By Ron Whitten, Stephen Hennessey

The PGA Tour’s annual return to Bay Hill Club and Lodge, host to a PGA Tour event since 1979, allows us a chance to celebrate Arnold Palmer the course designer. Because his influences and contributions to all areas of golf are so significant, Arnie might be under-appreciated as an architect—which is a compliment to his other lines of work.

The Champion/Challenger course at Bay Hill has been updated quite a bit through the years—The King always has final say over its tweaks. Much of the attention this week will be on Tiger Woods as he returns to Bay Hill as the favourite, according to Vegas, at a site where he owns eight PGA Tour victories. Perhaps lesser known is the fact Tiger won the first of his three U.S. Junior Amateur titles here at Bay Hill.

To shine a little more light on Arnie the course designer, we present the 10 best golf courses under the Arnold Palmer design umbrella.

Tralee G.C., County Kerry, Ireland (1984)

A captivating design that starts like Pebble Beach along high cliffs and finishes in rugged dunes similar to Ballybunion. Tralee was recently ranked No. 4 on Golf Digest’s top-20 courses in Ireland, as ranked by our Golf Digest affiliate in Ireland.

RELATED: 2018 Top 10 Golf Courses in the Middle East

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Musgrove Mill G.C., Clinton, S.C. (1988)

Called “the Pine Valley of the South,” but with its low profile, small, perched greens and vast waste areas, it’s more akin to Pete Dye’s famed The Golf Club in Ohio. Currently ranked No. 11 in our Best Courses in South Carolina.

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Old Tabby Links, Spring Island, S.C. (1993)

Said to have been Palmer’s favourite, Old Tabby is a gorgeous Lowcountry layout, with fairways framed by mammoth live oaks and greens edged by lagoons and tidal marsh. Currently ranked No. 20 in our Best Courses in South Carolina.

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Adios G.C., Coconut Creek, Fla. (1984)

An exclusive male-only oasis in busy South Florida, Adios is the rare Florida course with no housing. The layout is testy, with narrow fairways among pines and ponds and highly contoured greens. Adios was named one of Golf Digest’s “Best Damn Clubs,” mostly for being a great hang, but also for its stout course.

RELATED: 2018 Top 10 Golf Courses in the Middle East

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Tradition G.C., La Quinta, Calif. (1998)

Hard against the Santa Rosa Mountains, it’s the prettiest course in Palm Springs. Palmer admitted he insisted on elaborate flower-bed landscaping because his late wife, Winnie, loved floral displays. Tradition Golf Club, which recently unveiled a statue to Mr. Palmer in honour of his contributions to the club, is ranked No. 21 on our ultra-competitive Best Courses in California.

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Dakota Dunes (S.D.) G.C. (1991)

A most unusual course, built in sand dunes along the Missouri River with many holes cut through stands of tall cottonwood trees. It was long ranked the top course in the state. Dakota Dunes is currently ranked No. 3 on our Best Courses in South Dakota.

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(Photo Courtesy of Lonnie Poole Golf Course at NC State)

Lonnie Poole G. Cse. at North Carolina State University, Raleigh (2009)

For those unable to land an invitation to Musgrove Mill, the public Lonnie Poole offers a similar experience of vast waste bunkers, tight greens and shotmaking demands.

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Aviara G.C., Carlsbad, Calif. (1991)

Aviara provides a public version of Tradition with elaborate bunkering, extensive water-scapes and hillsides of brilliant flowers.

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ArborLinks G. Cse., Nebraska City, Neb. (2002)

Lauded for its environmental sensitivity, ArborLinks was built in open plains, but this being the hometown of Arbor Day, some trees have been selectively planted for strategic and sustainable reasons. ArborLinks is ranked No. 8 on our Best Courses in Nebraska list.

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The Bluffs C.C. & Resort, St. Francisville, La. (1988)

This was the favourite of the late Ed Seay, who thought the tumbling sand hills in “sweet woods” along Thompson Creek north of Baton Rouge was the perfect land for golf. The Bluffs C.C. and Resort is the highest-ranked public course in the state, and currently No. 4 within the Best Courses in Louisiana.

RELATED: 2018 Top 10 Golf Courses in the Middle East

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The Asian Tour last week unveiled a new flagship event, the Ho Tram Players Championship which will take place 13–16 April 2017 at The Bluffs Ho Tram Strip, marking an historic occasion for the tour, its members and the nation of Vietnam.

