Phnom Penh Golf Courses: Book Tee Times & Explore Cambodia's Capital Golf in 2026/2027

Phnom Penh surprises most golfers. Six courses serve the city, and the designer credentials behind two of them are as strong as anything in Bangkok’s metropolitan area. Vattanac Golf Resort is a 36-hole Nick Faldo design, the only Sir Nick Faldo layout in Cambodia and one of very few in Southeast Asia, with the East Course measuring 7,467 yards and the West Course at 7,249 yards. Grand Phnom Penh Golf Club is a Nicklaus Design layout measuring 7,914 yards, which makes it one of the longer Nicklaus courses in the region. At those yardages and with those architect names, Phnom Penh earns its place as a genuine standalone golf destination rather than just a cultural stopover.

What makes Phnom Penh interesting for golfers building a Southeast Asia circuit is that it fills a gap between Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, and Siem Reap without duplicating any of them. The green fees are among the most affordable for Faldo-designed and Nicklaus-designed courses anywhere in Asia, and the city itself gives non-golfing partners a full program built around the Royal Palace, the Mekong and Tonle Sap river confluence, the Phsar Thmei Central Market, and an evening food scene that rewards exploration. The weight of Cambodian history at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and Choeung Ek also gives the destination a dimension that purely resort-oriented golf trips do not carry.

Phnom Penh suits experienced golfers who want Faldo and Nicklaus-designed courses at accessible green fees, visitors building a Cambodia and Southeast Asia circuit that combines Phnom Penh with Siem Reap’s Angkor complex, and any traveler whose trip to Cambodia includes golf as one component of a broader program.

Best golf courses in Phnom Penh

Six courses serve the city. Four carry the primary visiting credentials.

1. Vattanac Golf Resort East Course

Vattanac Golf Resort East Course is an 18-hole, par 72 layout measuring 7,467 yards, designed by Sir Nick Faldo, located in Sangkat Prek Thmey about 45 minutes from the city center according to the club. The East Course is distinguished by hole designs inspired by Khmer cultural heritage including temple-referencing features that give it a visual connection to Cambodian history. At 7,467 yards it is one of the longer Faldo-designed courses in Asia, and the Khmer architectural references built into several hole designs make it the more distinctive of the two Vattanac courses.

It suits experienced golfers specifically seeking a Faldo design in Southeast Asia, and anyone for whom the cultural design references matter alongside the golf.

2. Vattanac Golf Resort West Course

Vattanac Golf Resort West Course is an 18-hole, par 72 layout measuring 7,249 yards, also designed by Sir Nick Faldo, opened in October 2020 according to the club. The West Course has distinctive differences from the East Course in character and routing, making the two layouts complementary rather than repetitive. The 36-hole Vattanac facility allows golfers who stay on site to play both courses across two playing days with different experiences each time.

It suits golfers building a two-round Phnom Penh program who want both Faldo courses, and as the natural second playing day after the East Course.

3. Grand Phnom Penh Golf Club

Grand Phnom Penh Golf Club is an 18-hole, par 72 layout measuring 7,914 yards, designed by Nicklaus Design, located at Street 598 in Khan Sen Sok according to the club. At 7,914 yards it is one of the longest Nicklaus-designed courses in Southeast Asia, and the design is built to create an exciting and intriguing challenge for golfers at all levels according to the club. The length alone makes it the choice for golfers who specifically want a maximum-yardage test in Cambodia.

Which course is better?

Vattanac East Course is the most distinctive and historically referenced Phnom Penh round, and the natural first choice for the Faldo design. The West Course serves the second Vattanac day. Grand Phnom Penh is the answer for maximum yardage and the Nicklaus credential. Royal Cambodia suits airport-adjacent convenience. Most three to four day Phnom Penh programs cover Vattanac East, Vattanac West, and Grand Phnom Penh across three playing mornings.

Best time to play golf in Phnom Penh

Cambodia has a clear dry season from November through April and a wet season from May through October. Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism notes the dry season as the primary tourist window, with temperatures around 25 to 35 degrees Celsius and consistent sunshine.

November to April is the most comfortable and reliable window. Morning rounds are clear, the Mekong river level is lower and the riverside promenade is at its most accessible, and the main Phnom Penh heritage sites are comfortable to visit in the early morning. December through February is peak tourist season in Cambodia, when Phnom Penh and Siem Reap see their highest visitor numbers.

