Heron Lake Golf Course

The verdict

Heron Lake, known locally as Dam Vac, sits in Vinh Yen, the small capital of Vinh Phuc province, just far enough out of Hanoi to feel like a day in the country yet close enough to play and be back for dinner. The Australian firm Pacific Coast Design opened it in November 2010 on more than ninety hectares around the Dam Vac lake, and the routing makes a virtue of flat ground: rather than push earth into hills, the architects used the lake, a web of smaller ponds and tightly mown green surrounds to set the puzzles, so the wind off the open water becomes the real hazard.

It earned its stripes in May 2022 when it hosted the golf at the 2021 SEA Games, the regional multi sport championship, a credible stage for a course of this age. For visiting golfers the appeal is plainer still: it is one of the best value rounds within reach of Hanoi, well kept and rarely crowded, and it pairs naturally with Tam Dao up the road for a two course swing through Vinh Phuc.

The holes worth the trip

This is golf where the trouble is wet, not steep. The Dam Vac lake and its satellite ponds touch most of the eighteen, and the designers leaned into it: forced carries over inlets, peninsula greens that shrink the margin for error, and approaches where the safe bail out is dry land short rather than a heroic line at the flag. With the land kept level, there is little to break the wind, so a calm morning and a blustery afternoon can play two strokes apart, which is exactly the variety a flat lake course should offer.

The closing stretch is the part most players remember, working back toward the clubhouse along the main body of water with the lake in play down one side, a finish that rewards a held nerve and punishes a tired swing. Conditioning is generally good, the greens roll true, and because the course was built to a championship brief for events like the SEA Games it holds up to scrutiny better than its modest green fee suggests. It will not overpower a low handicapper on a still day, but give it a breeze and it asks proper questions of club selection and shot shape.

Where to stay nearby

Heron Lake has its own resort accommodation on the lake for those who want to wake up by the first tee, and Vinh Yen has a handful of business hotels a few minutes away. Most visitors, though, base in Hanoi, where the old quarter and the lakeside hotels give far more to do off the course, and treat Vinh Phuc as an easy morning run out for golf.

The natural pairing is with Tam Dao, the mountain course at the foot of the Tam Dao range in the same province, and a Hanoi golf stay can stitch in Long Bien and Sky Lake for a varied northern itinerary. Our Vietnam golf hub maps the country, and our 7 day Vietnam itinerary turns it into a plan.

Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts around Hanoi and Vinh Phuc.