LATEST
NEWS

Richard Humphreys
/ Categories: News

South course opens at Legend Valley in Vietnam

The South course at the new Legend Valley Country Club near Ha Nam, Vietnam, has opened for play. The layout is the first of two from Nicklaus Design planned for the resort.

Located an hour’s drive south of Hanoi, Legend Valley (the resort previously had a working title of Rose Canyon) is the fourth collaboration between Nicklaus Design and developer BRG Group, and its North and South courses will be the seventh and eighth Nicklaus Design layouts in the country.

Water is in play on 13 of the 18 holes of the South. “I had visited the site initially in 2016 and walked a few sections of the property that were accessible,” said Sean Quinn, senior design associate at Nicklaus Design. “Although I had a good feel for the topography and rock formations, and the routing worked well on paper, we had very little idea what we would find when we accessed all the areas.

“What dictated our design was the complexity of the rock formations and mountains that the course meanders through,” said Quinn. “The back nine has an abundance of water; lakes were created to generate fill material to elevate the fairways above the flood zone. To mitigate the abundance of water, the playing areas are very generous. However, to score well, players need to negotiate the strategic water carefully.

“The layout was routed entirely on paper as most of the site was inaccessible and waterlogged due to it being an old rock quarry and full of water. During construction there were many pleasant surprises, as sections were elevated and dried. Virtually every hole was a revelation. The owner allowed us the flexibility during construction to make minor adjustments to optimise key features of the site.

“The abundance of large rock boulders provided us with the opportunity to create retaining walls throughout the course. These walls are a key visual feature of the course, adding to the spectacular vistas.” WR RockGroup Construction harvested enough boulders to create 2,400 metres of the dry-stacked walls.

With BRG’s other courses hosting an average of 60,000 rounds per year, Nicklaus Design specified very large greens and a minimum of four large tees per hole, ranging from 5,281 to 7,317 yards, to cater for players of all abilities.

For Quinn, the par threes are a particular highlight of the round. “They are really exciting and varied,” he told GCA. “The fourth can be played anywhere between 145 and 280 yards. You hit to a semi-Redan-type green, which played into the prevailing wind on opening day.

“From the elevated back tee on the sixth, which comes in at 197 yards, players hit to a green perched between a cliff and a five-metre-high rock wall. This will be one of the most photographed holes on the course.”

The eleventh requires a forced carry to a large green and the fifteenth plays over diagonal water to a green defended by a single pot bunker.

With the South now open, work turns to the North, where Nicklaus Design will work with the same team of Shang Yih Construction, Toro, Jeff Stamper, Jebsen & Jessen, BRG project manager Gavin Reid, and Brett Saggus, golf course superintendent at BRG Legend Hill and BRG Ruby Tree Golf Resorts.

“The North is marginally shorter than the South at 7,023 yards, mainly due to site constraints, but is every bit as scenic,” said Quinn. “The eighteenth hole will require partial blasting of an 80-metre-high mountain to allow the hole to return to the clubhouse.”

Many holes on the North will also require fill to elevate them out of the flood zone, so there will again be several water hazards. “Lakes will be excavated as deep as possible to generate fill,” said Quinn.

Construction of the North course will begin in August 2023 and is expected to be complete within two years.

Previous Article Mesa plans renovation focused on water conservation
Next Article Summer 2023 issue of ASGCA’s By Design magazine is out now
Print
5040 Rate this article:
No rating
Slideshow HTML
  • Legend Valley
    Nicklaus Design

    The par-four seventh on the South course at the new Legend Valley Country Club near Ha Nam, Vietnam

  • Legend Valley
    Nicklaus Design

    The Nicklaus Design layout has water on almost every hole

  • Legend Valley
    Nicklaus Design

    From the elevated back tee on the 197-yard sixth, players hit to a green perched above a five-metre-high retaining wall

  • Legend Valley
    Nicklaus Design

    Mountains frame holes and provide backdrops to greens

  • Legend Valley
    Nicklaus Design

    The North course will enter construction in August 2023

ADd Image Credit here for home page
Nicklaus Design
Richard Humphreys

Richard HumphreysRichard Humphreys

Other posts by Richard Humphreys
Contact author

Contact author

x
The April 2025 issue of Golf Course Architecture is out now!
Magazine, News | Wed 16 Apr, 2025

The April 2025 issue of Golf Course Architecture is out now!

