Laguna Golf Lăng Cô named Sir Nick Faldo signature course

View over the 10th hole at Laguna Golf Lăng Cô. Photo: Performance54

Laguna Golf Lăng Cô, the award-winning golf course at the Laguna Lăng Cô integrated project in central Vietnam, has become the first fully operational course in the world to be part of a new elite category created by its designer, Sir Nick Faldo.

Faldo, a six-time major winner and prolific course architect, sees Laguna Golf Lăng Cô as his flagship layout in Asia. Opened in 2013, the course makes full use of the property’s location sandwiched between the ocean and the mountains, with play incorporating rice paddies, jungle and coastal holes.

The track has earned widespread acclaim over the years, garnering numerous awards and cementing itself as home of the annual Faldo Series Asia Grand Final. News that the layout has been named a Sir Nick Faldo Signature course is sure to further enhance its appeal to golfers.

The new Sir Nick Faldo Signature category will only be applied to Faldo courses — both existing and forthcoming — that match and maintain their designer’s standards across a range of markers including sustainability, conservation and quality of design.

“Being elevated in status like this really speaks volumes of our ongoing commitment to realizing Sir Nick’s vision,” said Adam Calver, director of golf at Laguna Golf Lăng Cô.

Continual improvement has been ingrained at Laguna Golf Lăng Cô under the stewardship of Calver. This philosophy has helped it secure its position as one of Faldo’s masterpieces.

Recently, Calver and his team have made numerous improvements to the layout. New tees have been added, providing alternative challenges for golfers. Trees have been cleared on the coastal holes, opening up views of the beach and the East Sea. There has been an introduction and reintroduction of rice paddies on the course, with four hectares of rice fields in the middle of the course. The fields are tended to by water buffalo who act as “bio-mowers.”

“From the first time I came here when it was still jungle almost 10 years ago, I’ve always considered it a unique place,” Faldo said. “We knew the course was going to be different and special because you play through different environments. You go through the rice fields to the jungle. Then we’ve got beach and river and rocks. It really is a special course, with a memorability factor that is sure to keep golfers interested.”