A major champion architect and a stunning sea meets mountain landscape make this Vietnam course a must-play

By Kent Gray
When Sir Nick Faldo is the artist and Vietnam’s stunning central coast is the six-time major champion’s canvas, it’s a given the golf will be compelling. But Laguna Golf Lăng Cô, as recently as 2019 the country’s top-rated course, is more than just an alluring mix of links-style golf where ocean surf meets rocky mountainscape. With two award-winning hotels, this is a holiday destination within itself, not that you’ll want to bypass any of Vietnam’s other golfing gems. They do things right at Laguna Golf Lăng Cô with the club home to the Asian final of the global Faldo (junior) Series, as well as to a herd of water buffalo which help manage the seven hectares of rice fields located in the middle of the course. The “bio mowers” helped Laguna Golf Lăng Cô harvest a record 28 tonnes of rice last year which was donated to the local community. With its own water bottling plant to allow the resort to completely eliminate plastic water bottles, the club sealed an EarthCheck Gold certification in 2019, just one of three clubs worldwide to achieve the accreditation.

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