A full season of play has now been completed at Eschuri Vung Bau Golf Resort, located on Phú Quốc, an island off the coast of southern Vietnam.

The resort was created by developer Sun Group and built within an eco-tourism area on the north west of the island. Sun Group’s vision from the outset was to create a world-class residential and commercial development with a golf course as the centrepiece.

IMG’s lead architect Steven McFarlane and senior vice president Paul Burley oversaw the design of an 18-hole course with a front nine that winds around the ancient hardwood trees of the Phú Quốc forest, before arriving at pristine coastline with white sand beaches for the back nine.

“The site for the Eschuri Vung Bau golf course was ideal for laying out a world-class golf course,” says McFarlane. “Some preliminary land use plans had been prepared by the client’s land planners but when IMG was engaged for the design of the course, we were instructed to ignore all previous masterplans and prepare routing plans that provided the best golfing experience. The one exception was that they wanted most of the coastline for the development of high-end residential, but after we presented a number of routing options it was agreed that the golf course should have some direct contact with the beach, which we achieved at the northern end of the property with holes fourteen and fifteen.”

The masterplan for Eschuri Vung Bau, which has been routed through the Phú Quốc forest (Image: IMG Golf Design)

Construction began in October 2022, with IMG supported on the project by Steven Halliwell, superintendent at Ba Na Hills, lead shaper Tom Addis and construction supervisor Ferdi Castro. A workforce of more than 200 helped build the course over 10 months.

“The site had very few topographic constraints with a very comfortable elevation change of around 25 metres from the ridgeline running alongside hole two down to the beach,” says McFarlane. “The greatest influence on the routing was the amazing mature trees throughout the property, which we succeeded in preserving as specimen features for a number of greens and as woodland between holes for separation and definition.

“We also wanted to preserve and enhance a flowing stream that crossed the property from the woodland in the east to the ocean in the west. We incorporated the stream into the design and strategy of three holes and widened it out to form a large water feature on two holes. Using rock from the area, local craftsmen worked with the construction crew to install some amazing walls, bridges and weirs to really enhance the concept. It turned out better than we could have imagined.”

David Longstaff handled irrigation design, with Jebsen & Jessen Vietnam supplying a Toro system.

“We were given about 75 hectares for the golf course and short-game academy, so we had plenty of space,” says McFarlane. “The forward tees come in at 5,000 yards and with it being a resort course, we put a lot of focus on providing easier angles into the landing areas and making sure there was plenty of fairway width for the less proficient golfers. It also stretches beyond 7,500 yards so it can play long for the big hitters, too.

“True to the concept of seaside golf, we designed large, gently undulating greens that are around 750 square metres on average. The contouring of the surfaces is quite subtle with the occasional quirky little nuance here and there. There is a great mixture of greens: plateaus, punchbowls, on lake edges and the beachfront.”

McFarlane expects the two beachfront holes to become favourites. “They share a setting that is majestic but will play completely differently from each other,” he says. “The par-four fourteenth measures 444 yards and plays towards a plateau green on the edge of the beach, contrasting with the fifteenth which is 341 yards and plays as a short dogleg left over a massive sandy waste area.”

Bunkering varies throughout the course, from large, organic features to small, deep, links-style pot bunkers. On the holes nearest the ocean, IMG introduced expansive sandy waste areas featuring seaside grasses and shrubs.

This rugged natural terrain contrasts visually with the Tahoma 31 playing surfaces. “The total area of maintained grass is somewhere around 30 hectares which is a statistic we like to be very cognisant of for environmental and economic sustainability,” says McFarlane. “Our goal is always to try and keep this number manageable without compromising the playability and enjoyment of the golfing experience.”

Tees, fairways and rough all feature Tahoma 31 bermuda (Photo: Steven Halliwell)

Tees, fairways and rough all feature Tahoma 31 bermuda, while greens are TifEagle. Outfield Nursery Enterprises, led by Jason Blacka, supplied these varieties and helped superintendent Ben Villanueva oversee grow-in.

“The owner had been especially impressed with Tahoma’s colour at a couple of other courses, and based on our experience we knew it was well suited to the site and climate,” says Blacka. “The fast establishment, low inputs and reasonable salt tolerance all made Tahoma ideal for this island site. It helped to beat the wet season, meet the owner’s tight construction timeframe and is easy to maintain… it also helps with playability and allows the ball to roll true.

“We also had lower irrigation inputs during the dry season, and it still established well. Tahoma coped with the moderately high salinity with no issues.”

Villanueva adds: “Tahoma is great for all sorts of maintenance reasons… quick establishment, a wide range of heights of cut, ease of recovery and salt tolerance. The owner was absolutely right about the great colour, and it held through our winter too. It looks terrific! The only reason to choose a different grass would be if you had very high salinity issues on a site and only paspalum could grow.”

Course lighting means play is available at night. “This is a great benefit in this part of the world as it allows golf to be played when temperatures drop,” says McFarlane. “It does not really impact our design process but having mature vegetation throughout the course allows us to position the poles so that they do not have any significant visual impact on the look and character of the holes.”

This article first appeared in the July 2025 issue of Golf Course Architecture. For a printed subscription or free digital edition, please visit our subscriptions page.