Vinpearl Golf Nam Hoi An: The Destination is Better Than The Course

Gunnar Kobin
Mar 24
5 min read

Go to Hoi An old town instead of Vinpearl Golf Nam Hoi An

Weighing up a game of golf versus a visit to Hoi An Old Town? Hoi An Old Town wins every time. Cross the street to the numerous golf caddies and play a few rounds. Once your family has finished the game, stroll the ancient, lantern lit streets and enjoy a riverside view that has captivated visitors for centuries. Get your picture next to the best bowl of white rose dumplings, and douse your friends with the signature Hoi An cabbage and shrimp head soup. Try not to trip over the thousands of tourists.

Vinpearl Golf Nam Hoi An is slightly better than average. And sometimes being slightly better than average is the most damning thing you can say about a golf course.

The Journey

The course is located about 12 kilometres south of Hoi An and 30 kilometres from the Da Nang airport. Here you will find the Vinpearl Nam Hoi An Resort complex consisting of a five star hotel, private villas, a waterpark, and a casino. The course is well below average and is a perfect example of a why you should aim for low expectations.

The Arrival: First Impressions Count

We must take our hats off to Vinpearl for having lines of caddies to welcome you upon arrival and for providing all the professional touches that are reflected in the first impressions of practice facilities. A well-maintained grass tee, dedicated chip and putt areas, along with all of the other amenities needed to prep for your round is a solid end to your warm-up.

The first few holes of the course continue along the lines of that first impression. The first few opening holes are a superb start to the round. The fairways are lush Paspalum and contrast beautifully with the white sands of the waste areas, the casuarina pines to the sides and rolling gentle dunes for the first five holes. It looks how a links course should look and is super photogenic. As you travel along the course, you appreciate the trip south from Danang.

And Then the Course Runs Out of Ideas

What stands out about IMG's design of Vinpearl Golf Nam Hoi An, without the name of a signature architect, is how it front-loads all of the course's good bits and repeats the same template the remaining thirteen holes. Wide fairway, white sand bunker on one side, a gently rolling green. Wide fairway, white sand bunker, gently rolling green. By the back nine, you stop registering the formula because you've seen it so many times.

Nothing on this course compares to the 10th tee at Ba Na Hills, or the 16th at the Norman Course, or any of the dune-top vistas at The Bluffs. Each of those courses had a moment to catch your attention and make you race to the next tee. This course lacks that motivator. It is just another example of boring, bland, and easy resort golf.

It's easy to understand the slow playing greens that seem to plague most golf courses in central Vietnam, but on a new modern course it is not a reasonable compromise. The course conditions are good so you would expect at least a somewhat reasonable standard to the speed of the greens because without a quick green you remove the chance of having a skill test on the putting surface.

Lacking Local Insight, It's Florida in Vietnam

The course's general design feels distinctly American in its features, with wide, flat-bottomed fairways, generous landing zones, and repetitive layouts where you consistently pull the same club from the same cash tee. It feels like a Florida resort course, just with a Vietnam coastline instead of a Florida highway. That's not a problem by itself. But considering that you can play Florida resort golf much closer to home, why would you travel for this?

You receive a nice, enthusiastic greeting, and the caddies are also quite nice and, although not overly proficient, their English shouldn't be too much of an impediment for you to get a decent understanding of the course to facilitate some weighted management decisions. You are probably not going to get a lot of information to help you deal with adjustments for for wind and putt impacts. You will get information about distance to the pin, and probably a lot of friendly gestures.Regarding the wind: From the looks of it, the caddie corps all across Vietnam seem to have the same school of thought, if not the same school, for what the wind is doing. Ask any caddie on any course in the country if the wind is helping or hindering, the answer will most likely be something like, \"follow wind\" instead of downwind, or there'll be back wind instead of into the wind. These little quirks of all the caddies across the country is almost endearing, and it does become a little running gag to be wind-up caddie joked in Vietnam when you reach the third course.

The Other Recurring Theme: Pace of Play

Structurally, there is a slow and drawn out pattern when playing the course. Just like the Nicklaus Course at Legends, there was no marshal to control the pace of play. This seems to be a Vietnam-wide issue rather than simply a Vinpearl issue, but something you will need to account for. Not having a course that is mentally engaging while being out in the hot, tropical sun for five hours because of the slow pace of a course is going to be a painful way to spend and burn an afternoon.

What Vinpearl Does Well

The facilities are first class. The fairways are well-maintained and visually pleasing. The resort and golfing amenities cater well too families and non-golfer. The beaches and entertainment are spot on.

The first few holes are stunning. If someone was to take a picture of the first fairway during golden hour you'd definitely want to play this course. Unfortunately the other holes do not live up to such hype.

The Honest Verdict

Vinpearl Golf Nam Hoi An is a well-maintained course and facilities. However you won't leave feeling hot or cold about the course. To leave feeling indifferent is the worst possible outcome in a region that is home to a number of excellent courses.For a Danang golf itinerary that includes Ba Na Hills, the Norman Course, and Hoiana Shores, Vinpearl is adequate for a time-filling slot. If it is a choice between that and a day ambling through Hoi An Old Town’s lantern streets, sampling the old quarter, and seeing the Thu Bon River glow in the evening — then that is a day off.

The course will be there when you return. Hoi An at dusk is a once in a lifetime experience.