In Vietnam, most of the golf is played on the central coast, on courses signed by great names of the game. Around Da Nang, Legend Da Nang pairs a Greg Norman links with a Jack Nicklaus layout among rice paddies and lakes, Ba Na Hills, Luke Donald's first design, plays at the foot of the Ba Na mountains, and Montgomerie Links runs its fairways through the dunes facing the Marble Mountains, on the road to Hoi An. Further south, beyond Hoi An, Hoiana Shores, by Robert Trent Jones Jr., and Vinpearl Golf Nam Hoi An occupy the seaside dunes.
In the north, Hanoi shows another side, with clubs no more than an hour's drive away: Van Tri and Legend Hill to the north, Kings Island on the shore of the Dong Mo reservoir, Sky Lake among lakes and hills. The seasons differ from region to region: on the central coast the best time is February to May, before the summer heat and the autumn rains; around Hanoi, it is October to December, then March and April, as winter is cool and sometimes grey. We arrange tailor-made trips there: reserved tee times, private transfers and carefully chosen hotels.
Da Nang, on Vietnam's central coast, has four signature courses within half an hour's drive: Ba Na Hills (Luke Donald), the Norman and Nicklaus layouts at Legend Da Nang Golf Resort, and Montgomerie Links. Golfers come for dune and mountain golf, for the grand beachfront hotels and for nearby Hoi An. The best time to go is February to May, when it is dry and still temperate.
Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, lends itself to a trip that blends golf and culture: Van Tri and BRG Legend Hill, to the north, are half an hour from the centre, the Kings Course at Kings Island forty-five minutes to the west, and Sky Lake about an hour to the south-west. Between rounds, you stay in a colonial grand hotel and dine in the Old Quarter. The best months are October to December, then March and April.
Hoi An, a UNESCO-listed former trading port on Vietnam's central coast, offers three seaside courses no more than half an hour from the old town: Hoiana Shores, Robert Trent Jones Jr.'s links facing the Cham Islands, Vinpearl Golf Nam Hoi An and Montgomerie Links. Golfers come to pair dune-and-wind golf with a remarkably well-preserved historic town. The best period is February to May, during the dry season.
