Interviews

Oakmont: An interview with Gil Hanse

With the 2025 US Open arriving at Oakmont, Richard Humphreys spoke with the architect, who renovated the course in 2023, about what to expect

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

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

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

Ben Cowan-Dewar: Shock and awe

Golf development firm Cabot now has properties in six countries. Richard Humphreys speaks with co-founder and CEO Ben Cowan-Dewar about what makes a great site, selection of golf course architects, and more

Team building

Turfgrass has launched its US arm with the appointment of John Lawrence, Adam Moeller and Brad Owen. Richard Humphreys speaks with them, Turfgrass founder John Clarkin and director of agronomy Julian Mooney to find out more

Brian Curley: Life of Brian

The designer has surely clocked up more air miles than anyone else in the business. Adam Lawrence caught up with him in between flights to discuss his career and his new venture with Jim Wagner

Oakmont: An interview with Gil Hanse

With the 2025 US Open arriving at Oakmont, Richard Humphreys spoke with the architect, who renovated the course in 2023, about what to expect

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

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

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

Ben Cowan-Dewar: Shock and awe

Golf development firm Cabot now has properties in six countries. Richard Humphreys speaks with co-founder and CEO Ben Cowan-Dewar about what makes a great site, selection of golf course architects, and more

Team building

Turfgrass has launched its US arm with the appointment of John Lawrence, Adam Moeller and Brad Owen. Richard Humphreys speaks with them, Turfgrass founder John Clarkin and director of agronomy Julian Mooney to find out more

Brian Curley: Life of Brian

The designer has surely clocked up more air miles than anyone else in the business. Adam Lawrence caught up with him in between flights to discuss his career and his new venture with Jim Wagner

Richard Humphreys
/ Categories: News

Construction complete on two new courses in Vietnam

Construction work is now complete on two new 18-hole courses, designed by Greg Norman Golf Course Design, at PGA NovaWorld Phan Thiet in Vietnam.

Work on the 7,400-yard Ocean layout was finished in April 2021, with the 7,100-yard Garden course following in recent weeks. The two-course project is part of a huge development – led by Novaland Group – of a coastal area in the southeast of the country. When complete it will include luxury golf villas, townhouses, a marine park, an amusement park, retail outlets, hotels and more.

The Ocean course and clubhouse have been built on an area of almost 90 hectares with views of the sea.

“We designed two distinctly different golf courses,” said Chris Campbell, senior vice president of Greg Norman’s design firm. “The Ocean course has a very natural look and feel and will test the best players in the world on any given day. The Garden course is a more manicured, parkland style course that is fun, but challenging in its own right. Both give a nod to the sandbelt of Australia, which was an objective of Greg’s from the first time we walked the property.”

Greg Norman Golf Course Design has worked alongside the club, Flagstick Golf Course Construction Management, water feature designer WR RockGroup Construction and Sports Turf Solutions, who provided Zeon Zoysia for the layouts.

The Garden course project wrapped up with RockGroup completing work on a stream project for the fifth hole, a 173-yard par three that has a 78-yard carry over a lake, with a waterfall that leads to the stream. “It’s a majestic shot with a complete view of the front nine as it slopes down in elevation; complemented by the well-planted dragon fruit farms that fill the valley,” said Bill Rosmarino, president of RockGroup.

“The stream project was 18 months in the planning – delayed by the introduction of Covid travel restrictions in March 2020 – with my team able to pass quarantine in Vietnam and commence construction April 2021.”

The cascading stream system works its way through holes three to seven, and near the eighteenth green, flowing between the closing hole’s split fairway before emptying into the lakes near the tees. “It’s a beautiful combination of all the natural stream effects: from rushing rapid sections, calm flowing wide waterfall sections, to intense narrow section waterfalls,” said Rosmarino. “Superb shaping, bunker style and undulations surround all of the stream systems, affecting the strategy of every shot. 

“Wetlands and aquatic planting throughout the five lakes of the Garden course bring a pleasant contrast to the ocean views found on the adjacent Ocean course.”

Sports Turf Solution’s ‘Sod Squad’, including grassing superintendent John Gibb, has now completed planting and the course is currently growing in. “Tees and greens are grassed with Primo Zoysia and fairways and rough is Zeon Zoysia,” said Brad Burgess of Sports Turf Solutions. “We have also planted around 400,000 square metres of Bahia grass in the rough and supplied the project with native grass species from our nursery.”

The Garden course is expected to open in November 2021.

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Slideshow HTML
  • Phan Thiet
    Novaland Group

    Construction work is now complete on two new 18-hole courses, designed by Greg Norman Golf Course Design, at PGA NovaWorld Phan Thiet in Vietnam

  • Phan Thiet
    Novaland Group

    The 7,100-yard Garden course is growing in ahead of a potential November 2021 opening

  • Phan Thiet
    Novaland Group

    WR RockGroup Construction has recently completed work on the fifth hole, a 173-yard par three that has a 78-yard carry over a lake, with a waterfall that leads to a stream

  • Phan Thiet
    Novaland Group

    Work on the 7,400-yard Ocean layout was finished in April 2021

  • Phan Thiet
    Novaland Group

    A cascading stream system works its way through holes three to seven on the Garden course

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Novaland Group
Richard Humphreys

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