Ba Na Hills Golf Club

The verdict

Ba Na Hills is the round that proves central Vietnam belongs on a serious golf itinerary. Donald and the IMG design team routed the course through a natural amphitheater of jungle covered foothills, and the result feels far older than its years: fairways that ride the land's folds, deep grass faced bunkers cut into the slopes, and green complexes with the kind of short game interest you would expect from one of the best putters of his generation. Streams and rock outcrops do the framing, the Ba Na mountains do the drama, and the conditioning has been tournament grade since opening day.

The card stretches to one of the longest in the country, but the course is honest from the sensible decks, and the floodlit evenings give it a second personality entirely. In the Da Nang rotation it is the inland counterweight to the coastal dunes courses, and most groups rank it first by the end of the week. Our best courses in Da Nang ranking sets out the full order.

The holes worth the trip

The routing uses the foothills like a slow reveal. Early holes work along the lower ground, where streams cross the fairways and the bunkering sets the visual tone, before the course begins to climb and the views open back across the valley toward Da Nang and the distant coast. Donald's green complexes are the through line: plateaus and tucked wings that reward a thoughtful angle from the fairway and make a long putt from the wrong tier feel like a road trip.

The par 3s are the postcard collection, played across water and jungle with the mountains stacked behind, and the risk and reward holes give the card its swing: short par 4s where the brave line over the corner sets up eagle looks, and par 5s that tempt the second shot over trouble that gets more expensive the longer you stare at it. Then there is the night round, when the floodlights come on, the air cools, and one of Asia's longest courses becomes one of its most atmospheric. Few clubs anywhere offer a finishing stretch under lights with jungle sounds for a gallery.

Take the caddie, trust her reads on the mountain grain, and book the twilight window in summer. The course at dusk is the best version of itself.

Where to stay nearby

Base on the coast. Da Nang's beach strip puts the InterContinental Sun Peninsula, the Furama and a row of modern resorts within a 30 to 40 minute transfer of the first tee, and the old town lanterns of Hoi An sit a similar distance south with the Four Seasons Nam Hai as its flagship. Most golf groups split the week between the two, playing Ba Na Hills early and saving the beach for the afternoons.

Central Vietnam works best as a multi course swing: our Da Nang and central Vietnam guide maps the full rotation, our best courses in Vietnam ranking shows where Ba Na Hills sits nationally, and the course holds its own on our list of the best mountain golf courses in the world.

Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts across Da Nang and Hoi An.