From vibrant cities and unique local delicacies to fascinating history and stunning natural landscapes, Vietnam has never had trouble drawing people to its shores, and now with almost 100 exceptional courses, golfers from across the globe are being enticed to see what it has to offer. Here, we look at five of the best golf courses in Vietnam.

Golf’s story in Vietnam begins in the 1930s when France was the colonial power in the region. It wasn’t the French themselves who laid out the first holes, but rather it was Vietnam’s last emperor, Bao Dai, who built a six-hole course in the central highlands at Dalat after discovering the sport on a trip to the French mainland.

The course, known as Dalat Golf Club, was revived in 1954 as a nine-hole course, later becoming popular with American troops, but was abandoned after the Vietnam War. It stayed that way until 1994, when American billionaire and DHL co-founder Larry Hillblom instigated a multi-million dollar renovation to turn it into an 18-hole championship layout. The same year, Vietnam Golf & Country Golf opened as Vietnam’s first 36-hole facility, close to Ho Chi Minh City, and the green shoots of Vietnam’s golfing culture were starting to show. However, it took until the late noughties for the sport to really take off in the county, with the central coastal region around Danang leading the way and styling itself as the Vietnam Golf Coast.

Today, golf continues to grow apace; the R&A’s 2023 Global Golf Participation Report put the number of courses in Vietnam at 96. Dozens more are either under construction or in the planning stages, making it one of the world’s fastest-growing golf destinations, if not the fastest. Today there are courses throughout Vietnam, from the north around Hanoi and UNESCO World Heritage Site Halong Bay down its 3,260km coastline to tropical holiday island Phu Quoc in the far south, with notable golf architects including Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Sir Nick Faldo and Robert Trent Jones Jr putting their stamp on a number of them.

In terms of scenery, in terms of course conditioning, in terms of the eagerness of the country to embrace golf, Vietnam is second to none in Asia.