landmark room in the original wing, with high ceilings and a claw-foot bath, and order a Femme Fatale at the Elephant Bar, created for Jacqueline Kennedy's visit in 1967. The handiest base for Garden City and Grand Phnom Penh, north of the city.

Pavilion

Opposite the Wat Botum pagoda, a few minutes from the Royal Palace, this 1920s Franco-Khmer villa, said to have been the retreat of Queen Kossamak, King Sihanouk's mother, opened in 2006 with ten rooms. It now has thirty-six, spread across four period houses around two pools. Ask for a room with its own plunge pool. Guests must be sixteen or over; the house is recommended by the Michelin Guide, and Vattanac is three quarters of an hour away.

The Plantation Urban Resort & Spa

Behind the Royal Palace, a 1930s administrative building that later housed the Ministry of Labour was saved from demolition and restored in 2011; two Cambodian families own it. The rooms look onto tropical gardens and two pools. Ask for a Deluxe Poolside Garden room, with its own terrace and garden, and save the red pool, more secluded and with its own bar, for late afternoon. Ideal for exploring the city on foot between rounds.

Yellow colonial façade with arcades and shutters, frangipani in bloom and a pool in the foreground at dusk

Where to dine

Malis

Opened in 2004 on Norodom Boulevard, Malis was the city's first fine-dining Cambodian restaurant: chef Luu Meng travelled the country for six months to collect its recipes. In the evening, ask for a table in the courtyard beside the pond and order the fish amok and the beef lok lak. It opens at 6.30am, for a Khmer breakfast before a late tee time.

Restaurant Le Royal

At the Raffles Hotel Le Royal, beneath a hand-painted ceiling, this restaurant serves recipes of the Cambodian court, passed to the hotel by the Royal Palace, alongside contemporary Khmer cooking, with tableside guéridon service. Choose the Khmer tasting menu and, when it is on the menu, the Takeo river lobster amok. Dinner only, from 6.30pm, plus brunch on selected Sundays. Booking recommended.

Beyond golf

The Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda

Built in the 1860s under King Norodom I, the Royal Palace opens part of its gardens and golden-roofed pavilions facing Sisowath Quay. The Silver Pagoda occupies the southern part of the compound. Visit early in the morning and wear clothing that covers shoulders and knees. The neighbouring National Museum, built in the early 1920s in a style inspired by Khmer temples, makes a natural next stop.

The city's memory

In April 1975 the Khmer Rouge emptied Phnom Penh of its inhabitants. The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, set in a former school turned into a prison by the regime, tells the story of those years with harrowing restraint. Plan the visit on its own, unhurried. The same day, the Central Market, crowned by its Art Deco dome of 1937, brings you back to the city's everyday life.

Along the Mekong

In the late afternoon, a cruise of an hour or two on the Tonlé Sap and the Mekong shows the city at its best: the palace roofs, the opposite shore and its banks, the sunset over the confluence. Afterwards, walk back along Sisowath Quay among the families and street vendors before dinner.

Khmer pavilion with golden roofs behind palm trees, on the bank of a wide river where a boat passes at dusk

When to go

The dry season runs from December to April. From December to February the mornings are at their mildest and the courses firm and in good condition: this is the best period. March is still pleasant, but April, the hottest month of the year, makes golf gruelling from mid-morning. The south-west monsoon brings rain from May to November, usually as afternoon showers; play early in the morning, on slower courses.

Getting there

Since September 2025, international flights land at Techo International Airport (KTI), 19 km south of the city; allow about fifty minutes to the centre, more at rush hour, by car or express shuttle. From Europe, Phnom Penh is reached with a connection in Bangkok, Singapore, Doha, Dubai or Istanbul. Siem Reap and Angkor can then be reached by air or by road.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best golf course in Phnom Penh?

Garden City, north-east of the city, is the capital's highest-placed course in the Top 100 Golf Courses ranking and hosted the golf at the 2023 Southeast Asian Games. Vattanac's East Course, by Nick Faldo, was named Cambodia's best golf course at the 2024 World Golf Awards.

How many golf courses are there around Phnom Penh?

Four good eighteen-hole courses can be reached in under an hour from the centre: Garden City, Vattanac's East and West courses and Grand Phnom Penh. Vattanac adds a floodlit course for evening golf.

When is the best time to play golf in Phnom Penh?

From December to February, in the dry season, when the mornings are at their mildest; March is still pleasant. April is the hottest month; from May to November, the monsoon brings showers, mostly in the afternoon.

How far are the golf courses from central Phnom Penh?

Allow about twenty minutes for Grand Phnom Penh, about twenty-five minutes for Garden City and around forty-five minutes for Vattanac, depending on traffic.

Can you play Grand Phnom Penh Golf Club without being a member?

Yes, but it is a private club: visitors play by reservation made in advance through a tour operator or a member. Garden City and Vattanac welcome visitors every day.

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Golf tee at sunrise, fairway lined with sugar palms and a pond, rice paddies in the mist in the distance
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