Long Thanh Golf Club Review 2026: Two 36-Hole Courses Near Saigon

Long Thanh Golf Club has been quietly running two full 18-hole courses in Dong Nai Province since 2001, and most golfers driving out from Ho Chi Minh City still don’t know which course is which. Ron Fream of Golfplan designed both the Hill Course and the Lake Course to par 72, spread across more than 350 hectares of rolling terrain about an hour outside the city. I’ve played 53 courses across Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia, and Long Thanh’s biggest quirk isn’t on the scorecard. It’s the club’s own name, which doesn’t quite match the city it’s actually located in.

At a Glance

For the broader picture of how it stacks up against everything else I’ve played in the country, see my full ranking of Vietnam’s best golf courses.

Long Thanh Golf Club’s Course Design: Hill Course vs. Lake Course

Ron Fream and his firm Golfplan opened Long Thanh Golf Club in 2001, arriving early in Vietnam’s rapidly growing golf industry. At the time, the country’s golf scene was mostly Dalat Palace and a handful of Hanoi-area tracks. Fream laid out two distinct 18s on a plateau site: the Hill Course threading through rolling, oil-palm-lined fairways, and the flatter Lake Course built around a network of artificial lakes and high-lipped bunkers. Both play to par 72, and both use Paspalum on the fairways and tees with Tifdwarf Bermuda greens, a grass combination that handles Dong Nai’s humidity better than the pure Bermuda setups I’ve played further north.

Yardage is where I have to hedge. Sources list the Lake Course anywhere from roughly 7,000 to just over 7,100 yards from the back tees, and the Hill Course somewhere in the 6,900-to-7,050 range. The spread looks like different aggregators measuring from different tee boxes without labeling them clearly, so treat any single number you see online as a rough figure, not a scorecard-exact one. Same caution applies to course rating and slope: GolfPass lists preliminary figures in the low-70s for rating and mid-130s-to-140s for slope on both courses, but that data came through a search snippet rather than a page I could verify directly, so I’d confirm the actual card at the pro shop before trusting it for a serious stroke-play round.

What I can say with confidence: the Hill Course is the harder ball-striking test, not because of length but because of green complexes that punish anything above the hole. The Lake Course trades that difficulty for water; you’re rarely more than two holes away from a hazard that can eat a ball if you get greedy with a mid-iron. Its bunkering is the more photogenic of the two as well: steep, high-lipped, and positioned to catch anything pulled left off the tee, which is a common miss once the afternoon crosswind picks up. I couldn’t find any published environmental certification, Audubon or otherwise, for the irrigation drawing on those lakes, which is worth flagging since a growing number of Vietnamese courses now publish that kind of data and Long Thanh doesn’t appear to yet.

Signature Holes: Top 5 Highlights

The single most distinctive hole at Long Thanh barely shows up anywhere else online: the 13th on the Hill Course gives you a choice between two separate greens on the approach. It’s the kind of course-management wrinkle that changes your strategy off the tee: bail out toward the safer green and you’re playing a different angle into the pin than the golfer who commits to the tighter target. I’ve played maybe a dozen courses in Southeast Asia with a genuine dual-green hole, and this one isn’t a gimmick. It actually rewards knowing which green is cut for the pin that day.

Four more holes are worth building your round around. The artificial lakes and waterfalls running through both courses aren’t just scenery: on the Lake Course they pinch several fairways down to a landing zone that punishes anything hit without a plan. The high-lipped bunkers guarding the Lake Course’s greens are steep enough that a standard bunker-wedge swing sometimes isn’t enough club; I came up short twice testing them from the same lie.

On the Hill Course, the plateau setting gives several holes real elevation and panoramic views back across the property, useful for club selection, since downhill shots fly further than they look. And the oil-palm corridors lining most of the Hill Course’s fairways do double duty: they frame the hole visually and they’re an unforgiving miss if you’re spraying it, since palm trunks don’t give you a swing at all, let alone a clean one.

Facilities & Clubhouse

Long Thanh Golf Club’s facility list reads like most full-service Vietnamese clubs: driving range, practice green, pro shop, locker rooms, a restaurant serving Vietnamese and Western menus, and conference rooms. The genuinely unusual part is an on-site villa and residential estate that most Vietnam courses don’t bother building. Add night golf under lights and a spa and massage offering, and Long Thanh positions itself less as a pure golf-and-leave course and more as a stay-and-play property, even without a resort brand attached to it.

