Vietnam is the value play in Asian golf right now, and Da Nang is where you base the trip. You're getting Greg Norman, Colin Montgomerie, and Luke Donald designs on the South China Sea for what a muni costs back home.
Ba Na Hills Golf Club is a legitimate top-tier mountain layout that doesn't get the press it deserves, and Montgomerie Links plays firm and fast through coastal scrub in a way that surprises people expecting tropical resort fluff. Tack on a Bluffs Ho Tram detour and you've got a Vietnam itinerary that competes with anything Thailand or Malaysia is doing — at roughly half the green fee. The beach infrastructure along Danang Beach is genuinely good, Hoi An is a 45-minute drive for a non-golf day, and the Ba Na Hills cable car kills an afternoon if the group's into it. Caddies are required, well-trained, and inexpensive.
Dogleg's Pick Courses
Where to Play
In order of conviction. Every course on this list was chosen deliberately.
The Bluffs Ho Tram
$100–$175Worth flagging that this one's not in Da Nang — it's a 90-minute drive from Saigon, on the southern coast. But if you're building a Vietnam golf trip, it's the country's most-decorated course and the reason to either bookend the itinerary with a few nights down south or skip it entirely. Norman design over massive seaside dunes; brutal in wind, spectacular always.
Ba Na Hills Golf Club
$50–$100Luke Donald's only signature design in Asia, and it's the best course in Vietnam by a meaningful margin. Routed through pine forest at the base of the Truong Son mountains — firm fairways, fast greens, and elevation changes you don't expect this close to the coast. The night-golf back nine is a gimmick worth doing once.
Montgomerie Links
$50–$100Colin Montgomerie's coastal layout, and Dogleg's hidden gem pick for the region. Plays through casuarina pines and sandy waste on what's effectively links land — firm, breezy, and a lot more demanding than the postcard photos suggest. Most groups treat it as a throwaway and leave saying it was the best round of the trip.
BRG Danang Golf Resort
$50–$100The Greg Norman Dunes Course is the headline — a genuine links routing through coastal dunes with firm turf, native grasses, and constant wind off the South China Sea. There's also a Nicklaus Design forest course on property if you want 36 in a day. The Norman is the one you came for.
Montgomerie Links — a Colin Montgomerie signature design on the Da Nang coast that consistently outperforms expectations. The least famous of the area's courses and frequently the most enjoyable round.
Where to Stay
Lodging Picks
Ranging from splurge to smart. Pick based on what the group wants and how much time you'll actually be at the hotel.
InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort
$$$$Bill Bensley-designed property on the Son Tra Peninsula, about 25 minutes north of the city. It's the splurge play — private beach, four-tier funicular, the works. Worth it if you're celebrating something; overkill if you're just here to play golf and want to be near courses.
Hyatt Regency Danang Resort & Spa
$$$The sweet-spot pick for a golf group. Right on Non Nuoc Beach, walking distance to BRG Danang Golf Resort, and the villas sleep four to six comfortably for groups splitting costs. Points availability tends to be reasonable.
Naman Retreat
$$$Quieter, design-forward beachfront property between Da Nang and Hoi An. The villas are excellent value and the food on-site is genuinely good, which matters when you're 20 minutes from the nearest dinner option. Good fit if your group skews toward couples rather than a bachelor party.
Furama Resort Danang
$$The OG luxury property on My Khe Beach — it's been there forever and shows its age in spots, but the location is unbeatable and rates are noticeably softer than the newer competition. Honest value pick.
Pullman Danang Beach Resort
$$Mid-tier Accor property on My Khe Beach that consistently overdelivers for the price. Big rooms, working gym, decent breakfast spread, and easy access to both the courses and the city. The right call if you're being sensible with the lodging budget so you can play more golf.
Private Villa Rental — My Khe Beach Area
$$For groups of six or more, full-villa rentals along My Khe and Non Nuoc beaches run a fraction of the resort rate and come with a private pool, a kitchen, and usually a housekeeper. Search VRBO or Airbnb in the My An Beach district — plenty of inventory at well under $200/night for four bedrooms.
Where to Eat & Drink
The Right Restaurants
9 picks across the full range — the big dinner out, the post-round decompress, and the morning before an early tee time.
Madame Lân
vietnameseBig riverfront Vietnamese restaurant that's touristy in volume but legitimate in cooking. Order the bánh xèo, the clay-pot fish, and whatever local greens are on the seasonal sheet. Best first-night meal in the city because the menu walks you through everything central Vietnam does well.
Nén Restaurant
tasting menuDa Nang's actual fine-dining play — tasting-menu-only, modern central-Vietnamese cooking, and a Michelin-recognized chef who trained abroad and came home. Book a week ahead and skip it if half the group is going to whine about portion sizes. The other half will be talking about it for a year.
