Destination Golf - June 2017 * | Page 25

The Bluffs Ho Tram Strip Vinpearl Phu Quoc Resort NORTHERN VIETNAM GOLF Mausoleum and Military History Museum. Any visit to Hanoi should also include a cruise among the magnificent towering limestone rock formations of Halong Bay, four hours by road from the capital. Even better, take an overnight cruise, mooring by the rock monoliths for an on-board moonlit BBQ and then fishing for squid. Magical. Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, has around half a dozen golf courses in its environs and more farther afield. Just 40km and 45 minutes from Hanoi, Sky Lake Resort & Golf Club’s members-only Lake Course has now been joined by the public-access Sky Course. Its signature, par-4 15th hole is named Dien Bien Phu after a famous Indochina Wars battle because of its topography and difficulty. Other Hanoi area courses include Phoenix Golf Resort, Long Bien Golf Course, BRG Legend Hill Golf Resort and BRG Kings Island Golf Resort. A new course is also due to open soon at Halong Bay. Where to stay: The Apricot Hotel, Hanoi, is a neoclassical oasis of calm and lavish comfort amidst the madness of the city’s frenetic roads, located by the city’s Hoan Kiem Lake and steps from Hanoi’s old town and French Quarter. NORTHERN VIETNAM ATTRACTIONS Hanoi’s attractions include its bustling French Quarter and old town, Ho Chi Minh SOUTHERN VIETNAM GOLF Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon, and still often called that in the south) is where Vietnam’s international-standard golf course first opened in 1994. However, golfers should head for the coast to enjoy the best golf in this part of the country. The Bluffs, Ho Tram Strip is a coastal links- style course by Greg Norman that has rightly earned rave reviews since opening in 2014. Two hours by road from Ho Chi Minh City and set in a bay touted to become Vietnam’s answer to Macau, The Bluffs is laid out over huge coastal sand dunes with several holes facing the sea and others skirting protected forest. The clubhouse Volume 3 • Issue 39 25