The people have spoken, and the overwhelming opinion in the Far East is this: When it comes to golf in Vietnam, Dalat Palace Golf Club and Ocean Dunes Golf Club are the best two courses in the country.
The clubs’ lofty positions in a rapidly emerging golf destination were revealed at Singapore’s Meritus Mandarin Hotel Nov. 15, when Asia’s top golf publication, Asian Golf Monthly, announced the winners of its annual Asian Golf Monthly Awards.
The results were determined by the magazine’s many readers and subscribers, 10,000 of whom participated in an online poll at asiangolfmonthly.com over the span of three months.
“It’s been a belief of ours for years that Dalat and Ocean Dunes are the top courses in Vietnam,” says Jeff Puchalski, director of golf for both properties, which are owned and operated by Danao International Holdings. “To see this status affirmed by Asian Golf Monthly makes it all the more legitimate and satisfying.”
Asian Golf Monthly commands an enormous following among the region’s most passionate and knowledgeable golfers. Its website is ranked among the top 20 for golf by Yahoo!
Widely regarded as Asia’s golf course Oscars, the awards were handed out in front of the golf industry’s top developers, owners, general managers and architects on the final night of the inaugural Asia Pacific Golf Development Summit.
As could be expected, top honors for Best Course in Vietnam went to Dalat Palace GC, the only bentgrass track in Southeast Asia, and one of the most storied designs in the world. The mile-high gem in the Southern Highlands resort town of Dalat was laid out in the 1920s for Bao Dai, the last emperor of Vietnam, and has hosted the likes of Billy Casper, who played the course during a USO Tour in 1966 - the same year he won the U.S. Open.
“There’s no question players are drawn to Dalat as much for its steeped history as its collection of challenging holes,” Puchalski says. “Throw in a rolling landscape rife with tall pines, vibrant bougainvillea and views of majestic Xuan Huong Lake and you’ve got the golf experience of a lifetime.”
Dalat Palace GC first opened in the early 1930s and has led several lives - as the course of choice for Vietnam’s imperial court and colonial elite, as well as the playground for US Army officers on wartime “R&R.”
The course was restored to its current glory in 1994 and his since been no stranger to accolades. In its 2003, 2005 and 2007 Planet Golf surveys, Golf Digest (USA) rated the course best in Vietnam, just ahead of Ocean Dunes.
The same order of finish played out with the Asian Golf Monthly Awards. And it came as no surprise. Despite never hosting an Asian PGA Tour event—as third-place victor Chi Linh Star Golf and Country Club did in 2004—the seaside links has garnered worldwide acclaim for its windswept dunes and singular holes, including the signature par-3 9th, which sits hard by the South China Sea and has been hailed by GOLF (USA) magazine as one of the best 500 holes in the world.
“It’s no secret that hole is a reason why Vietnam’s longest running tournament—the Gannon Vietnam Open—returns to this course year on year,” says Kenny Saunders, Ocean Dunes’ head teaching professional. “But it’s not the only jaw-dropper you’ll find out here.
“When former Masters and British Open champion Nick Faldo created this course a dozen years ago, he did so with the total experience in mind. And he succeeded. There’s a even stretch on the back nine - with evergreens and pine-needle rough areas - that feels like Pinehurst.”
For more information on Dalat Palace GC and Ocean Dunes GC, contact the Vietnam Golf Resorts sales and marketing office at 848-520-2045, or visit www.vietnamgolfresorts.com.
