My golfing adventures in Vietnam

Hi Oned10t,

Tipping the caddies range from VND300,000 - VND500,000 (SGD$18 - SGD$30)

I normally tip about VND400,000

BTW, all 3 courses you are playing are nice. except VGCC which is a matured course. When you play Long Thanh, try to book Lake Course.

Hi Winston,

Interesting reading your posts. 

I'll be heading to Danang next week (1st time to Vietnam) with my 10 year old son to play some golf. Will it be possible to buy 2nd hand balls there, we are playing at at Danang golf club and Montgomerie. We only have our clubs and borrowed two bags from friends here in Spore as we left ours in New Zealand due to weight issues.

Thank you and kind regards,

Jon

Hi Astroboy,

Unfortunatly, The course in Danang do not sell used balls like they do in HCMC, they have used balls in the pro shop but it is quite expensive.

Thank you Winston, I will go and buy some balls here in Singapore then before we leave. Cheers.

AStro,

Going to Danang because of direct flight on Silkair?

Asahi and Winston, thank you very much for the tips. 
As we only got two balls, and fly in 12 jan Sunday maybe you wan to join us for a round or two?

Winston, Yes Sir, SilkAir direct to Danang. My son and his best friend (both 11yrs old) want to play together so his friend's grandfather who is an avid golfer put together this trip.

We currently live in Auckland New Zealand so it's an opportunity for the 'best friends' to spend some quality time.

If you're ever in Auckland please let me know and we can have a game or two. I'm just a social golfer who has just come back into the game after a 5 year break. 

We had a great time in Thailand with Eric from BFG, Spore who brought my son around prior to the start of the Thai Open at Amata Springs. My son is really charged up about this trip so he can play, especially after Uncle Eric fine tuned his Fishy Sticks and wedges.

Cheers.

Hi Winston,
When booking a game here in Saigon, is it best to go direct with the course or to use an agent?
If best to use an agent, could you recommend one please.
Thanks.

Hi astro,

I am sure your son will love the golf in Danang, this time of year it is slightly cooler. Word of advice, speak slowly when talking to the caddies, the level of english although acceptable, it takes them a bit of time to understand you.

If you ever come to HCMC, we can most certainly have a game together. The chances of me flying to auckland is currently very very low....

Brendanm,

Unfiortunatly, I no longer have the agent's contact as she has stopped working. If you are playing weekdays, go direct to the golf course, the rates are always better. email them direct to ask them for their weekday promos.

Just returned from Danang last night. Weather was a pleasant 18 to 20 degrees with no rain. Perfect for us. 

Did not get to see much of Danang we were only there for golf. Spent a short afternoon at Hoi An, a twenty minute drive from the Hyatt hotel. It's a nice little quaint town (like the old part of Malacca). Full of tourists too though. Ha! Ha! Wife and son made some dresses and suits at AnDong in Hoi An and the prices were decent, more importantly the finished product was good.

We played at Danang golf club which had tighter fairways but better greens to Montgomerie which had beautiful fairways but much smaller greens. The fairways at Danang will punish you as there are bukers placed all over. Looking down the fairways it seem at times that all you saw were the bunkers. Accurate play was definitely the order of the day. Forget about trying to get on with the longer shots. I enjoyed Danang for the challenge as it made one practice good course management. The greens at Danang were fast and distance control was very important or you'd see you ball go way past the pin.

Montgomerie's fairways were really nice and I really enjoyed the view and playing there. Unfortunately the greens were small (which is actually good for accuracy)but the grass wasn't to my liking. It was bumpy and patchy in places. 

Both courses warrant playing at least twice to really enjoy yourself and the course. On the 1st day at Danang, my rangefinder went dead after the 2nd hole and silly me did not have a spare battery. I had to ask for the range from the caddy who was not very experienced. They use yards there and I'm used to meters. Fortunately I managed to go into town later in the evening to buy some batteries. Taxi fare cost me S$20 using a metered taxi and the battery cost S$4. Ha! Ha! 

Back on the course for the rest for the games with my rang finder made a lot of difference as I could confidently use the right clubs. For the rest of my games we were all fortunate to have good caddies who knew the course well and especially the greens. On my second time playing Danang the caddie would atomically take up the right club after watching me play 3 to 4 holes. There were times she advised me to lay up or go for the green and even the favored side to land etc… This is considering that i'm just a social golfer. When it came to reading the greens. I would always read the line myself then ask her advice to confirm. Many times she would tell my to aim off more then I thought and it payed off handsomely.

Having a good caddy was such a pleasure, something I had completely forgotten as you don't have caddies in New Zealand. I also ensured that my 11 year old son appreciated how hard working and wonderful the caddies were as human beings. In fact my son and his best friend had all the caddies attention and affection. They found the two little kids so adorable. I cannot remember how many times my son had his rosy cheeks gently pinched and rubbed. Other caddies would even come up and sayang them. That was a nice sight.

For all our games, we had to wait for the flights in front of us. There were a lot of players from China and Korea. The mainland Chinese golfers were all playing from the back tees which held up play as many of them should have just been playing from the whites. At one point the flight in front stopped to eat at the halfway house and we were expected to wait. I felt that was not right.

Overall, the two courses we played at were a lot of fun. Patience was a must if the course was busy. Don't get upset as a round can take you 5 hours due to all the waiting. I would come back and play again for sure if the opportunity arises.

