On the other side of the Hai Van Pass, there is a golf course that grows rice and raises buffaloes

Every golf course wants its grass perfectly flat and perfectly green, with as few oddities as possible. Laguna Lang Co, located just on the other side of the Hai Van Pass, deliberately keeps a few rice paddies within the course and hands the job of clearing the grass around the fields to a herd of water buffaloes.

A round of golf through mountains, forests and the sea

The course was designed by Nick Faldo, the English golfer and six-time major champion. It opened in March 2013 and is the second course he has created in Vietnam. The course has 18 holes and plays to par 71. It sits within the Laguna Lang Co resort complex alongside the Banyan Tree and Angsana properties.

What makes this course different is the terrain. To the west lies the Truong Son mountain range, and to the east is Lang Co Bay. The course stretches between the two: some holes run right alongside the sandy beach, with the sea breeze blowing straight into your face; others climb up to the foot of the mountains, nestled between dense forest and exposed boulders.

Later, Faldo elevated Laguna Lăng Cô to signature course status, meaning a course that bears his own distinctive design imprint. According to international golf publications, this is the first operating course in the world to receive this title. In 2023, the American magazine GOLF ranked this complex among the world's top 100 golf resorts.

Rice fields are not for decoration

The course has about 4 hectares of rice paddies running alongside at least four holes. For players, they are a real obstacle: once the ball lands in a paddy, it is hard to save. But the fields are still planted, with two crops each year, yielding around 20 tons of paddy rice. The rice is used for the resort's organic farm and given to families in the area.

Between two crops, the fields have to be cleared and tidied. Instead of constantly using machines and workers to cut, the farm lets buffalo out to graze on the weeds and leftover rice stalks. The people at the farm call them biological lawnmowers. This started in 2019, and to this day the buffalo herd is still part of the farm.

So, when playing a round here, golfers sometimes have to cross wooden bridges spanning the rice fields, right next to buffalo grazing on grass and people in conical hats working the fields. Not many golf courses in the world let players see a scene like that.

Coming over from Da Nang

Laguna Lang Co is about 60 km from Da Nang Airport, roughly an hour's drive by car through the Hai Van Tunnel. Anyone who wants to enjoy the scenery can take the mountain pass, though it takes a little longer. So if you're already planning to play golf in Da Nang, this course fits neatly into a day trip, alongside the four 18-hole courses around the city.

Here you can play golf among rice paddies, right beside herds of water buffalo, and then finish your round in front of the sea. It's hard to find another course quite like this.

Photos: Laguna Lang Co, VnTravelLive, VietSpots.