The restaurant is where reviews split. Some travelers on TripAdvisor praised the food and portion sizes; one reviewer flatly called it “a major disappointment.” I haven’t eaten there myself on record, so I’m reporting the split rather than picking a side, but a roughly even read on clubhouse dining is worth knowing before you build lunch plans around it. Front-desk English proficiency drew similarly mixed feedback, which matters more if you’re arriving without a Vietnamese-speaking member of your group.

Halfway house note: if there’s a cà phê sữa đá cart at the turn, order it over whatever bottled drink is on offer. It’s a five-minute stop that does more for the back nine than a sports drink ever will, and it’s the kind of detail that makes a round in Dong Nai feel different from a round back home in Garden Grove.

Caddie Program & Service Quality

Caddies are the strongest, most consistently praised part of the experience across every review I read for this piece, described repeatedly as experienced and knowledgeable, the kind who’ll flag a false-front green before you commit to a club. That matters more here than at a lot of Vietnamese courses, since both the Hill and Lake layouts have enough subtlety in the greens that a local read saves real strokes.

I do dock points for the front-desk English feedback mentioned above. It’s a trust-building admission, not a trashing, but if smooth check-in communication matters to your group, budget a few extra minutes and some patience for it.

On tipping: I don’t have a Long Thanh-specific number to quote, so I’m applying the standard I use across every Vietnamese course I’ve reviewed: 200,000 to 400,000 VND ($8-$16) in cash, straight to the caddy, no exceptions. For the fuller breakdown on when to tip toward the top versus the bottom of that range, I’ve written up caddy tipping etiquette in Vietnam separately, and the logic applies the same way here.

Green Fees & How to Book

Here’s where I have to be straight with you: current green fees weren’t consistently published anywhere I could verify at the time of writing. One review referenced an older weekday rate that included a caddy, but it wasn’t dated clearly enough to trust for 2026 pricing, and a couple of booking aggregators show fee categories, weekday versus weekend, without visible numbers attached. Rather than quote you a figure that might be a year or two stale, I’ll give you the honest regional context instead: $100-$180 per 18 holes is the general range across South Vietnam courses in this tier, and this course’s positioning (two full 18s, less name-recognition premium than Vietnam Golf & Country Club) points toward the lower-to-middle end of that range rather than the top.

Confirm the actual number with the pro shop or a booking partner before you commit a tee time; if you want to compare that range against other courses in the region, I’ve laid out the complete fee breakdown across the sites I’ve reviewed. The rental pricing, at least, is confirmed and consistent across sources:

That rental pricing sits at the low end of what I’ve seen across Vietnam. A full club set for $41 is a genuine value if you’re traveling without your own bag. For a live rate on the green fee itself, it’s worth checking whether you can compare golf packages on Klook before you show up. That at least gets you a current number instead of a guess.

Location, Getting There & Best Time to Play

Long Thanh Golf Club’s name is the first thing that trips people up. The confirmed address is Km9, National Highway 51 (QL51), Tan Mai II Hamlet, Phuoc Tan, Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province, not Long Thanh District proper, despite the club carrying that name. Some older listings still label it “Long Thanh District,” while more current sources say Bien Hoa; Phuoc Tan appears to straddle that administrative boundary and has likely been reassigned over the years, so I’m not going to assert one label as definitively correct without a government source to back it up. You can view the exact clubhouse location on Google Maps if you want to confirm before you drive out.

One more naming note worth flagging: Vietnam is separately building a major new Long Thanh International Airport project in Dong Nai, which is a different location entirely and unrelated to this golf club beyond sharing a name. Don’t confuse proximity to the airport project with proximity to the golf course. They’re not the same place.

Distance from central Ho Chi Minh City is reported as roughly 30-36 km depending on the source, translating to about an hour’s drive in normal traffic. I don’t have a reliable Tan Son Nhat Airport-specific figure to quote, so treat “about an hour from central HCMC” as your safe planning number rather than a precise transfer time. If you’re weighing this against other Ho Chi Minh golf options, the drive time is comparable to several other Dong Nai-area courses.

Dawn tee times work best here regardless of season, get out early enough and you’ll finish most of your round before the afternoon storm window becomes a factor during the wet months.

