Central Coast Vietnam Golf Guide: Comparing Ba Na Hills, Hoiana Shores, Legend Danang & Laguna Lang Co

No golf destination in Asia has climbed international rankings faster over the past decade than Vietnam's Central Coast. Anchored by Da Nang International Airport (DAD), visiting golfers can reach five flagship golf clubs (six 18-hole championship courses) within a 15-to-50-minute drive of My Khe and Non Nuoc Beach.

Because every course along this coast was designed by a major champion or hall-of-fame architect, picking three or four rounds for a week-long holiday comes down to understanding how each layout plays.

Central Vietnam's flagship golf courses compared

1. Hoiana Shores Golf Club (Robert Trent Jones Jr.)

Located 15 minutes south of Hoi An Ancient Town along an open stretch of the East Sea, Hoiana Shores was the first true championship links course in Southeast Asia to break into the World Top 100 rankings. Robert Trent Jones Jr. shaped the layout across natural rolling sand dunes with almost no trees and zero artificial water hazards.

Instead of thick rough, errant drives roll onto firm sandy waste areas and collection hollows around the TifEagle greens, allowing you to bump-and-run a 7-iron or putt from 20 yards off the green beneath woven bamboo basket flags. Holes 15, 16, and 17 play right beside the crashing surf.

2. Ba Na Hills Golf Club (Luke Donald / IMG)

While the other Central Coast courses hug the shoreline, Luke Donald's Ba Na Hills Golf Club sits 30 minutes inland at the base of the Ba Na mountain range. Surrounded by forested ridges that block the afternoon sea breeze, the course delivers dramatic elevation drops, mountain streams, and immaculate bentgrass greens.

Because the landing zones are generous from the resort tees yet stretched to 7,858 yards from the championship tips, it works well for mixed-handicap groups. All 18 holes are equipped with tournament-grade LED floodlights, so you can book a 2:30 PM tee time, play the front nine in golden afternoon light, and finish the back nine in cool evening mountain air.

3. Legend Danang Golf Resort (Norman Dunes & Nicklaus Bulkhead Courses)

Sitting 15 minutes from My Khe Beach hotels on Non Nuoc Beach, Legend Danang is the region's 36-hole powerhouse. Greg Norman's Dunes Course plays through blowout sandy waste areas and native sea grasses, highlighted by the oceanfront par-3 16th hole looking out toward the Cham Islands. Next door, Jack Nicklaus built an American-style resort layout lined with imported wooden bulkhead walls framing wide water hazards.

4. Laguna Lang Co Golf Club & Montgomerie Links

Fifty minutes north of Da Nang through the Hai Van Tunnel, Sir Nick Faldo's Laguna Lang Co Golf Club offers the most varied terrain in Central Vietnam, routing golfers past working rice paddies tended by water buffalo, jungle boulders, and a sandy beach par-3. Closer to town, Colin Montgomerie's Montgomerie Links sits right beside Legend Danang and provides receptive Paspalum greens and a relaxed clubhouse setting ideal for an opening warm-up round.