Choosing a Golf Course in Vietnam Made Easy: Expert Tips for Every Golfer
Golf is not just about technique or score, but also an experience. A suitable golf course will help you enjoy every swing, relax in nature, and even create opportunities to interact and connect with friends and colleagues. On the contrary, choosing the wrong course can make the playing day stressful, tiring and uninteresting. With dozens of golf courses stretching from North to South, choosing a golf course in Vietnam that truly match your style and level can be challenging. Let’s explore this Vietnam golf guide and learn some golf course selection tips to make your decision easier.
Identify Your Golfing Goals and Needs
Before you search for a course, you’ll want to pause and ask yourself a few basic questions. What kind of golfer are you? A beginner? A veteran? Or even a future professional? Depending on the answer, you’ll want to play courses suitable for each skill level. An easy course that is too simple and boring for a seasoned golfer will not provide the appropriate challenge required. Similarly, an experienced golfer would become frustrated if they played an overly difficult course as beginning golfers.
Next, think about the experience you want to have. Do you want to go to the course to relax, enjoy the natural landscape; or want to challenge your technique, improve your level; or is the goal to socialize, meet friends and colleagues? This is where choosing golf course in Vietnam carefully becomes important.
Budget is also a factor that cannot be ignored. Golf courses in Vietnam have a variety of prices from popular to high-end, accompanied by related services, making the list of golf destinations more diverse and meeting the needs of more golfers.
- City courses: approximately $80–$150 USD/round.
- Mountain/highland courses: around $100–$180 USD/round.
- Coastal courses: from $150–250 USD/round.
Some private or championship level courses can be a little higher, particularly on the weekends or holidays.
In addition to the green fees, golfers should expect add-ons, such as caddie tips, rental, or travel/transport fees to and from the course. Having a sense of your full budget will assist with planning a golf trip that is within your comfort level and will still provide a memorable experience.
Finally, geographical location is an indispensable criterion: for foreign tourists, you should carefully research whether the field is close to the airport or other stops or not? Do you prefer a field near your home for convenience, or do you want to combine travel and explore new lands? Clearly defining your needs will help you narrow down your choices and find a more suitable field.
Criteria for Evaluating a “Standard” Golf Course
Criteria for evaluating a golf course
Course quality
The most important factor that directly affects the playing experience is the quality of the course. Each fairway, each green, each bunker or grass area needs to be maintained and cleaned well, and on a consistent basis. A well-maintained golf course will help your ball roll easily and consistently on each of your shots and it will provide you some level of confidence when you hit those shots. If the grass is longer or the greens are bumpy, not only will your accuracy suffer on every swing, it can cause immediate nagging frustration in your round.
A nice, clean course creates a nice relaxing atmosphere and heightened excitement for the entire day of play. This is one of the most important points in golf course selection tips.
Course design
Course design determines the difficulty, fun and feeling when playing. Coastal courses frequently test golfers with unpredictable winds, creating very much a situation in which you must duly assess swing power, as well as the ball’s flight direction. Hilly courses will exhibit many of their own technical challenges because of inclines, holes at different elevations, and flat lies, while providing many visual tourist attractions at the same time.
In contrast, flat or urban courses are often easier to play, convenient for beginners or golfers who want to relax. Choosing a design that suits your level and purpose of playing will help you improve your skills while having a fun, stress-free experience and is essential when choosing a golf course in Vietnam.
Amenities
A “standard” golf course not only focuses on the course but also the overall experience. A convenient clubhouse, quality restaurant, fully equipped pro shop, professional coaches or attached resorts are all big pluses. These amenities help golfers play and relax, easily rest, eat, or shop without having to go far. Full-service courses make the entire day more enjoyable and comfortable, another factor highlighted in golf course selection tips.
Logistics and supporting accompanying services
Convenience is an important factor that elevates your overall golfing experience. Many golf courses in Vietnam now provide golf club rental and transfer services, helping travelers avoid the hassle of carrying bulky equipment. High-quality rental sets are available on-site, and some operators even offer door-to-door club delivery for added comfort.
Professional caddies are another highlight — knowledgeable, attentive, and always ready to assist with course reading, club selection, and keeping the game smooth. Their local experience often adds both comfort and insight to your play.
In addition, several golf courses in Vietnam are seamlessly connected to 5-star resorts and premium hotels, allowing golfers to enjoy luxury accommodation, spa services, and fine dining after their rounds. This integration of logistics, service, and leisure turns a golf trip in Vietnam into a complete, worry-free holiday experience.
