Dalat Palace Golf Club

Based on surveys conducted by Golf Digest in 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2007, Dalat Palace Golf Club was named the best course in Vietnam. In 2007, Asian Golf Monthly named the club one of the best 10 in all of Asia. Additionally, the club belongs to the Finest Golf Clubs of the World (London). The first golf course in Vietnam is honored with all the accolades.

The Dalat Palace Golf Club was initially constructed as a 9-hole course in 1922, but it needed encouragement from the nation's most well-known golfer (Bao Dai, the last emperor of Vietnam) to complete the project and add a whole 18-hole layout later in the decade. After World War II, the Dalat Palace Golf Course was abandoned and reopened in 1959. Early in 1966, Billy Casper played golf professionally and was hosted by Dalat Palace. This was a few months before Casper defeated Arnold Palmer to win the U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. After the reunification of Vietnam, the course was abandoned once more in 1975, and a group of American investors helped it make a second reappearance in 1993 with a significant refurbishment. Dalat Palace Golf Club was revived and expanded in early 1994, reestablishing Dalat as one of Southeast Asia's burgeoning golf attractions.

The only bentgrass greens in Asia are at the Dalat Palace Golf Club, which is traversed by magnificent pine trees. Due to the fantastic layout, numerous elevation variations, and bent grass greens, it is currently considered to be the best course in Vietnam. In fact, the Dalat Palace Golf Club is the only golf course in Southeast Asia with bentgrass tees, fairways, and greens due to the cooler environment in the mountains of Dalat, Vietnam. In golf, bentgrass is frequently regarded as the ideal playing surface. The wide, irregular bentgrass greens offer a satisfying challenge and are meticulously maintained. Golfers agree that the greens at Dalat Palace are among the best in Asia after they get used to the quick pace.

The 7,009-yard Dalat Palace Golf Club, which Brett Stensen redesigned, is a fun challenge for golfers of all skill levels. Low handicap golfers are challenged by a number of lakes that meander through ten of the course's eighteen holes, as well as by bunkers that are placed intentionally to punish risk-takers who make poor decisions. Large, accommodating greens that are typically left open for run-up approach shots and vast, forgiving fairways will provide relief to high handicappers.

Dalat Palace Golf Club has par 3 holes that are 164 to 234 yards long and par 5 holes that are up to 556 yards long. One indication of a well-designed golf course is that players are forced to use every club in their bag due to the varying lengths of the holes. The golf course appeals to players of all skill levels thanks to the four varied tee boxes on each hole.

Longer hitters should utilize irons or fairway woods on downhill tee shots at Dalat Palace Golf Club, including the 400-yard thirteenth and seventeenth holes, to avoid the river. The fifth hole's par three demands an approximately 230-yard carry over water to get to the green. But the sixth hole, a 547-yard par 5, is much more challenging. Accurate tee and approach shots are necessary due to the right-side OB and water-lined left side of the course. Shorter hitters may play to the left of the water for a 180-yard uphill approach to the green on the 387-yard seventh hole, which requires a tee shot to carry two lakes. The 374-yard fifteenth fairway's deep pot-style bunkers on the right side are distinctive in and of themselves.

The initial clubhouse for the Dalat Palace Golf Club was constructed in 1956 and is still in use today. A full pro shop, restaurant, wood burning fireplace, and outdoor patio spaces are all located in the period clubhouse that has been renovated. Exceptional Vietnamese and international cuisine are served in the clubhouse restaurant. The golf course and clubhouse are complemented by a complete practice facility that includes a 290-yard grass driving range, a putting green, and practice bunkers. Beautiful gardens including bougainvillea, scarlet salvia, impatiens, mimosa, and hydrangeas may be seen in the landscaped areas surrounding the clubhouse. Pine trees and terraced rice fields can be seen from the clubhouse patios.