Saigon Golf Break

Located just 17 kilometers from the center of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Golf & Country Club is one of the nearest golf clubs to the city center.  Vietnam Golf & Country Club is set amongst 300 hectares of land and includes two championship golf courses. Both courses play through mature woodlands with minimal land movement. Golfers at Vietnam Golf & Country Club get the feeling that the land was destined to be a golf course, so natural is the layout and design.

Open since November 1995, the 7,106-yard West Course at Vietnam Golf & Country Club features narrow tree-lined fairways and fast level greens. The par-72 championship course was Taiwanese designed and hosted the Vietnam Open Asian PGA Tour events in both 1995 and 1997.

The course winds its way through mostly oil palm trees offering challenging tee shots to narrow landing areas. Several holes also feature a lone tree in the center of the fairway. Bermuda Tifeagle greens provide beautiful putting surfaces all year round. The West Course’s difficulty lies in its championship length. Only single-digit handicap players should play off the back tees. Even from the regular men's tees, this course can provide a very long afternoon of golf, especially if drives are not on target.

One of the best holes is 11th. It's a long 408 yard par-4,  dogleg to the left. The tee shot must carry over trees on the left to have sight of the green. A large tree on the center of the fairway and bunkers on both sides of the green come into play on the second shot. The slightly elevated green is shallow and wide, so an approach shot must have some spin on it to hold the green.

The second course at Vietnam Golf & Country Club is the 6,946-yard East Course.  Designed by Lee Trevino and opened in 1997, the East Course offers more generous fairways than the West Course but includes 110 well-positioned bunkers, water hazards, and undulating fast-rolling Bermuda Tifdwarf greens. The layout is so challenging even a seasoned tour pro will think twice before 'going for it.' The East Course’s undulating greens are the undoing of many an unsuspecting player. Golfers must play smart and set-up good approach shots to give relatively straight putts - which is something more comfortable said than done on these greens. Many a side bet have been won or lost due to the putting skills of the golfer.

The clubhouse is spacious and well-maintained as a private club. The large locker and changing rooms include Japanese showers and dry and wet saunas for a welcome treat after any round. Two clubhouse restaurants serve a good range of food items, with the local Vietnamese noodle soups highly recommended. The pro shop is one of the best stocked in Vietnam with new and used equipment, great selections of golf apparel, and all of the latest balls and gloves.

While Vietnam Golf & Country Club is technically a private golf club with priority to locals and expatriates, however, weekday play, when the course is least crowded, is open for visitor bookings. Both the East and West Courses are good choices for a day golfing in Saigon.

Tan Son Nhat Golf Course is a public golf course located 4 kilometers from the center of Ho Chi Minh City and one of Saigon's most popular courses. Built across 156 hectares, the 36-hole course borders the Tan Son Nhat Airport – the busiest in Vietnam.

Nelson & Haworth Golf Course Architects designed a top course out of the surrounding flattish land. Significant earth mounding, many water hazards, large bunkers, and undulating greens characterize every hole. Paspalum turf used on the tees, fairway, rough, and greens ensure top year-round playing conditions. The Saigon golf course is a modern city layout, and Vietnam's most populated city's skyline is viewable from practically every hole.

As well as being the most convenient to play in the city, the course conditioning is consistently great during both dry and wet seasons.  Offering four nines is a considerable advantage when it comes to course maintenance and playability. Each nine is equally challenging and well-maintained.

Course A plays away from the clubhouse and in an area designated for apartments, villas, and an on-site hotel. Course B, C, and D all start at the clubhouse. C and D Courses are more demanding off the tee, whereas A and B Courses require more strategic play than length and accuracy. The par-5's play long and mainly into the wind. Avoid the greenside bunkers on the par-3's for scoring opportunities. All the greens have extreme undulation and, while on the slow side, are still good fun to play.  The fairway bunkers can be pretty problematic, but an errant tee shot deserves to be penalized.   

Standout holes on each nine include hole six on the A Course. The par-4 has water all down the left side and fairway bunkers placed at landing areas. Strategy is important as a perfect drive is needed to reach a green that slopes front to back.  Hole three on the B Course is a short par-4 with a fairway bunker and a dogleg fairway to the left.  It's preferable to lay back off the tee and have a full club into the smallish sloping and well-protected green.  The final hole on the C Course is a reachable downwind par-5. Two solid shots get on the green. However, avoid the bunkers 230 yards off the tee and the creek fronting the green. The best hole on Course D is the fifth. This par-3 plays over water, ensuring any mishit is wet. The undulated green is tricky, especially if putting from a different tier as the pin.

The Tan Son Nhat clubhouse is one of the largest in Asia and can accommodate golfers and large banquets, weddings, and other official functions for up to 5,000 guests at a time. The on-site restaurant serves tasty Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, and western dishes at very reasonable prices, with Korean dishes as the specialties.

One of the interesting features at Tan Son Nhat is night golf. Play carries on past midnight and might be a good way to settle bets or as an alternative to the Saigon nightlife.

Other faculties, including a pro shop, driving range, chipping and putting areas, locker rooms, and changing areas, are all first-rate. Tan Son Nhat Golf Club runs under the supervision of the Vietnam Ministry of Defense. Golf carts are mandatory and relegated to cart paths only, although prices are reasonable, and golfers can still walk the fairways while caddies drive. Speaking of caddies, they are all male army recruits with an excellent service mindset, though limited English skills.

Anyone golfing in Saigon should have a hit at Tan Son Nhat.  High-quality golf courses close to town are a rarity these days and won't be around forever.