Of Sand, Rice Paddies, Rocks, And Par 3s

Laguna Lang Co Is A Topographically Diverse Challenge

The integrated holiday destination of Laguna Lang Co received the Golf Digest Editor’s Choice Award 2018 for “Best Golf Resort In Asia – Vietnam” for the second year running, and for good reason. It’s a testament to the Banyan Tree Groups commitment to deliver Vietnam’s most

desired golf experience.

Located within the greater Laguna Lang Co the 18-hole, par71 championship course is part of a luxurious 280-hectare resort development designed by Sir Nick Faldo. The Lang Co Golf Club delivers a golfing experience that can be enjoyed by the most experienced players and beginners alike. The course presents variety for players of all levels measuring just under 7,000 yards from the championship tees and a beginner friendly 5,263 yards from the front tees.

A stern test of golf which offers ocean views and an amphitheatre-like

mountainous backdrop, Laguna is arranged in a large loop with holes set across sandy scrublands, along winding streams and through heavily vegetated forested areas. Each hole on the course is designed to reveal a character of its own, presenting golfers myriad opportunities for exceptional game play. The scenic 9th hole is nearest the ocean, and plays alongside its beach, otherwise most of the course is built away from the water, weaving between trees, natural streams, over rice paddies and through impressive rock features to create a memorable and diverse golfing experience.

6-time Major winner, Sir Nick Faldo brings his wealth of playing experience to the Laguna Lang Co golf course, his second design in Vietnam. The site’s natural rugged character has been integrated into the course by maintaining the land’s natural terrain and enhancing the site’s bold and visually strong features. In keeping with its links-like characteristics, the Lang Co layout also offers a traditional out-and-back routing, presenting a host of varied shot opportunities along the way. As strategic as it is enjoyable, the key talking point at Laguna Golf are the greens and bunkers. There are acres of sand traps across the course. Some bunkers are small but most traps are vast and either framing a particular shot or set to make holes more intimidating, but they are clearly more troublesome for the average golfer than for elite players.

With greens that are not only small but severely contoured, expect the flatstick to be put to the test as much as approach shots are, for the uninitiated will no doubt experience decent shots funnelled off into some difficult collection areas.

Beyond the sheer volume of sand and the difficulty of its greens, the most memorable aspect at Laguna Lang Co are the par threes. Each of the short holes will leave an impression, as the 5th hole does with some of the most unusual shaping on the course, its shallow green set on a ridge and positioned between volcanic mounds. Meanwhile the 8th hole is an impressively intimidating one played seaward, and across an enormous waste bunker to another challenging, angled green.

On the back nine the short 11th stands out. The green is a tough navigation even for the skilled golfer, yet its beauty set at the base of a rocky rainforest, more than makes up for it. The final par three 14th is the toughest, given its 200 plus yards target calls for a semi-blind shot, and is defended by a deep bunker, trees and a tight green whose front rejects all that fall even slightly short.

Shared Adam Calver, Director of Golf of Laguna Golf La˘ng Cô. “The tropical beach coastline is only amplified by the majestic beauty of the mountain backdrop which encases the entire Laguna La˘ng Cô Resort. Faldo utilised every possible natural feature as he sculptured the course through ancient rice paddies, along with raw jungle mountains and onto the peaceful serenity of the beach which borders the signature Par 4, 9th hole. It is a golfing experience like no other in Vietnam.”