How to Book Golf in Hanoi (2026): Tee Times, Group Size, Cancellation Rules and Private Courses

Last updated: 4 October 2026

Most visitors assume you book golf in Hanoi the way you book it anywhere else: pick a course, pick a time, pay. Then a club tells a couple that it needs three players in a group, or that a Saturday tee time had to be cancelled five days ago to avoid a penalty. The rules are set club by club, and only some of them are published. This guide sets out what is written down, what is not, and how to plan around both.

How far ahead should you book a Hanoi tee time?

We recommend one to two weeks for a weekend or public-holiday round and three to five days for a weekday. That is our working advice as a local golf tour operator, not a rule the clubs publish.

Only one of the main Hanoi clubs states a booking window on its website. Long Bien Golf Course opens its tee sheet up to 30 days before the day of play. The other clubs do not publish a window, so the practical limit is how busy the day is. Weekend mornings go first, because that is when members and local golfers play. Early weekday times are usually the easiest to get.

Season matters as well. Demand rises in the cooler, drier part of the year and around public holidays, and it falls in the hot, wet summer. Our month-by-month guide shows the months when Hanoi tee sheets fill first. If your dates are fixed and include a Saturday, book that round before the others.

Hanoi club rules at a glance

Long Bien is the only club below with a full set of booking rules on its own website. Where a club has not published a rule, the table says so rather than guessing, and we confirm it with the club when you book.

All checked in October 2026. Clubs change their rules without notice, so treat the table as a guide and the confirmation you receive at booking as the final word.

Playing as one or two? The three-player rule

At Long Bien, a group must have at least three players and no more than four, according to the club’s published rules. A single golfer or a couple cannot simply reserve a tee time there for themselves.

This catches out more visitors than any other rule, because Long Bien is the closest course to the Old Quarter and the obvious choice for a short trip. It is a Long Bien rule, not a Hanoi rule. We have not found a published minimum at the other clubs, and we do not assume one in either direction.

If you are travelling as one or two, there are three realistic routes:

• Ask to be paired. Tell us your dates and we ask the club whether other players can be joined to your group. It depends on who else is booked that day, so we never promise it in advance.
• Play a different course that day. When pairing is not possible, we move the round to a club that confirms your group size in writing.
• Stay flexible on the day and time. A midweek round gives the club more room to help than a Saturday morning.

Either way, raise it before you pay for anything. On our Hanoi golf trips with tee times and transfers already arranged, group size is the first thing we check with each club.

Weekends and holidays: what changes

Three things change at weekends and on public holidays: the price, the notice you need to cancel, and how busy the course is.

Price. Weekend green fees are far higher than weekday ones across Hanoi. We keep the numbers in one place, so see why a Saturday round in Hanoi costs so much more than a Tuesday one for current rates.

Cancellation. At Long Bien, the notice period rises from 48 hours on a weekday to 120 hours, which is five full days, for weekends and public holidays. A Saturday round has to be cancelled by the Monday before.

Availability. Members and local golfers play mostly at weekends, so the best morning times go early and rounds take longer. If your trip has only one weekend day, use it for sightseeing or travel and play on the weekdays either side.

Private and member-heavy courses: Van Tri and Sky Lake

Two Hanoi clubs do not work like public courses, and it is better to know that before you build a trip around them.

Van Tri Golf Club is run as a private golf estate with a membership of roughly 400 and controlled access. You cannot turn up and pay a green fee, and there is no public booking page. The club does take outside golfers, but visitor tee times are arranged in advance through partner travel agencies rather than booked directly. If Van Tri is on your list, tell us early; access depends on the day and on member play.

Sky Lake Resort & Golf Club has two 18-hole courses. Visitors are booked on the Sky Course. The Lake Course is run for members, and access to it depends on member bookings, so we confirm which course you are playing before you pay. Caddies and carts are required for every round on both.

Booking yourself or through an operator

You can book most public Hanoi courses yourself, by phone or email to the club. It works well when you are a group of three or four, you have your own transport and you are playing on a weekday.

An operator is useful in four specific cases:

• Small groups. One or two players who need pairing, or a club that will confirm a twosome.
• Weekend mornings. Times that are requested early and held for you.
• Private access. Van Tri, where visitors are taken only through partner agencies.
• Transport. Hanoi’s courses sit 20 minutes to more than an hour from the centre, and a driver who waits is simpler than two taxis.

Is it cheaper to book yourself? Sometimes, for a single weekday round. We do not claim a fixed saving either way, because club rates and agent rates both change through the year. Compare a written quote with the club’s own rate for your exact date. For a first visit, a three-round first trip with every tee time pre-booked covers Kings Island, Sky Lake and Long Bien in four days.

On the day: check-in, caddies, dress code and pace of play

Arrive at the clubhouse 30 to 45 minutes before your tee time; that is our advice, and it leaves room for check-in, changing and a few putts. Long Bien’s own rule is that players must be on the tee five minutes before their time.

Caddies and buggies. At Long Bien, each golfer must have one caddie and one set of clubs and must use a buggy. Sky Lake also requires a caddie and cart for every round. Across Hanoi the caddie and a shared buggy are normally part of the green fee, so you rarely pay for them separately.

Dress code. Long Bien requires soft-spike golf shoes and does not allow jeans, collarless shirts or shorts above the knee. Kings Island’s published rules ban jeans and athletic shorts and require soft spikes. A collared shirt, tailored shorts or trousers and soft-spike shoes will pass at every club we book.

Pace of play. Long Bien allows 2 hours 15 minutes for nine holes and 4 hours 30 minutes for 18. Marshals use a card system: green is a warning, yellow means picking up and moving to the next hole, and red ends the round with the full fee still due. Our review covers what the 27 holes at Long Bien are like to play.

Age and food. Long Bien takes players aged 16 and over. Kings Island does not allow children under eight on the course. Both clubs ban outside food and drink.

Changing or cancelling a booking

Cancel as early as you can, and always in writing. The only published deadlines we can quote are Long Bien’s: at least 48 hours before a weekday round and at least 120 hours before a weekend or holiday round.

Long Bien also penalises no-shows in steps. A first missed booking brings a reminder, a second a one-month booking suspension, a third a three-month suspension, and a fourth a permanent ban on booking. Other clubs do not publish their terms, so ask for them when the tee time is confirmed.

If you booked through GoGolfVietnam, a local golf tour operator based in Da Nang, message us as soon as plans change. We deal with the club, and the cancellation terms for your trip are written on your quote before you pay. Bad weather is handled case by case by each club on the day; fog delays in winter usually push a tee time back rather than cancel it.

Frequently Asked Questions

GoGolfVietnam is a Vietnam-based golf tour operator arranging tee times, pairings, transfers and hotels around Hanoi and Northern Vietnam. Send us your dates and group size and we will tell you which clubs can take you.