Reviews from other golfers
Nothing is more realistic than the experience of those who have played before you. Referring to reviews on websites, forums, or Facebook groups, golf communities will help you better understand the course – from course quality, staff attitude, to service status. These reviews often provide information that advertisements do not say, helping you avoid inappropriate courses or overly high expectations.
Safety and standards
Finally, safety and standards are factors that cannot be ignored. Each golf course has its own regulations on security, course placement, safe distance between golfers and violation handling policies. Complying with these regulations not only protects you and other players but also helps the playing experience go smoothly, avoiding unnecessary trouble. With the position of Asia’s best golf destination, standard golf courses in Vietnam always ensure a safe, polite and professional environment.
Different Golf Course Types Across Vietnam
Thanks to its S-shaped geography, Vietnam’s golf terrain changes dramatically from North to South, giving golfers a mix of mountain challenges, coastal breezes, tropical valleys, and city conveniences — all within one country.
Coastal Golf Courses
Coastal golf courses in Vietnam offer the experience of playing while admiring the beautiful natural scenery. You can both test your technique with long fairways and relax while admiring the blue sea and long white sand beaches. However, the sea breeze often comes suddenly, requiring golfers to be flexible in hitting power and ball direction. This type of course is suitable for those who want to relax and test their technique.
Featured courses:
- BRG Da Nang Golf Resort: Designed by Greg Norman, this course features gently undulating fairways and natural bunkers, blending seamlessly with surrounding hills. Players can enjoy scenic mountain views while navigating its challenging layout.
- Montgomerie Links Da Nang: The course is designed in a Scottish style by Colin Montgomerie, with open fairways and typically placed bunkers. The winds that often blow in from the sea can provide a real challenge to any practice and give the golfer the benefit of the open space, and a view of the ocean.
- Laguna Lang Co Golf Club: Crafted by the talented hands of Sir Nick Faldo, the coastal hilly golf course exemplifies design sophistication with fairways winding between hills and water lakes, offering golfers exciting yet soothing sights on every shot. Each hole provides not only technical measures to succeed but also seaside and maritime vistas that further fuel excitement in golf.
>>> As highlighted in Vietnam golf guide, Laguna Golf Stay & Play Packages are perfect for golfers seeking to combine a world-class golf course with luxurious accommodation and relaxing seaside views.
- FLC Quy Nhon Golf Links: This is a top coastal course with a long layout, many bunkers and winding greens. The fairway stretches close to the sea, providing a beautiful relaxing landscape. The sea breeze is an interesting challenge that requires golfers to carefully calculate their hitting power. The course also has a convenient resort, ideal for a combined trip and vacation.
- KN Golf Links: The course is designed by Greg Norman in a classic links style, with open fairways and strategically placed bunkers. Coastal winds often challenge players’ control and precision, while the wide-open layout provides stunning views of the ocean and surrounding tropical landscape
- The Bluffs Grand Ho Tram Strip: The Bluffs is considered one of Asia’s most beautiful yet toughest courses. Designed by Greg Norman, it sits dramatically atop natural dunes and rolling hills, where strong ocean winds and uneven terrain create a thrilling, challenging round.
- PGA NovaWorld Phan Thiet: Vietnam’s first PGA-accredited course offers two 18-hole layouts (Garden & Ocean). The Ocean Course showcases sweeping sea views and challenging bunkers, perfect for those seeking a professional-standard coastal round.
>>> Explore more on the Grand Vietnam Golf Tour with Vinpearl — a great choice for discovering top coastal golf courses in Vietnam that fits your style.
Coastal golf courses in Vietnam
Hilly Golf Courses
Vietnam’s northern and highland regions feature winding roads, misty mountains, and valleys — a golfer’s dream for scenic yet strategic play. Hilly courses test both precision and stamina while rewarding players with stunning views.
Featured courses:
- Tam Dao Golf Club: The golf course at Tam Dao Plateau offers beautiful golf course with streams of slope on fairways and many holes theme created around hills. The feeling of playing golf at the top of hills, catching fresh air, taking in the scenery and enjoying a round of golf with family and friends, will surely become a remarkable memory.
- BRG Legend Hill Golf Resort: The hilly course with fairways winding around small valleys, each shot is an interesting challenge. From the tee, you can admire the vast mountains and forests, relax and practice your skills.
