Văn Lang Empire T&T Golf Club, located in northern Vietnam’s Phú Thọ province, will officially open in early 2026.
The new club has been developed by multi-industry conglomerate T&T Group and features an 18-hole layout designed by Greg Norman Golf Course Design (GNGCD) that has been built by Flagstick Golf Course Construction Management.
The course has been built on undulating terrain and features dramatic elevation changes. It will be the centrepiece of a multi-phase masterplanned development that includes 36 holes of golf, a clubhouse with an integrated hotel, an event venue, housing and more.
“The course layout was the result of an intensive on-site routing study to maximise compatibility of each hole with the existing terrain and landscape,” said Norman. “The location and sizing of lakes played a particularly important role in balancing the cut-fill, water management, strategy and aesthetics.”
Greg Norman’s design team routed the Văn Lang course on a forest site with plenty of lakes and undulation (Image: Greg Norman Golf Course Design)
The opening hole is a par five where players need to land their tee shot in between bunkers located either side of the first landing area. Players’ second shots down the fairway – part of which is shared with the ninth hole – need to land in front of a lake that guards the front of the green. For longer hitters, there is a bailout area to the right of the green for those that miss the putting surface when going for it in two.
The second hole is a par four that requires two shots over water, this is then followed by the par-three third that has central pot bunker short of the green and bunkers flanking the left and right side of the putting surface. Holes four and five are both par fours that require a tee shot over water and have sprawling bunker complexes located near the landing zone.
“Players have several options to approach each hole and placement off the tee is critical,” said Chris Campbell, president at GNGCD. “Hole five is a good example: a downhill par four with a well-guarded green tucked behind a lake that runs the length of the fairway. Players can choose how much of the hazard they want to bite off for a risk-reward trade off on the approach shot.”
An aerial of the new course, with the heavily bunkered thirteenth hole in the foreground (Photo: Greg Norman Golf Course Design)
Holes six and seven both have doglegs and their fairways are dotted with bunkers. The end of the back nine finishes with a par-three eighth that has a diamond-shaped green defended by two large bunkers, and then the short par-four ninth, where a series of sprawling bunkers run up the right side of the fairway and finish next to the green.
The back nine, much like the front, plays within a forested landscape, with a series of lakes coming into play, notably on holes fourteen, sixteen, seventeen and eighteen. Some highlights include the long and slim fourteenth green which is sandwiched by a lake to the left and a bunker to the right, the heavily bunkered par-five fifteenth which has multiple routes to the green, and the par-three seventeenth, located at one of the highest points on the property.
The practice range features bunkers at various distances and is located adjacent to the ninth hole, which plays back towards the clubhouse (Photo: Greg Norman Golf Course Design)
“The target audience includes both domestic and international guests,” said Campbell. “Theres is convenient access from Hanoi International Airport – the global gateway to Vietnam – and the course design prioritises enjoyability for golfers of all skill levels and re-playability value for members and repeat guests. The extensive practice facilities will provide a training ground for new golfers with a particular focus on growing the game among Vietnamese youth.”
Construction of the course is complete and is now growing in.