Vietnam Golf & Country Club Review (2026): West or East Course, and Can Visitors Play?

Last updated: 11 October 2026

Vietnam Golf & Country Club is the course for golfers who want some history with their round. It has 36 holes on two courses in Thu Duc, east of central Ho Chi Minh City, and its West Course hosted the Vietnam Open twice in the 1990s. The question most visitors ask is which course to play. The short answer: the West for the tournament layout and its palm-lined fairways, the East for more room off the tee.

Vietnam Golf & Country Club at a glance

Yardages vary by source and by tees, so we give them as approximate figures. Booking sites often describe VGCC as Vietnam’s first 36-hole club.

West or East: which course should you play?

This is the decision that shapes your day, so here are the two courses side by side.

If you are playing only once, play the West. It is the course with the tournament history, and the oil palms that line it are what most golfers remember. Choose the East if your driving is not your strength, or if you are playing with higher handicappers who need room off the tee. Golfers with two days in Saigon can play both, as the courses feel very different.

The West Course: palms, tight lines and tournament history

The West was designed by the Taiwanese architect Chen King Shih and opened in December 1994, according to Planet Golf. The ground is flat, and the challenge comes from the oil palms that line the fairways and leave narrow landing areas. A driver that drifts is often blocked out by the trees, so a fairway wood or long iron is often the smarter club on the tighter holes.

The hole golfers most often mention is the 11th: a 408-yard par 4 that turns sharply to the left, described in the same way by two separate course reviews. The greens are softly contoured, so once you are on the fairway, scoring is fair.

The history is real. The West hosted the Vietnam Open on the Asian PGA Tour in 1995 and 1997, and the club hosted the Hana Bank Vietnam Masters on the Asian Tour in 2008, won by Thongchai Jaidee in a playoff.

The East Course: Lee Trevino’s bunkers and water

Lee Trevino’s East Course opened in September 1997. It gives you more room off the tee than the West, then asks more of your approach play. Golfasian counts around 110 bunkers on the course, and water hazards guard several greens. The greens are more undulating than on the West, so two-putts are harder to take for granted.

For a mixed group, the East is often the friendlier choice: higher handicappers can keep the ball in play, while the bunkers and water still give better players plenty to think about.

Can visitors play?

Yes. VGCC is a private members’ club, and members get priority. In practice, visitor tee times are easiest on weekdays, when the course is quieter. Booking sources disagree on how open weekends are, so treat weekend play as possible but not guaranteed.

Two practical points:

• Book ahead. Walk-up play is not the norm at a members’ club. We confirm tee times in advance for every round we arrange.
• Bring a handicap certificate if you want the back tees. At least one player review reports a handicap limit for the blue tees, so check this when you book.

Getting there

We checked the drive on Google Maps on Sunday 11 October 2026, at around 12:50. From Ben Thanh Market:

• By the expressway (a toll road): about 41 minutes, 21.7 km.
• Via Mai Chi Tho Avenue: about 48 minutes, 25.4 km.

On a weekday morning, allow more time to get out of the city. VGCC sits on the eastern side of Saigon, so it also works on the way out to the coast or on the way back. Our guide to getting from Saigon to Ho Tram for golf covers that route.

Caddies, carts and practical tips

• Caddies: a caddie goes out with every round.
• Carts: available, but arrangements vary, so confirm when you book.
• Tee time: take the earliest start you can. Saigon is hot all year.
• Season: the dry months are the most comfortable. In the rainy season, afternoon storms are common, which is another reason to start early. Our month-by-month guide to golf weather in Ho Chi Minh City explains the seasons.

VGCC vs Tan Son Nhat vs Long Thanh

These are the three 36-hole clubs most visitors weigh up for a round from the city centre.

Tan Son Nhat is the closest golf course to Saigon’s centre, about 20 minutes away beside the airport, and the most modern of the three. Long Thanh is the furthest, with two courses through hills and lakes. VGCC sits in between: further than Tan Son Nhat but the one with the tournament past, and the classic choice for a palm-lined parkland round.

Our verdict

Vietnam Golf & Country Club is worth a round for its West Course alone: a narrow, palm-lined test with real tournament history, about 45 minutes from District 1. Choose the East if you want more room off the tee, or play both over two days. Book on a weekday if you can, start early to beat the heat, and have the tee time confirmed before you set out.

VGCC is part of our seven-day Southern Vietnam golf tour, or browse all our Ho Chi Minh City golf packages.

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GoGolfVietnam is a Vietnam-based golf tour operator arranging tee times, transfers and hotels for golf trips to Ho Chi Minh City and the rest of Vietnam.