- Stone Valley Golf Resort: Nestled in Ha Nam Province, this golf course is known for its unique elevation changes and stunning natural stone formations surrounding the fairways. Designed by Brian Curley, it features wide greens, challenging slopes, and panoramic mountain views that deliver both visual beauty and strategic gameplay. Playing here feels like discovering a hidden valley — peaceful, refreshing, yet full of surprises for any golfer.
- Ba Na Hills Golf Club: Designed by Luke Donald and managed by IMG, the course features forested fairways and natural elevation changes that challenge every shot. Golfers can enjoy breathtaking mountain views and a tranquil atmosphere that makes each round memorable.
- Dalat Palace Golf Club: Originally built in the 1920s, this French colonial-era course features gentle fairways lined with mature pine trees. Golfers can enjoy breathtaking mountain views and a tranquil atmosphere that makes each round memorable, making it an ideal complement to a relaxing highland getaway such as the Dalat Stay & Play Package 3 Days 2 Nights
- Dalat at 1200 Country Club: This is an 18-hole, par-73 championship course designed by Peter Rousseau and Kyi Hla Han, set 1,200 meters above sea level in the cool Central Highlands of Vietnam. The course features dramatic elevation changes, pine-covered hills, and serene lakes, creating both visual beauty and technical challenge.
>>> Discover the Hue Golf Package 4 Days, a great option for golfers who enjoy the beauty and challenge of hilly golf courses in Vietnam.
Hilly Golf Courses in Vietnam
City Golf Courses
If you like convenience and speed, plain courses or courses near the city center are the perfect choice. Wide fairways, flat terrain, easy to walk, help you focus on technique without pressure. This is also an ideal choice for beginners or those who want to play golf combined with work, short trips.
Featured courses:
- Sky Lake Resort & Golf Club: While it’s a flat layout, the area is still cool and green. The fairways and greens are well manicured. This course is ideal for the beginner to intermediate player, to have practice clubs while still enjoying the relaxing area and resort services.
- Long Bien Golf Club: Right near the center, the course has wide fairways and flat terrain. The course also has a casual clubhouse with full-service restaurant – gaining a complete experience without driving far away.
- Vietnam Golf & Country Club: Located just 30 minutes from downtown, this is one of Vietnam’s most established golf venues with two 18-hole courses. Wide fairways and smooth greens make it enjoyable for both casual and seasoned players. Modern facilities and easy access add to its appeal for those seeking a quick yet quality golf experience near the city.
- Tan Son Nhat Golf Club: This course reflects the artistry of Nelson & Worth with a flat layout with open fairways, providing convenience to swing comfortably – an ideal option for those who wish to play quickly after work or a relaxing weekend outing.
>>> Check out the Hanoi Luxury Golf Holiday 3 Days for a taste of premium city golf courses in Vietnam.
City Golf Courses in Vietnam
Integrated Resort & Scenic Courses
In recent years, Vietnam has embraced the “golf & leisure” trend, developing resort-style courses that combine world-class hospitality with breathtaking natural settings. These destinations are ideal for golfers who want to balance play with relaxation, surrounded by the beauty of sea, sky, and tropical landscapes.
Featured courses:
- FLC Ha Long Bay Golf Club & Luxury Resort: Set high on the cliffs overlooking the UNESCO-listed bay, the course offers dramatic elevation changes and unforgettable sea views. Every hole feels like a viewpoint, creating a golf experience that’s as cinematic as it is challenging.
- Hoiana Shores Golf Club: Designed along the coastline with rolling dunes and panoramic ocean views, this course delivers a true links-style challenge. Its world-class facilities and luxurious resort make it one of Asia’s most celebrated new golf destinations. To discover the perfect golf getaway, you can check out Hoiana Shores Golf Club Stay & Play 2 Days Packages.
- Vinpearl Golf Nha Trang: the course is a combination of 5-star resort and a classy golf experience. With a cool blue beach surrounding the course, winding fairways, the golf experience here is relaxing but still full of challenges for players.
- Vinpearl Golf Phu Quoc: Nestled between lush tropical forest and white sandy beaches, the course features wide fairways and a peaceful atmosphere. It’s the perfect retreat for golfers seeking both relaxation and scenic island beauty.
Resort and Island Golf Courses
Choosing a golf course in Vietnam will create an experience that is more than just hitting balls but instead, transform it into an enjoyable experience of relaxation, challenge, and camaraderie. Depending on whether you are looking for the beautiful coastal views, hilly player challenges, or a convenient course in the city, the right course is available to make your experience best. To find that golf course, contact us today for tailored recommendations and exclusive golf packages that suit your playing style and budget.
Read More:
