Hoiana Shores

The verdict

Central Vietnam already had a strong coastal hand, but Hoiana Shores raised the stakes. Jones Jr., who has built on great coastlines from Hawaii to Europe, was given a stretch of genuine dunes between the Thu Bon river delta and the South China Sea and had the discipline to let them lead: low profile greens set into the sand hills, fairways that ripple rather than terrace, pot bunkers cut where the wind would have dug them anyway, and the Cham Islands sitting on the horizon like a target line. Opened in September 2019, it collected best new course honors across Asia almost immediately.

The golf is the rare kind that suits both the purist and the resort guest. Played downwind off forward tees it is welcoming, wide and quick; from the 7,401 yard tips into a northeast monsoon breeze it is as stern as anything in the country. Firm surfaces keep the ground game alive all year, the caddies are excellent, and the 19th hole, a short gamblers' par 3 by the clubhouse, settles the bets properly. Pair it with BRG Danang and Montgomerie Links up the coast and central Vietnam becomes a five round trip with no filler.

The holes worth the trip

The course saves its loudest statements for the sea. The closing holes work out toward the beach, and the 16th green and 17th tee bring you as close to the South China Sea as golf in Vietnam gets, with the Cham Islands floating offshore and the wind making the final three holes a different examination every day. The 18th turns home along the dunes toward the grand colonial style clubhouse, one of the better finishing backdrops in Asian golf.

Inland, the test is subtler and arguably better. Jones's greens sit at grade, open in front, so the running approach is always an option, and the right miss is a matter of reading the dune shapes rather than memorizing a yardage book. Pot bunkers do the policing, several of them invisible from the tee on first acquaintance, which is the politest argument for taking a caddie seriously. Nothing about the course needs water, flowers or fountains; the sand and the wind carry it.

And when the round finishes level, the 19th, a bonus par 3 of barely a hundred yards by the clubhouse, exists specifically to settle the match. Few courses anywhere have a better closing argument.

Where to stay nearby

The simplest base is Hoiana itself, the casino and resort development that surrounds the course, where several hotels sit minutes from the first tee and stay and play packages bundle the golf. The romantic alternative is Hoi An old town, 30 minutes north, where lantern lit streets, riverfront restaurants and some of Vietnam's best boutique hotels turn the trip into a proper holiday between rounds.

Most groups treat central Vietnam as one destination: Da Nang's beach resorts and Hoi An's old town as twin bases, with Hoiana Shores, BRG Danang, Montgomerie Links and Laguna Lang Co over the Hai Van pass filling the mornings. Our Da Nang and central Vietnam hub maps the region, and our 7 day Vietnam itinerary turns it into a day by day plan.

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