The first Luke Donald design I have ever played. Just being in Da Nang is enough of a reason to visit this wonderful golf course. Situated in Ba Na Hills about an hour drive from Da Nang, the golf course is surrounded by phenomenal mountain views. Fortunately, during August the course undergoes maintenance and as a result, the price is lower for residents of Vietnam, as long as you have a TRC (Temporary residency Card).
I played the back 9 first. Similar to the personality of the designer and his golf game, this course is not a power hitters dream. Although there is a 600 yard par 5 on the course, most of the time you are playing for position to attack the area of the green the pin has been located in. Tee to green I was good as I have been in a long time. Never struggling off the tee, unless I made a poor aimpoint decision. I will say this, Mr Donald, you are a mean green designer. Every green was multi-tiered and had a number of nuances to consider in reading the line of your putts. I had an atrocious day on the greens having 40 putts or more.
However, the beauty of the scenery and the friendliness of the caddy that is provided in the course fee, I was never too concerned about this. I was simply just ecstatic to be on a new course and being treated to views only those who play the course will ever see. Most of the time the green will be above or below you on the approach and being on the correct tier or finding the bail out area is a must if you are going to look to go low around this course. The par 5’s are all reachable on this side and should be taken advantage of as well.
The front 9 is just as good as the back. With phenomenal views and some really fun par 3’s along the way. The biggest takeaway from this 9 was a 600+ yard par 5. As well as a dog leg right par 4. I found this to be a more fun side of the course as it offered a bigger variety of shot types necessary. The key to this course as mentioned earlier, is position. The distance from fairway to rough is less than 5 metres and the rough is ROUGH. Were it not for my caddy’s hawk-like vision I may have been playing with VOLTS and pinnacle long distance golf balls by the end of the round.
I highly recommend this course for anyone who is looking for a short game test or even just a lovely cart drive with a couple friends playing a friendly skins game. There is literally something for every golfer here, with 5 tee options to choose from. If you are ever in Vietnam this is a must play, I guarantee you will leave with a smile on your face.
how to get there
You will need to get yourself to Da Nang. This will give you plenty of accommodation options and you can catch a Grab to the course. Grab is like Uber in Vietnam. There are also accommodation options nearer to the golf course if you would like.
price and rating
Golf in Vietnam is generally a lot more expensive than South Africa. Partly because of the space golf uses in such a small country and the game is simply starting to grow in the area. So, the golfers involved here are generally businesspeople. I played while they were maintaining the course and got a discount. The normal price for non-members is between US$ 125-150 for 18 holes. However, this includes a drink, golf cart and caddy. Fantastic experience and really beautiful surroundings, a great 8 out of 10 toes.
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