Long Vien (Vientiane & Long Thanh)

Opened in 2012, the Long Thanh-Vientiane Golf Club, better known as Long Vien, is set within a 1,360-acre economic zone on the outskirts of the capital in Laos. This enormous residential development – which will eventually include a hotel, school, hospital and trade centre – is expected to be completed in 2020, providing more than three thousand jobs for local people.

The master plan allows for two 18-hole courses in the middle of the property, each of which will comprise two 9-hole circuits that return to a central clubhouse. The two loops of the first (fully floodlit) course, known as Long Thanh & Lao-Viet came into full operation in 2012 and the third nine, called Vientiane, opened for play in late 2016. The fourth and final loop of the 36-hole facility is scheduled to open in 2018.

It’s hard to believe that just a few short years ago, this largely flat, featureless site comprised of nothing other than thick forest and swampland. When it’s finished, the golfing element of this hugely ambitious project will rival, and perhaps surpass, anything that neighbouring countries can offer.