Vietnam - As Good As It Gets

Crucially, both Danang and Montgomerie Links belong to heavy-hitters of Vietnam's financial industry - VinaCapital, the country's leading asset management group, own the former, while IndoChina Capital, Vietnam's most established foreign investment firm, is the power behind the latter. I say crucially because, as with any new development, it's good to know that there's solidity behind the project. In other words, it's good to know that there's sufficient funding to keep the playing surfaces in shape and the mould from the shower stalls. And what's more, the two clubs sensibly take a unified approach to drawing in golfers. While the owners are rivals away from the fairways, each knows that for their own course to succeed, the other has to prosper too. Inbound golfers to Danang aren't going to play just the one course, after all. As a result, green fee rates are matched and the two are looking at working together to formulate marketing strategies.
At the moment, getting to Danang from Hong Kong isn’t an entirely painless affair. The best option is to fly via Hanoi with Vietnam Airlines, although the schedules often mean a fairly lengthy layover in the capital’s international airport, a fairly rudimentary hub that isn’t likely to earn any Skytrax awards in the near future. However, given Danang’s emergence as a fully- fledged tourism destination, not to mention its proximity to the long-popular traditional Vietnamese towns of Hue and Hoi An, rumours abound that Dragonair will resume its nonstop service in the near future. To be within a two- hour flight of courses of this quality would obviously be a tremendous boon, so here’s hoping whoever is in charge of routes at the airline is a golfer. The decision then would be a no-brainer.