Vietnam golf gets governing body
SON TAY — In a move that complements the July 2007 launch of the Ho Chi Minh Golf Trail, Vietnamese course owners have agreed a formal governing body for golf in Vietnam.
The Vietnam Golf Association (VGA) will be responsible for uniform course ratings, handicapping services and nationwide tournament administration in 2008.
Thomas Benefield, Kings’ Island Golf Club’s operations manager: “This is the next logical step in the maturation of golf in Vietnam.”
Kings’ Island is the oldest golf club in the country’s northern tier. Formed in 1994, the 36-hole facility is also a founding member of the Ho Chi Minh Golf Trail, the region’s first comprehensive golfing itinerary.
Benefield said that Kings’ Island has shifted into high gear its makeover of the original lakeside course. Renovations began earlier this year with improvements on the front nine, and have since carried over to the back.
“Tourism is increasing, and golf interest is increasing, so it’s vitally important that course quality increases with it,” he said.
“Visitors want international standards, and they want it all to mesh—the lodging, the attractions, the golf. We’ll leave no stone unturned. Grass, irrigation, tees, bunkers … You name it, we’re upgrading it.”
Routed north to south through Vietnam, the Ho Chi Minh Golf Trail pairs leisure time on the links with leisure time at singular attractions throughout the country.
In addition to Kings’ Island, golfing stops along the Ho Chi Minh Golf Trail include:
• Chi Linh Star Golf & Country Club, 27 holes outside Hanoi and recent host to the Asian PGA Tour’s Carlsberg Masters.
• Dalat Palace Golf Club, the only wall-to-wall bent grass course in Southeast Asia, laid out in the 1920s for Bao Dai, the last emperor of Vietnam.
• Dong Nai Golf Resort, a 27-hole track designed by American Ward Northrup, whose layout skirts the inlets and shores of a natural lake.
• Ocean Dunes Golf Club, Nick Faldo designed “tropical links” adjacent to the South China Sea.
• Tam Dao Golf Resort, a new 18 in the cool highlands northeast of Hanoi, convenient to the airport.
• Vietnam Golf & Country Club, home to 36 private holes 20 minutes from downtown Ho Chi Minh City.
To make travel plans for a tour of the Ho Chi Minh Golf Trail, contact Ms. Phi Thu Thuy at [email protected].
For more information on the Ho Chi Minh Golf Trail, visit www.hochiminhgolftrail.com .
Ian Jarrett
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