May to October brings the southwest monsoon. Afternoon rain is frequent, but morning rounds at all Phnom Penh courses are generally still playable. Green fees and accommodation rates drop during the wet season, and the Mekong river and Tonle Sap lake swell dramatically, which gives the city a different visual character. The wet season is also when Cambodia’s rice paddies and rural landscape are at their most photogenic for any out-of-city day trips.

Early morning tee times before 7:30am are standard year-round given the heat.

Phnom Penh golf holidays and package tours

Phnom Penh suits four to seven day programs, either as a standalone Cambodia golf destination or paired with Siem Reap for the Angkor temple complex. Phnom Penh International Airport has direct connections from Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and several Chinese cities, making it accessible without routing through a major Southeast Asian hub.

The standard Phnom Penh and Siem Reap combined program is the most commonly built Cambodia golf itinerary. Golfers base in Phnom Penh for three to four rounds, take the road or domestic flight to Siem Reap for one to two rounds at Angkor Golf Resort alongside the temple visits, and depart from either city. The Phnom Penh to Siem Reap drive on National Road 6 takes about five to six hours, and domestic flights take 45 minutes.

Practical package formats:

4 days Phnom Penh golf package with three rounds across Vattanac East, Vattanac West, and Grand Phnom Penh, heritage city afternoon, from USD 495 per person

5 days Phnom Penh golf package with four rounds and a Mekong river cruise evening

9 days Phnom Penh and Siem Reap combined covering Phnom Penh rounds, road or flight transfer, Angkor golf and temple visits, from USD 1,750 per person

8 days Siem Reap to Phnom Penh starting with the temples and reversing the direction, from USD 1,640 per person

Phnom Penh has a non-golf program that is more layered than most Southeast Asian capital cities of similar size. The Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda, accessible from the riverside promenade, the National Museum of Cambodia with its Angkor-era sculpture collection, and the Phsar Thmei Central Market with its art deco dome all sit within the historic city core. The Mekong River sunset cruise, departing from near the Royal Palace pier, is the standard shared evening activity for any Phnom Penh stay. Browse Phnom Penh golf packages or create a custom Cambodia itinerary combining Phnom Penh with Siem Reap.

Golf with Phnom Penh’s history and the Mekong riverside

Phnom Penh carries historical weight that most Southeast Asian capitals do not. The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, the former Khmer Rouge detention and interrogation center in the city center, and the Choeung Ek memorial site 15 kilometers south of the city where prisoners were executed, document the period from 1975 to 1979 in direct terms. Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture designates both sites as national memorials. These are not places to visit quickly between rounds, but the weight of understanding what happened here is part of what makes Phnom Penh a more serious travel destination than its golf course volume would suggest.

The Royal Palace complex along the riverside covers the throne hall, the Khmer-style pavilions, and the Silver Pagoda, which houses the Emerald Buddha and a full-sized solid gold Buddha weighing 90 kilograms according to Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism. The complex is accessible to visitors in the morning and requires appropriate dress. The National Museum of Cambodia opposite the palace grounds houses the world’s largest collection of Khmer sculpture outside of Angkor itself.

The Mekong and Tonle Sap river confluence at the Phnom Penh waterfront, known as the Quatre Bras or four-armed area where two river systems meet and seasonally reverse flow direction, is one of the most unusual fluvial geographies in Asia. Cambodia’s Ministry of Water Resources notes the Tonle Sap reverse flow that begins in late May when Mekong flood waters push back into the lake is the hydrological event that gives Cambodia’s agricultural system its particular fertility. Evening from the riverside promenade during either river state gives the city a setting unlike any other capital in the region.

Book tee times in Phnom Penh

Vattanac East Course fills fastest, particularly on weekends and during the November through February peak season. Booking a week to ten days ahead for weekend slots at Vattanac is sensible. Grand Phnom Penh and Royal Cambodia are generally accessible with a few days’ notice. Weekday availability at all Phnom Penh courses is open with two to three days’ advance booking.

When organizing a Phnom Penh golf program, confirm Vattanac East as the priority booking, the 45-minute transfer logistics from the city center to the Vattanac resort, accommodation in Phnom Penh’s riverside district for the most convenient access to the cultural sites between rounds, and whether the Siem Reap extension is part of the itinerary for connecting flights. Start planning here or view Phnom Penh golf packages to find a program that covers the full Phnom Penh course circuit.