Home » Viet Nam Travel Guide » Playing BRG Danang Golf Club: Where Vietnam Quietly Nails the Links Experience

Playing BRG Danang Golf Club: Where Vietnam Quietly Nails the Links Experience

BRG Danang Golf Club in early March last year, right after Tet. Warm days, dry fairways, and just enough breeze to make things interesting. If you’re used to tropical parkland courses in Southeast Asia, this one hits completely different. Greg Norman didn’t just design another golf course here — he dropped a proper links layout right next to the East Sea.

Click to book Golf services via WhatsApp ›

No flashy water hazards. No manicured flower beds. What you get is fast, firm fairways that roll out forever, huge sandy waste areas, wild coastal scrub, and bunkers that don’t mess around. It doesn’t feel like Vietnam. It feels more like you’re somewhere just off the coast of Scotland… except you’re wearing shorts and wiping sweat off your grip between shots.

The Front Nine: Starts Soft, Then Punches

The opener eases you in. Bit of a fade off the tee around a rugged bunker on the right, then a mid-iron to a tiered green. Feels like the course is giving you a chance to find your swing. Don’t get too comfortable, though. The 2nd is the longest par 3 on the course. It looks generous, but stray right and you’re flirting with six traps.

Hole 3 is where things start to get spicy. Big bunker short left. Miss your yardage, and you’re scrambling. Then come the back-to-back par 5s. The 4th climbs uphill and hides the green until you’re within 150 yards. Tough hole. The 5th is more gettable — I saw a guy in our group get home in two with a big draw off the tee and a flushed hybrid. Green’s a little raised, with bunkers waiting, but it’s a chance if you’re swinging well.

By the time you hit the 6th, you’ve figured out the wind’s not just background noise. It matters. The hole doglegs left, with a sprawling waste bunker running all down that side. Bail right if you’re unsure — plenty of room near the green. The 9th looks tame, but if you miss your approach, your ball rolls way back down the slope and suddenly you’re chipping from 50 yards out. Happened to me. Twice.

The Back Nine: Bolder, Harder, Unforgettable

You start the back nine facing the longest par 5 on the course — and the Marble Mountains loom in the distance like a painting. There’s a ridge across the green that’ll ruin your birdie look if you land on the wrong side. The 10th is a par 3 that plays downhill to a massive green, but bunkers front and back mean you’ve gotta hit a number. This one stays with you.

The 13th is rated the hardest, and I get why. Wind off the left, elevated green, false front — there’s nowhere to miss. The 14th teases you with a driveable setup from the tips, but unless you’re a low single-digit, you’re better off laying up. I tried going for it. Ended up in some scrub so deep I found a crab in my ball pocket.

Then there’s the 16th — signature hole, hands down. Sea on the left, Cham Islands in the distance, crosswinds in your face. Pick the wrong club and you’re either wet or in the beach. Nailed a 6-iron here once and felt like a tour pro. Most of the time, though, it’s guesswork and prayer.

Clubhouse, Staff, and Tee Times

The clubhouse? Purpose-built, clean lines, solid food, well-stocked pro shop. Locker rooms are spotless. The staff moves things along without being pushy — they know most people here came for this course, and they treat it with the care it deserves.

Tee times go quick. This place gets booked out, especially during high season (Feb–May, then again Oct–early Dec). If you want a prime morning slot, lock it in early. I booked mine through the hotel concierge — about $150 for weekday 18 holes with caddie and cart.

BRG Danang Golf Club is the kind of course you remember for the way it plays, not how it looks on a brochure. It’s rough around the edges in the best possible way. Windy, raw, and beautiful. And when you walk off 18 with sand in your shoes and salt in your hair, you don’t mind at all. That’s golf in Danang — not flashy, just real.