We stayed at the Hyatt hotel. No complains about the hotel. Only downside is there is no supermarket nearby. You will have to run a taxi to town and taxi's are not cheap, not as cheap as Thailand for example. Food at the various places we ate were all acceptable to pretty good. People were friendly. No issues with taxi scams etc. All taxi's were metered.

Negative points for the trip:

Nothing really except for expensive taxis and most Vietnamese we met did not speak English. Not their fault. All were friendly.

Plus points for the trip:

Great cool weather. Had to use my jacket when the wind picked up but this was because we were driving the cart. If you were to walk it would have been perfect. You can walk the course.

Both golf courses were good fun.

Good standard of caddies except for my 1st day. The both little boys were treated like royalty by their caddies. They had more pars and birdies then ever before due to the great lines read for them. Even had their ball lined up and were told exactly where to putt. Ha! Ha!

Flight from Singapore on Silkair was direct and no frills but convenient.

Ended my trip with one birdie and 9 pars on the final game all due to the great advice I had from my caddy. What more could I ask for.

Lastly the thing that made the trip for me was to watch my son and his best mate really enjoy themselves. My son (who has only been playing for 1 year) had just had all his Fishsticks irons refitted by Eric from BFG and was also playing with his new driver and 3 wood fitted and bought from BFG. He was hitting some nice shots that made his old man so proud.

Hi Astro,

Thank you very much for the review. Am glad to hear that you had a good time. But more importantly, you had unforgettable memories bonding with your son.

Next time you ever in my neck of the woods, let me know....

Hi Winston,
What is the going rate to tip caddies after 19 holes at Vietnam Country Club?
Cheers

I had tipped vnd 300k to 400k depending on how good they are.. Erhhh for full 18 holes..   

Was told 300k is good enough.  

OK Bro Winston?

Hi Brendanm,

I have never tipped my caddies after 19 holes because I only see them for 18 holes and during the golf game.

However if it is a typo from you, than the going rate is VND 300K - 500K for a round of golf (18 holes)

Hi Hillgreen,

Actually there is no real hard and fast rule. but based on what you tipped, it is fine.

Sorry for the typo and thank you for the clarification re caddie tips.

Winston wrote:

Hi Brendanm,

I have never tipped my caddies after 19 holes because I only see them for 18 holes and during the golf game.

However if it is a typo from you, than the going rate is VND 300K - 500K for a round of golf (18 holes)

Hi Hillgreen,

Actually there is no real hard and fast rule. but based on what you tipped, it is fine.

 
Ha. I tipped based on hehe say.   Great to hear it is about there. 
But if to tip them vnd 500k ,  about sgd 30,will it be a bit on the high side since most course is with buggy?

hillgreen wrote:

Winston wrote:

Hi Brendanm,

I have never tipped my caddies after 19 holes because I only see them for 18 holes and during the golf game.

However if it is a typo from you, than the going rate is VND 300K - 500K for a round of golf (18 holes)

Hi Hillgreen,

Actually there is no real hard and fast rule. but based on what you tipped, it is fine.

 
Ha. I tipped based on hehe say.   Great to hear it is about there. 
But if to tip them vnd 500k ,  about sgd 30,will it be a bit on the high side since most course is with buggy?

Hi Hillgreen,

Yes, all courses come with buggy, but it is at additional charge. If you do not request for buggy, automatically it becomes a walking course. And I have always played without buggy with the exception of 2 courses (one in Mui Ne and one in HCMC) whereby buggy is compulsory.

Winston wrote:

hillgreen wrote:

Winston wrote:

Hi Brendanm,

I have never tipped my caddies after 19 holes because I only see them for 18 holes and during the golf game.

However if it is a typo from you, than the going rate is VND 300K - 500K for a round of golf (18 holes)

Hi Hillgreen,

Actually there is no real hard and fast rule. but based on what you tipped, it is fine.

 
Ha. I tipped based on hehe say.   Great to hear it is about there. 
But if to tip them vnd 500k ,  about sgd 30,will it be a bit on the high side since most course is with buggy?

Hi Hillgreen,

Yes, all courses come with buggy, but it is at additional charge. If you do not request for buggy, automatically it becomes a walking course. And I have always played without buggy with the exception of 2 courses (one in Mui Ne and one in HCMC) whereby buggy is compulsory.

Is it Long thahn course in HCM that you played.   ? 
Played a couple of course last time I was there.

I have played in all the courses in HCMC. Including Long Thanh, Long Thanh is a walking course. Buggy is optional.

Winston wrote:

I have played in all the courses in HCMC. Including Long Thanh, Long Thanh is a walking course. Buggy is optional.

Okie bro. ..   Next time there got chance to golf will invite you along. . 
Cheers. .. 

Happy new year !!!

I know that there are some GR members in town for golf. Do write down your reviews if possible to keep this thread going.

Just a quick update

Danang Golf Club has reciprocal with the 2 following clubs in Singapore.

Keppel Golf Club
Raffles Country Club

http://www.dananggolfclub.com/deals/current-promotions.html

PS: Silkair flies direct to Danang

Miss the golf courses there.

How bout a July get together?

asahi wrote:

Miss the golf courses there.

How bout a July get together?

Waiting for you until my neck longer than giraffe lor............

Winston wrote:

asahi wrote:

Miss the golf courses there.

How bout a July get together?

Waiting for you until my neck longer than giraffe lor............

Hi bros, planning to be in HMC in mid March and hope to play a round or 2 around golf courses in HMC.

Any recommendation ? Also, would appreciate if there any advise on green fee charges and transport will be great.