The inaugural Ho Tram Open last December saw Sergio Garcia triumphing in dramatic fashion at the culmination of a week that was ultimately recognised as The Asian Tour’s 2015 Event of the Year, and set the foundation for the launch of the tour’s new flagship event, the Ho Tram Players Championship.

“The Players’ Championship will be the highlight of the Asian Tour year and we could not think of a more deserving venue and event than Ho Tram,” commented Kyi Hla Han, the commissioner of the Asian Tour. “The inaugural year not only put Ho Tram on the map, but has reinforced Vietnam’s position as a growing force in the world of golf and sport.”

The Ho Tram Players trophy will be the most coveted piece of silverware on the Asian Tour in 2017

Ho Tram will host some of the best golfers in the world including defending champion, Sergio Garcia, who will return to defend his title next April, the week after The Masters. The US$1.2 million showpiece will become the richest prize purse for a full-field Asian Tour event and also receive an increase in world ranking points thanks to its increased status.

Greg Norman’s Bluffs course will once again take centre stage. This dramatic layout overlooking the Grand Ho Tram hotel weaves through towering sand dunes and the fringes of a dense rainforest, and made its debut inside the Golf Digest World Top 100 Courses earlier this year.

The par 4 12th hole at The Bluffs Ho Tram Strip showcases the sweeping topography that Greg Norman incorporated throughout the award-winning layout

Last week’s press conference at The Ho Tram Grand marked a special piece of history for the Asian Tour

“I made no secret about how impressed I was with Ho Tram and The Bluffs and the response I have had around the world about how spectacular the championship looked has been extraordinary,” commented Garcia. “For the event to be announced as The Players Championship is a huge step and I think everyone involved should be particularly proud of getting the event to such status in such a short space of time.”

Ben Styles, Vice-President Golf & Residential Development for The Ho Tram Strip said, “This is yet another milestone in Ho Tram and Vietnam’s history. To host such a prestigious championship will certainly add more interest for Vietnam, increasing global viewing figures as well as giving our top Vietnamese amateurs the opportunity to compete against the world’s best.”

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Greg Norman’s stunning new creation on the southern coast of Vietnam may be called The Bluffs, but it’s a layout that holds all the aces

By Robbie Greenfield

To be precise my initial glimpse of the sprawling golf course from the bay window of a 21st floor room in The Grand resort hotel elicited more of a “woaaah”. The sight that greeted me was enough to spur even the most recreational golfer to dive theatrically for his clubs and sprint to the nearest elevator.

If Chambers Bay is America’s archetypal modern links on steroids, then The Bluffs is undoubtedly Asia’s answer to it. The course has been carved out of a rugged site sandwiched between a sweeping coastline and an impenetrable Vietnamese jungle. From high up in the hotel you can make out nearly all 18 holes as they tumble and weave dramatically from elevated vantage points to pristine fairways that bisect the towering sand dunes on either side.

Bathed in the warm glow of an early morning sun, it was some first impression.

Given the scope of the entire development, The Bluff s was always destined to be a big golf course with a personality to match. Its accompanying hotel, The Grand Ho Tram, looks like it has been airlifted directly from the Las Vegas Strip. Described as Vietnam’s fi rst ‘beachfront integrated luxury resort’, it’s a massive property with over 500 rooms, a nightclub, cigar lounge and naturally, a sizeable casino. The Grand is the trailblazer for a number of neighbouring resorts in the pipeline that will transform this stretch of coast into a mini-Macau over the next few years. To arrive at such a venue after a 90-minute drive from Ho Chi Minh City through small rural towns and fairly nondescript countryside is disorienting to say the least. What is quickly apparent though from the second you leave the airport is that Vietnam doesn’t do mundane.

The bluffs Ho Tram strip – The clubhouse includes a well-appointed pro shop and below: the view from the hotel is spectacular

As soon as The Grand’s luxury shuttle (complete with reclining leather seats and WiFi) emerged from the terminal, we were engulfed by a dense swarm of mopeds. It was like being caught up in some vast motorised migration, with each vehicle intent on aggressively changing lanes without depositing.

There are allegedly four million mopeds in Ho Chi Minh (or put another way, one per every person over the age of 12), and most of them seemed to be fl anking us as we sped past bustling side streets, crowded neon-lit bars and street food stalls serving everything from meat skewers to fried octopus. Southeast Asia buzzes with an energy that’s unique to this part of the world, and in few cities is this as palpable as Ho Chi Minh.