Nearby Courses & Combine Your Trip

Long Thanh sits in a genuinely competitive pocket of Dong Nai and greater Ho Chi Minh golf. The most direct comparison is Vietnam Golf & Country Club in Thu Duc, 36 holes across a West course (Chen King Shih) and East course (Lee Trevino), and generally regarded as the more famous of the two clubs. One source I trust on regional positioning noted that some golfers actively choose this course over Vietnam G&CC, and having played both types of layouts across the region, I get the logic: less name-recognition premium, two full 18s, and a quieter overall experience.

Beyond that head-to-head, you’ve got Twin Doves Golf Club about an hour north with its 27-hole Luna/Mare/Sole layout, Song Be Golf Resort out in Binh Duong, and Dong Nai Golf Resort built around a large lake if you want to stay in the same province. If you’re willing to drive further and want a genuinely world-class detour, The Bluffs Ho Tram on the coast is a different tier entirely. I’ve written up my review of The Bluffs Ho Tram separately, and it’s worth the extra hours if your trip has the time for it.

For golfers based in Ho Chi Minh City building a multi-round trip, Long Thanh pairs naturally with an overnight stay closer to the coast or a same-day return to Saigon. If you’re stacking courses into one trip, it’s worth checking availability on GetYourGuide for combo golf-day options before you lock your itinerary.

Frequently Asked Questions

Got more questions? I keep a running answer bank on Best Golf Vietnam’s FAQ page, but here are the six I get asked most about this course specifically.

Is this course located in Bien Hoa or Long Thanh district?
The confirmed address puts Long Thanh Golf Club in Phuoc Tan, Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province, not Long Thanh District, despite the name. Sources disagree on the exact administrative labeling; Phuoc Tan appears to straddle the historical Bien Hoa/Long Thanh boundary. Rather than pick a side without a government source to confirm it, I’d treat this as a known naming quirk rather than a settled fact.

What’s the difference between the Hill Course and Lake Course?
The Hill Course plays over rolling terrain lined with oil-palm fairways and includes the club’s signature two-green 13th hole. It’s the tougher green-reading test of the two. The Lake Course is flatter, built around artificial lakes and high-lipped bunkers that punish loose iron play. Both are par 72. If your schedule allows a 36-hole day, play both back to back rather than picking one.

Is this course worth playing over Vietnam Golf & Country Club?
It depends what you’re after. Vietnam Golf & Country Club carries more name recognition, but some golfers choose Long Thanh specifically for its 36-hole variety and less crowded feel at a comparable price point. I’d frame it as a value-and-variety argument rather than a flat “better” claim. Check the nearby-courses section above for the fuller comparison.

How much should I tip a caddy here?
I don’t have a course-specific figure to quote, so I’m applying the Vietnam-wide standard: 200,000-400,000 VND ($8-$16), paid in cash directly to your caddy. Reviews consistently describe the caddies here as experienced and a genuine strength of the club, so tipping toward the higher end for a good read on the greens is money well spent.

Can I rent golf clubs here?
Yes. Confirmed rental pricing runs $41 for a full club set, $17 for a cart, $12 for shoes, and $6 for an umbrella. That club-set price sits at the low end of the $35-$55 range you’ll see across Vietnam generally, which makes this a reasonable option if you’re traveling without your own bag.

What is the best time of year to play golf near Ho Chi Minh City?
Dry season runs November through April, with December through March as the best window for low rainfall and comfortable daytime temps around 32°C. Wet season (May-October) is still playable: expect short 1-2 hour afternoon storms with clear mornings. That South Vietnam pattern applies directly here since the course sits in the same climate zone.

Dave’s Final Verdict ⛳

Long Thanh Golf Club earns a 7.5/10 from me: solid, not spectacular, and better than the mixed online chatter suggests. The design pedigree is real (Ron Fream, two distinct 18s, that dual-green 13th nobody else writes about), the caddies are consistently praised, and the value case against Vietnam Golf & Country Club holds up. What keeps it from scoring higher: green fees I couldn’t verify with confidence, split reviews on the restaurant and front-desk English, and the persistent Bien Hoa/Long Thanh naming confusion that no competitor page bothers to clear up before you book.

If you’re based in Ho Chi Minh City and want two full 18s without the drive to the coast, Long Thanh is a legitimately good value pick. Just confirm the current rate before you go. If you’re chasing one marquee, best-in-Vietnam round instead, start with my full ranking of Vietnam’s best golf courses and work from there.