Vietnam Golf Country Club, officially Vietnam Golf & Country Club, was the first 36-hole facility in the country when the West Course opened in December 1994, and thirty-plus years later it’s still the club every serious golfer in Ho Chi Minh City has an opinion about. I played both courses on a December trip, West in the morning, East after lunch, logged the green fees down to the dong, and walked away with a clearer picture than most reviews give you of which course actually deserves your tee time. My dad never got past a single 6-iron at a Westminster charity scramble, but standing on the first tee 20 minutes from where half my mother’s side of the family still lives in District 9 felt like a different kind of homecoming than my usual Da Nang rounds.
At a Glance
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Location | Long Thanh My, Thu Duc City, 17 km from HCMC center, 18.8 km from Tan Son Nhat Airport |
| Holes | 36 (West Course + East Course, each 18) |
| West Course | Par 72, approx. 7,106 yards championship tees, designed by Chen King Shih (1994) |
| East Course | Designed by Lee Trevino (1997), wider fairways, 110 bunkers |
| Turf | Bermuda fairways, TifEagle greens (both courses) |
| Green Fee | $130 weekday / $155 weekend (excl. transfer), Q1 2026 pricing |
| Caddy Fee | $20–25 USD (400,000–500,000 VND), cash only, mandatory |
| Dave’s Rating | 7.2/10 |
Course Layout: West Course vs. East Course
The 300-hectare property is split into two genuinely different golf experiences, and that’s the first thing most reviews get wrong by treating “Vietnam Golf & Country Club” as one course instead of two. The mature woodland is the property’s real asset. This predates almost every other golf development in the country, and unlike newer HCMC-area courses that clear-cut for sightlines, the original architects routed both layouts around the existing tree canopy rather than through it. You feel the difference in shade coverage alone on a 34°C afternoon.
The West Course, Chen King Shih’s 1994 design, is the tighter, more punishing of the two. Mature woodland presses in on both sides of nearly every fairway, and at 7,106 yards from the championship tees it isn’t short either. This is the layout that’s hosted rounds of the Vietnam Open on the Asian Tour, and the championship pedigree shows in how little margin it gives a wayward tee shot. Miss a fairway here and you’re not just losing 10 yards of accuracy, you’re often blocked out entirely by canopy.
The East Course, which Lee Trevino opened in September 1997, plays like a deliberate answer to the West. Fairways are noticeably wider, you can see it from the first tee, but Trevino built in 110 bunkers and stacked water hazards across the routing to make sure “wider” never means “easier.” It’s the more strategic of the two, rewarding shot-shape decisions over raw accuracy. The West’s tournament pedigree isn’t marketing spin either, it’s carried rounds of the Vietnam Open, the country’s oldest professional event on the Asian Tour circuit.
If you’ve only got time for one loop, play the East. The West is the more “famous” course on paper, but at a 12-handicap I lost three balls to tree trouble in the first six holes and never got into a scoring rhythm. The East’s bunkers and water are visible, predictable hazards, you can play around them. The West’s trees just take the club out of your hand.
The Greens: Turf, Speed, Read
Both courses run TifEagle Bermuda greens over Bermuda fairways, a combination that holds up well in Vietnam’s humidity but grains hard in the afternoon sun. My caddy on the East Course read every putt “toward the clubhouse” as a rule of thumb given the property’s gentle overall slope toward Long Thanh My, a tip that saved me at least two three-putts. The greens themselves run true but not fast; this isn’t a course where you’ll be fighting 12-foot Stimpmeter speeds, which actually works in your favor if your lag putting is rusty. My GPS watch clocked the East Course round at just under 4 hours 40 minutes with caddies, roughly 20 minutes slower than my usual Central Vietnam pace. The extra time comes from the deliberate, methodical way HCMC caddies here call reads on the slower Bermuda surfaces.
Where the Course Bites
Neither course publishes a detailed hole-by-hole yardage book that I could independently verify for this review, so I won’t pretend to hand you invented numbers for individual holes, but the character of each nine is consistent enough to plan around.