Bánh Mì Phượng (Hoi An)
street foodYes, it's the Anthony Bourdain one. Yes, it lives up to the hype. If you're spending a day in Hoi An, this is your lunch — the special with everything, eaten on the curb out front, costs about $2. Don't overthink it.
Bún Chả Cá 109
noodle shopDa Nang's signature dish is bún chả cá — fish-cake noodle soup — and this no-frills spot does the canonical version. Open early, packed at lunch, and the right post-round move when you want something fast, hot, and unmistakably local. Cash only.
Burger Bros
burger jointSometimes the group needs a burger. This Japanese-run spot near My Khe Beach grinds its own beef daily and the Mỹ Khê Burger is genuinely one of the better burgers in Southeast Asia. The fix on day four when someone can't face another bowl of pho.
Morning Glory (Hoi An)
vietnameseMs. Vy's flagship in Hoi An — the dish to order is cao lầu, the local pork-and-noodle specialty that's only made properly in this town because of the water from a specific well. Touristy but consistent, and worth the table.
La Maison 1888
french fine diningFrench fine dining at the InterContinental, set in a Bensley-designed colonial mansion above the bay. Expensive by Vietnam standards, modest by international ones. Save it for the celebration dinner — sunset on the terrace, then move inside for the meal.
Waterfront Restaurant & Bar
gastropubLong-running expat spot on Bach Dang along the Han River. Western menu done well, cold beer, and a balcony that catches the breeze. The right call for a relaxed dinner where everyone can read the menu without translating.
Quán Cơm Huế Ngon
local vietnameseHue-style cooking in a packed local room — bún bò Huế, bánh bèo, bánh nậm, the spicy stuff central Vietnam is actually known for. Two people eat for under $15. The kind of place a driver takes you when you ask where he eats.
Beyond the Course
When the Group Needs a Break
All of these are mandatory.
Hoi An Old Town
45-minute drive south, UNESCO-listed, and genuinely worth a half-day even for people who don't normally do the history thing. Go late afternoon, walk the lantern-lit streets after dark, eat cao lầu, and be back at the hotel by 10. Skip the tailor shops unless you're committed to a fitting.
Book this experience →Marble Mountains
Five limestone hills riddled with Buddhist caves and pagodas, ten minutes from the beach hotels. Two hours, a couple hundred steps, and one of the better photo spots in the area. Go early before the heat and the tour buses.
Book this experience →Ba Na Hills & Golden Bridge
The world's longest non-stop cable car up to a mountaintop French-village theme park with the famous Golden Bridge held up by two giant stone hands. It's deeply weird, extremely Instagram, and somehow worth doing. Combine it with the round at Ba Na Hills Golf Club if logistics allow.
Book this experience →Hai Van Pass Drive
The mountain pass between Da Nang and Hue — Top Gear called it one of the great coastal drives in the world and they weren't wrong. Hire a car (or a guided motorbike with a driver if anyone's brave) and run it up to Lang Co for lunch. Pair with a round at Laguna Lang Co for the full day.
Book this experience →My Khe Beach Afternoon
The beach itself is genuinely good — wide, clean, warm water, and not overdeveloped. Build in a half-day to do nothing. Rent a lounger for a few dollars, drink Bia Saigon, eat grilled seafood from the shacks at the south end. It's why everyone else in the group put up with the flight.
Book this experience →Pro Tips
Before You Book
The Bluffs Ho Tram is the anchor round and worth a 3-hour transfer from Da Nang: Greg Norman design on 200-foot oceanfront bluffs, one of the top courses in Asia.
Ba Na Hills Golf Club is the daily-play workhorse in the Da Nang market: Nick Faldo design, mountain setting, immaculate conditioning.
Fly into Da Nang (DAD) — direct from Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and major Asian hubs.
Vietnam's golf season runs October through April in the Da Nang region. Typhoon season runs May through September.
Da Nang has genuine restaurant and beach infrastructure. Hoi An is 30 minutes south and worth an evening for the lantern-lit old town.
Dogleg's Advice
Don't let The Bluffs hype crowd Montgomerie Links off your schedule. Most groups arrive fixated on the Norman course and treat Monty as a throwaway round, then it ends up being the trip's favorite. Play it twice if you can.
What to Know
It's a long haul — most US groups will route through Seoul, Tokyo, or Taipei, and you should plan on a buffer day on either end. Aim for February through May; summer brings heat and rain, and October-November is typhoon season on this coast. Walkability is essentially zero between courses and resorts, so build a driver into the budget — it's still cheap.
Who This Trip Is For
✓ Best for
- →Golfers making an Asian golf circuit and including Vietnam
- →Groups who want exceptional design quality at Thai/SE Asian pricing
- →Anyone combining golf with Vietnamese food culture, history, and beaches
- →Groups based in Asia who haven't done the Da Nang market yet
✕ Not for
- →Groups traveling during monsoon season
- →Anyone who won't do the logistics of Vietnam: visa requirements and long-haul flights from the US
- →Groups expecting Western-style resort infrastructure throughout
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