FLC Quy Nhon (Mountain)

Situated on Vietnam’s eastern seaboard, overlooking Nhon Ly Beach and the South China Sea, the FLC Quy Nhon Beach & Golf Resort is a 36-hole facility that opened its doors to visitors in 2016, when the Nicklaus Design Ocean course made its debut. Schmidt & Curley’s Mountain course was then unveiled the following year.

Both layouts were constructed in record time by Flagstick, one of Asia’s leading golf construction companies, as part of an ambitious project that incorporates a magnificent 900-bedroom hotel with spa, five hundred villas and a two-floor international convention centre.

The all-Platinum paspalum Mountain course is built on a sand-based, pine scrub hillside with ocean views from sixteen holes, with wide playing corridors and optional lines of play over sandy expanses that transition into native dunes. Open access to putting surfaces allows the ground game to flourish, which is the perfect way to combat the exposed location and often windy conditions.

“Out like a lamb, in like a lion,” is how architect Brian Curley describes the course, referring to the relatively straightforward opening four holes on the layout versus the same number of more challenging holes at the end of the round. “There are big wide fairways, because of the wind, and big differences in elevation. It’s not often you find land for a golf course where wind is a design consideration, especially in Asia, but it certainly is here.”

The uphill 385-yard 6th is a feature hole, where a small dune dictates the line of play and most golfers will aim for a plateau on the right then fire a long approach into the green. Other notable holes include the 452-yard 2nd, which plays to a distinct fall-away green, the spectacular 197-yard 14th, with its fabulous views across the resort, and the 383-yard 15th, where an interesting ‘half-pipe’ dip lies in front of the green.