On the West, the tightest stretch comes early. The tree cover is at its densest and most consistent on the front nine, and it’s where I saw the most balls (mine included) disappear into the woodland margin rather than the rough. Play conservative off the tee here, a 3-wood in the fairway beats a driver in the trees every time.
On the East, the water hazards cluster more heavily on the closing holes, which is a classic Trevino move: he wants the course deciding your scorecard right when you’re tired and your swing has degraded. Club up, take the bunker over the water when given the choice, and don’t be a hero on the 18th.
Practice Facilities
| Facility | Rating | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Driving Range | 4/5 | Full-length range, ball supply included in most packages |
| Putting/Practice Green | 3/5 | Adequate size, gets busy on weekend mornings |
| Short Game Area | 3/5 | Functional but smaller than newer Da Nang-area resorts |
Facilities & Clubhouse
The clubhouse is a genuine relic of Vietnam’s first golf era: locker rooms, Japanese-style showers, and both dry and wet saunas, which is more spa infrastructure than most modern Vietnamese courses bother with. The pro shop is well stocked if you forgot gloves or need a sleeve of balls.
The restaurant looks out over the West Course and serves an international menu rather than the Vietnamese-clubhouse-food I usually gravitate toward in my reviews, grilled sandwiches, pasta, a so-so club burger, competent, but not a reason to book the round on its own. The cold Saigon beer at the turn (around 35,000 VND) hits exactly as good as it does everywhere else in Vietnam after nine holes in the heat, but if you’re chasing a proper post-round pho or bun thit nuong, you’ll want to head back into District 2 or District 1 rather than linger at the clubhouse.
Book the shared cart, not a single-rider surcharge (500,000 VND extra). The cart paths here are well maintained and there’s zero benefit to riding solo unless you’re specifically avoiding conversation with a playing partner.
Green Fees & Booking (Q1 2026)
| Category | Weekday | Weekend/Holiday |
|---|---|---|
| Green fee (no transfer) | $130 | $155 (min. 3 players) |
| Green fee + hotel transfer | $150–180 | $175–200 |
| Caddy fee | $20–25 (cash) | $20–25 (cash) |
| Cart | Included (shared) | Included (shared) |
| Club rental (18 holes) | $55 | $55 |
| Shoe rental (18 holes) | $20 | $20 |
Pricing sourced from the club’s current booking partner listings, Q1 2026. Confirm directly before booking, golf pricing in Vietnam moves 5–10% between quarters.
Compared to the $80–120 average I quote for Central Vietnam courses in my full Vietnam golf cost breakdown, Vietnam Golf & Country Club sits at the premium end for the HCMC market, you’re paying for 30 years of mature landscaping and genuine championship history, not resort amenities. If you’re weighing whether to fly with your own set or rent clubs locally for a one-off HCMC round, the $55 rental fee here is right in line with the national average.
How to Get There
The club sits in Thu Duc City, roughly 17 km from downtown Ho Chi Minh City and 18.8 km from Tan Son Nhat Airport. Budget 45 to 60 minutes by car depending on the time you leave. Morning rush hour out of District 1 (7:00 to 8:30 AM) can push that closer to 75 minutes, so if you’ve booked an early tee time, leave the hotel with buffer or arrange the club’s hotel-transfer package instead of a same-day Grab.
Best Time to Play
| Month | Conditions | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Nov–Feb | Dry, 24–28°C, lowest humidity of the year | 5/5 |
| Mar–Apr | Hot, dry, 30°C+ by mid-morning | 4/5 |
| May–Oct | Afternoon monsoon bursts, high humidity | 3/5 (book AM only) |
An early tee time is non-negotiable here for most of the year. The region’s afternoon rain windows typically build in from around 2:00 PM during the wet season, so a 6:30 to 7:00 AM start gets both courses’ worth of golf in before the sky turns on you. For a region-by-region breakdown, see my best-time-to-play guide.
