| |
|
The Laguna Lang Co. is located in a terrain sandwiched between the ocean
and mountains. The golf course weaves nicely though wildernesses such
as trees, natural streams and rice paddies and mountains. The land is
relatively flat but the fairways are undulating and players will hit shots
from various stances. A few of the holes are flanked by rice paddy fields
that were back into existence during the construction. This features not
only influences the play from a visual and strategic perspective but tremendous
amounts of rice are produced two harvests a year.
The course offers number of unique and interesting challenges that include
holes that pass through natural rice fields, hit into edges of mountains,
have bushes & trees nearby, and are surrounded by sandy wastelands.
There are many strategically placed fairway & greenside bunkers as well
as huge sandy waste areas throughout the course. The greens are contoured
quite a lot and a fee levels due to mounds, ridges and swales, making the
putt difficult unless putting from the same level. The par 3s are excellent
due to a variety of distances to test all aspects of players’ game. This
course is designed to put a premium on shot-making and course management
rather than power golfing.
Scorecard
|
| |
|
|
| The first hole is a relatively straight par four. The tee
shot requires a carry of 250 yards in order to surpass both the bunker to
the left and the pond to the right. Since the pond also faces the right
half of the shallow green, the difficulty increases when the pin is located
to the right front of the green. If the pin is located to the left, a bunker
to the left comes into play. The green is double tiered with the lower left. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| A strong dogleg to the left. The tee shot is over rice fields.
It is important to cut the dogleg to have shorter approach on this long
par 4. The green is elevated and shallow with its front side guarded by
a long and wide bunker. The green’s left side is also surrounded by a rice
paddy and its back facing a bush. This is a hole that requires both distance
and a high ball on the approach. Since the the middle of the green has the
swale, this will become a challenge to putt if the ball is located far from
the pin. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
A par three with a spectacular background view of the mountain. There are
three mounds the left, right, and back sides of the green, and they are
in the shape of the that shape the mountain. Since the back of the green
slopes down, players should be careful when the pin is located at the back.
|
| |
|
|
| A slight left dogleg to the left. Players should be aware
that the further they drive, the narrower the landing area becomes due to
the bushes on both sides. The green is vertically long, elevated and slopes
towards the left. Since the right side of the green is protected by bushes,
players should avoid a right to left ball on the approach. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
A relatively straight par four. There is a fairway bunker towards the right
at around the 220 yards and to the left at 225 yards off the tee. However,
since the fairway beyond 240 yards from the tee slops to the left, even
if the player aims to the center, the ball may end up rolling towards the
left trees. The green is elevated, two-tiered with higher the left back,
and protected by bunkers to both its left and right. While it isn’t particularly
long, it is still a charming hole. |
| |
|
|
| A par three over a sandy wasteland in which a deep bunker
guards the front side of highly elevated green. The green is also surrounded
by bushes from both sides reaching all the way to the back. Players should
also note that the green is wide with a large mound in its center. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
A dogleg to the left, and a tough par 4. There is a mound-shaped bunker
on the right located at around 210 yards and a left fairway bunker that
can be carried 240 yards from the tee. A deep bunker guards the left side
of the green and a creek runs in front of it, making the approach a challenge.
The green is elevated and slopes towards the right. |
| |
|
|
| An interesting downhill par three with a large stone, collapsed
from the left mountain, acting as a noticeable hazard to the hole. The green
is guarded by another rock to the right and a bush to the left. If the pin
position is in the front, players will notice that the play will become
easier due to the shorter distance, but the rock bordering the green is
very close to the front pion position, thus the landing area will become
much narrower. A long green have a large mount in the center, making putting
a challenge if the ball is far from the pin. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| A short par three over a sandy waste area. The green is elevated
and is guarded by a deep large bunker that runs along its front and right
sides. Players should also pay attention to a secondary bunker at the back
of the green. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| A relatively straight and long par four. The ideal tee shot
is to aim towards the right side of the fairway close to the OB line. The
approach shot is over a large bunker running along the left and back sides
of the green. When the pin is positioned to the far back, the bunker at
the rear comes into play and it will make this demanding hole more difficult. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| A very long par five with a sharp right dogleg bend. The ideal
path is to aim over the large and long bunker on the far-right corner. To
achieve this, players will need to not only ensure a carry of 240 yards
but will also need to avoid the OB line that runs close to the bunker. Players
on the second shot will need to decide whether to go over the large fairway
bunker lying in the middle, or to hit towards its left or right sides. It
is important to note that the OB line on the right will be coming in closer
to the fairway during this second shot. The green is guarded by a large
bunker from its right to front sides. The green is two-staged, sloped from
back to front, and consists of a higher backside. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
The course is a one-hour drive from both Danang City and Danang Airport.
Visitors can play. The luxury hotel groups, Angsana Lang Co and Banyan
Tree Lang Co, are in the vicinity of the golf club and allows pick up
and drop off via a golf cart.
During my time there, we stayed at Intercontinental San Peninsula Da
Nang, with a drive time to the course of an hour and 15 minutes. While
I did not stay at Angsana Ranko, I was shown around the hotels and the
rooms.
The Top 100 Golf Courses (top100golfcourses.com)
ranked The Laguna Lang Co as the 5th best golf course in 2020 Vietnam Top
30. There are around 70 courses in Vietnam up to now.
The other Nick Faldo designed courses in Asia are The Emerald GC, Great
Lakes G&CC, in Thailand and Mission
Hills GC (Fald Course), Beijing
Honghua International GC, Kunming
Lake View GC, Wuhan International GC, Yunnan Dali Cang Sea GC in China,
Ocean Dunes GC in Vietnam, and Angkor
GR in Cambodia.
After our play, we drove north and visited the world heritage site, Hue
Royal Palace. Hue an hour and 20 minutes by car from the golf course and
2 hours and 20 minutes from Danang city. Hue is an ancient city that prospered
as the capital of Nguyen Dynasty, the last dynasty of Vietnam. The Nguyen
Dynasty was founded in 1802 by the Emperor Gia Long, who unified Vietnam
with the assistance of France. The dynasty ruled the lands for 143 years
during 13 generations while being challenged during periods such as French
colonization and World War II. The royal palace was modeled after the Chinese
Forbidden City. After the tour, we ate the well-established dish Bun Bo
Hue, which is served all over Vietnam with a Hue specialty. It is a simple
dish using rice flour noodles and beef, but delicious with refined tastes.
|
Hole 1 Par 4 422 yards (3)