Includes reports from Maggie Hathaway and Apogee, interviews with Martin Ebert and Dave Axland and a feature on golf art

Spring 2025 issue of ASGCA’s By Design magazine is out now
Magazine, News | Fri 14 Mar, 2025

Spring 2025 issue of ASGCA’s By Design magazine is out now

New issue asks whether the golf boom has led to an increase in municipal golf investment

FEATURE
ARTICLES

Martin Ebert: Design journey
Taku Miyamoto
Interview | Adam Lawrence

Martin Ebert: Design journey

With a portfolio that includes eight of the ten Open venues, Mackenzie & Ebert occupies an enviable position in the golf design industry. Adam Lawrence spoke with principal Martin Ebert to learn how they got there

South course at Apogee Club: New scenery for second act
Toby Ingleton
On site | Toby Ingleton

South course at Apogee Club: New scenery for second act

Toby Ingleton reports on a design debut for the partnership of Mike Davis and Tom Fazio II, in the new course hotspot of south Florida

The art of golf
theberkshire.co.uk, The R&A World Golf Museum and National Galleries of Scotland
Feature | Adam Lawrence

The art of golf

Adam Lawrence profiles some of the best illustrators of golf courses in the game’s history – both full-time artists and architects who draw or paint

A masterplan of masters’ plans
Cohasse CC
Report | Mark Wagner

A masterplan of masters’ plans

Mark Wagner writes about the Tim Lewis-led renovation of Cohasse, a course that includes the work of Donald Ross and the sons of Frederick Law Olmsted

Quail Hollow: An interview with Tom Fazio
PGA of America/ Gary W. Kellner
Interview | Richard Humphreys

Quail Hollow: An interview with Tom Fazio

The architect talks about how this year’s PGA Championship venue has evolved over the past 30 years

Bringing golf to Benin
Afrikafun Production Stephane Brabant
Report | Richard Humphreys

Bringing golf to Benin

Jeremy Pern and Gregori International are creating the first 18-hole course in the West African country, on an ‘almost perfect’ site that also includes a sacred grove and voodoo shrines

The future of vegetation management on Melbourne’s Sandbelt
Lukas Michel/CDP
Opinion | Mike Clayton

The future of vegetation management on Melbourne’s Sandbelt

Mike Clayton discusses Alister MacKenzie’s transformative impact on Australian golf and how clubs can avoid repeating previous mistakes by establishing a long-term plan focused on indigenous plants

Maggie Hathaway: A force for good
Stephen Barton – Second Collective
On site | Adam Lawrence

Maggie Hathaway: A force for good

The reconstruction of the nine-hole course in Los Angeles is the golf industry at its best, says Adam Lawrence

Designs for the big screen
Pizá Golf
Interview | Richard Humphreys

Designs for the big screen

Chad Goetz and Agustin Piza discuss their design decisions for the virtual holes that featured in the first season of TGL

The ties that bind
Crooked Stick
Opinion | Justin Olmstead

The ties that bind

Justin Olmstead of Profile Products talks about the relationships behind the renovation of Crooked Stick in Indiana

Bob Harrison: Wizard of Oz
Konrad Borkowski
Interview | Adam Lawrence

Bob Harrison: Wizard of Oz

The Australian designer has had a long career and, like many of his countrymen, has spent much of it away from home. Adam Lawrence listened to his tales from the road

Gopher Watch Competition – April 2025
Gopher Watch, News | Wed 16 Apr, 2025

Gopher Watch Competition – April 2025

Which course has Sandy the gopher visited this month?

MOST
POPULAR

FEATURED
BUSINESSES