Nearby Courses
Vietnam Golf Country Club isn’t part of a dense HCMC golf corridor the way Da Nang has one, but if you’re extending a south Vietnam golf trip toward the coast, I’ve also reviewed The Bluffs Ho Tram, a very different, ocean-cliff design roughly a 2.5-hour drive from the city. For a full regional shortlist, see my Top 5 Golf Courses Near HCMC ranking and the broader Ho Chi Minh City Golf Guide.
Combine With Ho Chi Minh City
A round here fits naturally into a District 1/District 2 city stay rather than a dedicated golf resort trip. You’re 45 minutes from the airport and the same distance from downtown hotels, which makes it easy to bolt an 18-hole morning onto a broader HCMC itinerary. If you want to pair the round with sightseeing for a non-golfing partner or the rest of the day, GetYourGuide’s Ho Chi Minh City activities hub lists half-day city tours that slot in well after an early tee time.
How to Book a Vietnam Golf Country Club Tee Time
The most straightforward way to lock in a tee time without a phone call in Vietnamese is Klook’s Vietnam Golf & Country Club One Day Golf Experience listing, which bundles hotel pickup with the round, useful given the 45–60 minute drive from most downtown hotels. Booking direct through the club can be cheaper if you already have transport sorted and don’t mind email/WhatsApp coordination in advance.
FAQ
Is Vietnam Golf & Country Club worth it compared to other HCMC-area courses?
Yes, if you value course maturity and championship history over resort polish. It’s not the newest or the flashiest course near Ho Chi Minh City, but the 300 hectares of established woodland and two genuinely distinct 18-hole layouts are hard to find anywhere else this close to downtown.
West Course or East Course, which should I play?
If you can only play one, I’d take the East. It’s more forgiving off the tee and its hazards (110 bunkers, water) are visible and playable-around, versus the West’s tree-lined fairways that punish a single bad swing. Low-handicappers chasing the championship pedigree should still play the West at least once.
How do I get from Tan Son Nhat Airport to Vietnam Golf & Country Club?
It’s 18.8 km, typically 45 to 60 minutes by car outside rush hour. A hotel-transfer golf package or a pre-booked Grab is more reliable than hailing a taxi same-day, especially for an early tee time.
What’s the dress code and caddy tipping etiquette?
Standard Vietnamese club rules apply: collared shirt, golf shorts or pants, golf shoes, no denim or tank tops. Caddy fees run $20–25 USD (400,000–500,000 VND) and are cash-only; that’s the fee itself, not a tip on top, though rounding up for good service is appreciated. For the fuller picture across every course I’ve reviewed, see how I tip caddies across Vietnam.
Can non-members book a tee time directly?
Yes. Despite the “country club” name, the facility accepts outside visitor bookings, typically through OTA golf-experience listings or direct email/phone booking with the pro shop, no membership required.
Dave’s Final Verdict
Vietnam Golf Country Club earns its reputation as Vietnam’s first 36-hole club, but “first” and “best value near HCMC in 2026” aren’t the same claim. At $130–155 a round it’s priced like a premium Da Nang course without quite Da Nang’s conditioning consistency. What you’re really paying for is the East Course’s Lee Trevino design and thirty years of tree growth the newer HCMC-area courses simply can’t fake. In my experience across 50+ Vietnam rounds, that trade-off (design pedigree vs. day-to-day playability) is the one that actually matters here.
Play the East if you’re picking one, bring extra balls if you insist on the West, and budget the full 45–60 minutes each way so you’re not rushing off Tan Son Nhat straight to the first tee. Rating: 7.2/10, worth the trip out to Thu Duc, not worth restructuring your whole HCMC itinerary around. See how it stacks up against the rest of the country in my full ranking of the best golf courses in Vietnam.
Dave Nguyen has played 50+ golf courses across Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia and carries a 12-handicap. This review reflects a December 2025 round on both the West and East courses at Vietnam Golf & Country Club, with pricing verified against Q1 2026 listings.
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