The Golden Sands Golf Resort near Hue, Vietnam, will unofficially open its North Course, the first of two planned Nicklaus Design courses, in early September.
The course was designed by Jim Wagner, who has since become a partner at Curley-Wagner Golf Design while he was a senior design associate at Nicklaus Design. The resort was developed by Vietnam’s BRG Group and built on Vinh Xuan Beach. BRG has previously worked with Nicklaus Design on the Legend Hill, Kings Island, Da Nang Golf Resort and Legend Valley projects in Vietnam.
“The site is a natural sandy oceanfront lot and has a variety of natural movements, from extreme flats to rugged hills with gentle elevation changes. The most attractive landform of the site was a natural ridge dividing the site in a north-south direction,” said Wagner. “Despite the sandy nature of the site, we encountered several areas of water accumulation shortly before construction began. This was unexpected and impacted the design as it required us to raise part of the course and redirect the water to lower natural areas between the holes.
“Although the front nine holes were mostly on extremely low-lying plains and had to be raised, the back nine are a wonderful sequence of holes that take advantage of the natural sand dunes and gently rolling topography with sweeping views of the sea to the east. We have done very little earthwork on these holes and this should be evident when playing the course. The back nine will undoubtedly be one of the most exciting finishing experiences Vietnam’s golf has to offer.”
On Wagner’s first walk around the site, he realised that the natural ridge running north to south was a feature that needed to be taken into account. “This ridge is the most prominent natural feature on the land and the use of this feature influenced the entire course layout as its end was below an elevated promontory, which was obviously suitable for the clubhouse location,” Wagner said. “With the sea to the east of the ridge and extreme plains occupying much of the land to the west of the ridge, the course layout began to take shape with the ninth hole eventually leading south and back to the clubhouse along the ridge.”
The first four holes run away from this ridge. “It’s not until the short par 5 7th hole that we return to the clubhouse,” said Wagner. “This green sits below the elevation change and becomes a dramatic and natural punchbowl. Like many of the greens at Golden Sands, this putting area is quite large, but also completely blind, with a cluster of carry bunkers 20 to 30 yards from the green and a slope that drops into the punchbowl.”
“The permit didn’t allow us to build holes right on the beach and we had to leave a row of casuarina trees standing as a boundary, but we thinned them out and opened up views of the sea in certain key areas,” said Sean Quinn, senior design associate at Nicklaus Design, who helped complete the course. “Casuarinas have been planted throughout in scattered locations but don’t block the view. When the mature casuarinas are trimmed they resemble gorse, which gives the course a great look.
“The majority of the landscaping will consist of native grasses and sedges harvested from the surrounding dunes. Pine needles from casuarina trees will add another landscape layer over time.”
The course was built by Flagstick Golf Course Construction, Jeff Stamper of Cadsult IDS designed the irrigation, which was installed by Jebsen & Jessen. The project team also included BRG’s Chief Superintendent Heath Glasby and shaper John Carson.
The greens and surrounds are planted with TifDwarf Bermuda grass, while the fairways and tees are covered with couch grass from Greenlee’s Park. The average size of the putting areas is about 750 square metres. Quinn, who played the course in early August, reported that they were already just under 10 on the Stimpmeter.
Wagner says the bunkers have been integrated into natural movements wherever possible. “We’ve surrounded the backs of most of the bunkers with pine needles and native grasses and scattered open sand pockets throughout the natural areas,” he added. “Although the course is very large and wide from the tee, it becomes difficult to play to each green and be very precise in the placement of each approach shot because several greens have large slopes that slope away from or into the green. This slope can help or hurt you depending on what type of shot you’re playing.”
“When the wind picks up, all golfers on the course should remember to play a good mishitch to avoid high scores. With close-cut approach shots and slopes around the greens, golfers have to get creative in their recovery shot selection, with bump and runs, pitches and Texas wedges all possible. Some of these recovery shots are really fun and I think the more creative and imaginative you are as a golfer, the better you will score. That’s how I try to play the game and I think a lot of my designs reflect that.”
The downhill par 3 8th hole uses the ridge to create elevation changes. The expansive green is surrounded by bunkers set away from the putting surface, which attracts golfers and provides them with encouraging movement toward the green. “This hole was designed completely away from natural movement and was always one of my favorite holes in the rough shaping phase,” Wagner said.
“The tee shot on the par 5 9th hole boldly goes back to the ridge and finally to a large green below the clubhouse, from which a strong inlet slope branches off to the right, reaching into the right half of the green.”
The back nine holes start with two short par 4s, one of which is playable if the wind is in the right direction. “The wind is strong here! There were some tough days on site where we had to fight it with sand blowing everywhere,” Wagner said. “We lost some movement here and there, but Mother Nature showed us where she should be… as she always does on courses like this. There were many days that could easily have been called unplayable, and that was before the daily rains started.”
“Despite the heat, on some days it really did feel like being on a golf course in Scotland. The course is very challenging in itself and when you add wind and rain it easily becomes one of the most difficult courses in the country. The client wanted a challenging course and that is exactly what we gave him. Fortunately, the market here loves challenging golf experiences and although it is a challenging course, you should be able to find your ball given the generous width of the fairways and the clean natural landscape.”
The wind and the length of the course – it measures more than 7,500 yards from the back tee – make the North a tough challenge. To give players the opportunity to make the course more playable, especially in windy weather, Wagner created long freeform tees that allow players to tee off further forward.
Wagner and Quinn agree, calling holes 13 through 15 a special stretch. “The par 3 13th hole runs away from the sea and is intimidatingly uphill, with the green on an extension of the central ridge before gaining elevation and finding the big reveal on the par 4 14th hole,” said Wagner. “The 14th hole runs downhill from the ridge and offers expansive views of the sea as a backdrop. Although this hole is on the short side, the wind will have a big impact on results when playing right on the sea.”
“The back nine then begins its return to the clubhouse with the peculiar par 5 15th hole which runs parallel to the sea before heading inland again to the long par 3 16th hole which features one of the largest greens I have ever designed. Much of the front section of the green slopes away from the green towards the tees. When playing into the wind this is a massive feature to overcome with the pin in the upper middle and back sections of the green.”
Golden Sands ends with two of the most challenging holes on the course. Wagner describes the par 5 17th as a true three-shot par 5 that ends with a flat green facing a deep camouflaged hole. And the 18th, a 460-yard par 4, ends the round with one final challenge for players.
The south course is in the planning phase, while the clubhouse will be completed later this year.
