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The Montgomerie Links named Vietnam’s best new course
By huonglan | December 9, 2009
The Montgomerie Links Vietnam has been named the country’s best new course by Vietnam Golf Magazine, in conjunction with Vietnam Tourism. In addition, the course’s 12th hole, which plays 527 yards from the back tees, has been selected best par 5. The selection process included input from readers and a panel of experts.
“Talk about an eventful year,” said Jon Tomlinson, general manager at Montgomerie Links, which premiered all 18 holes in August and also became the newest member of the Ho Chi Minh Golf Trail. “Our goal as the first 18-hole course in the Central Coast was to make an instant impact in Vietnam’s dynamic golf scene. And this award confirms that we have.”
Montgomerie Links was also cited for having the country’s best par 5 hole, the 12th. Framed by the just-completed, 3,000-square-meter clubhouse and with water down the left side and 17 bunkers, the hole requires three precise shots, the last to a canted, shallow putting surface that slopes from back to front.
“We designed the course to have no obvious ‘signature’ hole,” laughed Tomlinson, who added special thanks to the Colin Montgomerie design team, to Indochina Project Management, IMG and IMG Golf Course Construction Management and Superintendent Lucas Skelton. “That said, I’d agree that No. 12 is one epic hole.”
Two-plus years in planning, design, and construction, The Montgomerie Links sets a new standard in several respects. Designed by European PGA icon and eight-time Order of Merit winner Colin Montgomerie, the visually stunning layout – a par 72 that measures as much as 7,090 yards from the back tees, 5,119 yards from the forward-most set – was conceived for playability, as well as challenge.
Like classic links courses in Montgomerie’s native Scotland, the sandy soil, rolling contours, and frequently blustery conditions make for hard-and-fast playing conditions. Huge greens add to the effect. But wispy casuarina pines and other indigenous vegetation, along with strategically placed water features and paspalum turfgrass, put these features in a more modern and exotic context. So do views of the Marble Mountains and the East Sea.
Montgomerie Links also has a state-of-the-art golf academy staffed by a team of international PGA golf professionals and equipped with video swing-analysis technology. Thanks to supplemental lighting, the academy offers extended hours of operation, until 9 p.m., another first for the Central Coast region.
As much as the physical plant and the recognition the awards confer however, Tomlinson is also proud of Montgomerie Links’ integration in the neighborhood.
“The overriding concept here has always been to raise standards across the board – as a place to play the game, yes, but also for our employees to work,” he said. “Accolades like this suggest we’re on the right track.”
Vietnam Golf Magazine also cited for excellence the two other courses owned and operated under the Indochina Land and Danao International Holdings, Ltd. umbrella. Dalat Palace Golf Club, in Dalat, was recognized as Vietnam’s best course. Ocean Dunes Golf Club, in Phan Thiet, was chosen for having the best par 3 hole, No. 9.
ABOUT INDOCHINA CAPITAL & INDOCHINA LAND
Founded in 1999, Indochina Capital is one of Vietnam’s leading financial services groups with diversified fund management and financial advisory businesses. The group is amongst the most established investment firms in Vietnam, managing a portfolio of independent funds focused on separate real estate and capital markets strategies. Indochina Land, the real estate division of Indochina Capital, is Vietnam’s premier real estate development and fund management firm, developing and financing real estate projects covering the full range of property types from multi-family residential and mixed-use commercial (retail and office) developments to hotels, resorts and leisure facilities.
Indochina Land, the sponsor of Vietnam’s first real estate fund, currently manages three private, closed-ended funds with US$460 million of committed institutional capital, which translates to more than US$2 billion of projects currently under management and development in Vietnam. In 2009, Indochina Land was recognized in Euromoney magazine’s annual real estate poll as the Best Developer in Vietnam and one of the Top 10 throughout Asia.
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