Golf Courses
Long Thanh Golf Club Guide
Thirty minutes from downtown Ho Chi Minh City, Long Thanh is the southern circuit's benchmark club: a serious members' course that has hosted Vietnamese professional golf and rewards good ball-striking with one of the best-conditioned properties in the country.
The setting
Long Thanh lies in Dong Nai province, outside Ho Chi Minh City on the road toward the city's eastern districts and Long Thanh's new international airport precinct. Despite the proximity to one of Asia's biggest cities, the property feels rural: mature trees, established gardens and fairways cut through old plantation land rather than resort lagoons. It is a golf club first and foremost, not a property development with holes in it.
The golf
This is parkland golf of the classic kind: tree-lined corridors, genuine rough in places, and greens with enough contour to matter. The layout asks you to shape the ball off the tee and to respect the pins; aggressive lines bring birdies only when the strike is precise. From our last round in September 2026 the fairways were lush and holding after the wet weeks, with the kind of full turf underfoot that makes iron play a pleasure.
At roughly 7,000 yards from the tips with a par of 72, the championship stretch is a fair test for low markers, but the course scales well: the forward tees shave meaningful yardage and keep the round enjoyable for mixed-ability groups. Caddies here are experienced and know the breaks on the older greens better than any yardage book.
Who will enjoy it
- Low and mid handicappers who want the south's sternest members' test.
- Groups basing themselves in Ho Chi Minh City for food and nightlife.
- Anyone chasing Vietnam's tournament heritage: Long Thanh has hosted national professional events.
Getting there and when to play
From District 1, allow around 45 to 60 minutes depending on traffic: Saigon traffic is the one hazard no caddie can read. Early tee times are strongly recommended: you beat both the heat and the worst of the commute. The south's dry season (December to April) brings the firmest conditions; in the wet season the course drains well enough that morning golf is rarely interrupted.
The southern circuit
Long Thanh anchors a southern itinerary that can include the coastal resort courses at Ho Tram: the dramatic Bluffs is just up the coast: and the unusual experience of teeing off beside a runway at Tan Son Nhat in the city itself. Most groups pair two or three rounds here with the food and energy of Saigon; our Ho Chi Minh City golf guide maps the options.
How to play it
Long Thanh rewards discipline more than distance. From the tee, favour the side of the fairway that opens up the green complex: several holes are designed so that a bold drive at the corner leaves a blocked or hanging approach. Into the greens, take one more club than the yardage suggests when the ball sits below your feet, and respect the false fronts: a host of seemingly good approaches tumble back down the slope, leaving a delicate uphill chip. The par threes are the scorecard's quiet examiners: long irons over water and sand to narrow targets. Bogey avoidance, not heroics, is how the members beat this course.
Where to stay
Most groups base in District 1 or the riverside Thao Dien area: Thao Dien is the expatriate quarter, 15 to 20 minutes closer to the course, with the city's best restaurant density outside the centre. Resort options near Ho Tram work if The Bluffs is in the same trip; otherwise the commute to Long Thanh from the city is entirely manageable for morning rounds.
Pairing it with Tan Son Nhat
The classic Saigon golf day pairs Long Thanh with Tan Son Nhat on departure morning: a serious test two days before your flight, then the novelty of landing airplanes as a final-round memory. We time the second round to finish within an easy taxi of check-in: the course is genuinely beside the terminal.
Booking as a visitor
Long Thanh operates as a members' club with limited visitor tee times, and its competition calendar fills weekend mornings well in advance. Midweek mornings are the visitor's slot: book through us several weeks out and we will secure a block that keeps your fourball together.
Common questions
Can visitors get a tee time at Long Thanh?
Yes, but the club protects members first. Visitor blocks are limited and weekend mornings book out; midweek is the reliable window, and booking several weeks ahead through an operator with course relationships makes the difference.
Is it walking golf?
Expect a buggy: carts are standard here as at most Vietnamese clubs, with caddies riding along. The walk between green and tee is pleasant, but the tropical heat makes the cart the sensible default.