Vietnam’s potent mix of both ancient and modern history, jaw-dropping geography (just Google Ha Long Bay and you’ll get the idea) and famous cuisine has long established it as a favourite among travellers, and now you can add world class golf to that list of attractions. For several years now the country has been quietly emerging as a strong alternative to Thailand (the reigning champion of Asian golf tourism), and while it can’t compete in terms of volume, Vietnam has done a great job carving its own compelling niche.

In just fi ve years, the central Danang region has become a golfi ng hotspot, off ering courses designed by Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie and Norman himself. The Australian legend’s Danang Golf Club was widely considered to be the fi nest layout in the country, until he was given an even better opportunity to showcase his design prowess at Ho Tram.

The Bluff s is one of those projects that even the top designers only get a crack at once or twice in their careers. Most modern sites require the architect to sculpt interesting topography out of nothing, or at least fi nd a way of fi tting the layout into restrictive corridors of real estate, but on the Ho Tram strip, Norman was given a rugged canvass of rare potential. The former World No.1 now has 77 golf courses in his growing worldwide portfolio, and ranks The Bluffs alongside Doonbeg on the west coast of Ireland as the best site he’s ever been given to work with. Before I had even hit a shot it was easy to see why.

The Bluff s may be a purist’s golf course, but those who want a luxury experience to match the grandeur of the layout won’t be disappointed. This truly is fi ve star fare that begins with a short shuttle ride from The Grand and continues with a welcoming committee at the clubhouse that includes your designated caddie.

My only complaint about the caddies at The Bluffs was the fact that my next round would have to be endured without one; like being unceremoniously dumped in Economy directly after flying Business. Through no fault of her own, my caddie also kept my score a little too studiously for my liking (I told her I wasn’t ‘marking a card’ right after watching a provisional tee shot disappear into a bush on the 10th, but undeterred, I caught her scribbling down an 8 less than 15 minutes later). Thankfully, this unerring accuracy extended to club selection and green reading.

Like an experienced tailor sizing up a generous waistline, the limitations in my game were silently accounted for. Prudent lay-ups were politely advised, a putter was handed to me when any golfer with a crumb of belief in his short game would have grabbed a wedge, and full-blooded sevenirons were gently talked down into regular sixes. In short, my caddie prevented disaster on at least eight holes, all the while maintaining a steady flow of refreshments. The Bluffs has clearly gone to great lengths to recruit the most knowledgeable caddies in the region, and it all adds up to visiting golfers shooting lower scores and having a better time doing it.

I played the course with head teaching professional Patrick Kelly and course superintendent Alistair MacFadyen – one of those golfers who tells you he plays off six with a wink, then unfurls a drive off the first tee that hangs in the air for eight seconds and lands on mown grass 300 yards away. On a lesser course this routine might have started to get to me, but anyone who tees it up here will be having far too much fun to worry about being shamed by their playing partners. Right from the short par 4 first hole, which shares a fairway with nine (in a nod to the classic links courses), The Bluffs is a non-stop thrill ride.

It is every inch a modern beast, and despite drawing much of its inspiration from the crumpled links of Scotland, any efforts to make a direct comparison would be off the mark. But why go for subtle nuances when the terrain and its accompanying features are so visually dramatic? There is no weak hole that makes up the numbers here, no tee box that doesn’t prompt a sharp intake of breath. The front nine par 3s – two, four and seven – are three of the best short holes you’ll ever play one after the other. Eight is a majestic par 4 that plays downhill from a high tee to a giant double-fairway and then up again to a green hidden among the dunes.

Incredibly, the back nine is even more striking than the front. While the opening holes skirt right up against the forest (epitomised by the par 3 fourth green, which pops up like an island among a carpet of trees), from the 10th hole onwards the course ascends to higher ground, where the vistas are superb. Norman has been generous with the landing areas, which is just as well given how exposed some of the holes are. As you might expect with a links-like course, it can get pretty windy here, and the capricious Vietnamese weather can turn in an instant.

After climbing back up to the clubhouse for the final time and escaping The Bluffs’ brutal par 4 closer with a respectable bogey, my immediate conclusion was that I had played a course destined for superstar status. With The Bluffs set to host its first Asian Tour event – the $1.5 million Ho Tram Open in early December – that reputation is unlikely to be a long time in coming.

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