The Cam Lam Site #12 project is at the detailed design stage with construction potentially starting in late 2026
By Richard Humphreys |
Architect Doug Carrick is designing a new golf course for Vinpearl’s latest development near Nha Trang in the southeast of Vietnam.
“In December 2020, I was contacted by a business development consultant in Vietnam asking if I would be interested in bidding on some golf course design projects in Vietnam,” said Carrick. “After saying yes, I was invited to bid on four or five projects, and I was eventually awarded a project in July 2021 in the northeast part of Vietnam overlooking Ha Long Bay.”
That development is being led by Vinpearl and is still going through planning permission.
Then, in 2022, Vinpearl invited Carrick to design a course in the southeast of Vietnam, and following a delay, the architect began design work in May 2025. The golf course is part of a large, masterplanned development that includes multiple courses, theme parks, commercial spaces and residential areas.
The project has the working title of Cam Lam Site #12 and has advanced through the preliminary design phase, with Carrick working on the detailed design ahead of construction starting in late 2026.
Doug Carrick’s routing plan for Cam Lam Site #12, near Nha Trang, Vietnam (Image: Carrick Design)
“The golf course at Cam Lam Site #12 is designed to provide golfers of all skill levels with a unique and enjoyable five-star golf experience that highlights the scenic natural beauty of the Cam Lam area,” said Carrick. “The routing of each hole has been carefully designed to work in harmony with the existing topography as much as possible, taking advantage of the spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and the rolling pastoral landscape.”
Carrick is working with a compact site and has developed a plan for a course, which can be played from 4,623 to 6,727 yards. A winding creek comes into play on ten holes, with four large ponds (totally nearly two-and-a-half hectares) planned to store water for irrigation. Carrick also plans to integrate the site’s mature mango trees and native vegetation, wherever possible, to give the course an identity and frame holes.
A visualisation of the par-five eighth hole (Image: Carrick Design)
“Part of the site is mountainous and part of it is flat,” said Carrick. “Our preliminary grading plans for the course require approximately 330,000 cubic metres of earth to be moved.”
Mountain slopes would come into play straight away on the par-four first, with the hole framed by rugged mountain terrain to the right. “The fairway sweeps gently from right to left setting up the approach shot into to a large green protected by two bunkers on the left and a closely mown chipping area on the right,” said Carrick.
The architect has planned for Sandbelt-style bunkers. “This is to provide a golf experience that is a little bit different from other courses in Vietnam,” said Carrick. “The aim is to give the course a highly manicured aesthetic set against a rugged natural mountain setting.
This Sandbelt style will be evident throughout the round, but the most noticeable early example comes at the par-three second, a short hole that plays downhill to a wide, shallow green that is surrounded by four sprawling bunkers.
There are more elevated tee shots, including at the 221-yard, par-three fourth. “This long and dramatic par three plays downhill towards a tapestry of mountain peaks in the distance,” said Carrick. “The long and narrow green is protected on the left by two deep bunkers, while a broad grass swale will gather errant shots that bounce off the steep mountain slope on the right towards the green.”
One of the ten holes where water would come into play is the tenth. This par four, which plays at 341 yards from the back tee, has water down the entire right side before slicing across the fairway at the 290-yard mark before running to the left of the green. “Two bunkers on the left are positioned to swallow up conservative tee shots trying to avoid the creek on the right,” said Carrick. “Golfers who find the fairway short of the creek will face a delicate short pitch shot across to a green flanked by the creek on the left and a bunker on the right.”
Water will very much be in play for the entirety of the par-four tenth (Image: Carrick Design)
According to Carrick, the shortest hole on his course plan is “possibly the most diabolical”. The par-three thirteenth, a 151-yarder from the back tee, has water surrounding the green on three sides. “Proper club selection and precise distance control is required to hold the wide, shallow green that is protected on the front-left by a large pond and by a meandering creek that winds around behind the green from the left side,” he said. “A bunker beside the green on the right will prevent errant shots from bouncing into the creek behind the green.”
Another example of a dramatic, elevated tee shot comes at the par-four sixteenth. From tee to fairway, the drop is 18 metres, and the drive must find a narrow and undulating fairway that is protected by an angled bunker on the right and creek on the left. “The approach into the long narrow green must avoid a creek on the left and an approach bunker on the right,” said Carrick. “A broad grass swale to the right of the green provides a safe alternative for more conservative approach shots.”
The eighteenth will also be played from an elevated position. “The final hole presents the most spectacular tee shot on the course,” said Carrick. “Golfers will watch with great anticipation as their tee shots drop 29 metres to the fairway below. Two bunkers on the left define the corner of the dogleg as the fairway swings left and down the hill towards the second landing area. A pond on the left and a large meandering bunker set into the slope on the right guard the approach as the fairway rises above the pond to the green. Two deep bunkers protect the left side of the putting surface, and a broad grass swale provides a safe route for more timid approach shots.”
Carrick’s plan for the final hole includes an elevated tee shot, a fairway framed by mango trees and Sandbelt-style bunkers (Image: Carrick Design)