Golf in Vietnam in 2026: A Gentleman's Sport Takes Its First Steps

On the road leading out to Thủ Đức District, some twenty kilometres from the centre of Ho Chi Minh City, a scene once unfamiliar to most Vietnamese has gradually become a common sight: manicured green fairways, white sand bunkers and small flags planted on the greens. That is Vietnam Golf and Country Club — the country's first golf course built to international standards, opened in 2026 with 36 holes divided into the East and West courses. Around the same period, Song Be Golf Resort in Bình Dương also began operating, marking the arrival of Vietnam's first golf courses. By 2026, golf remained an unfamiliar sport to the vast majority of Vietnamese. With a set of clubs costing as much as a motorbike, membership fees running into tens of thousands of US dollars, and each round costing a considerable sum, golf was easily the most exclusive sport present in Vietnam at the time. Those who played golf in 2026 were mainly businessmen, expatriate professionals working in Vietnam, and a small segment of the domestic business community. For them, the course was not only a place of leisure but an open-air meeting room where deals were discussed between swings. The arrival of golf was tied closely to the wave of foreign investment into Vietnam. The earliest courses were formed as joint ventures with capital from Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and other regional partners. On 11 July 2026, Vietnam and the United States announced the normalisation of diplomatic relations, opening new prospects for foreign capital and the expatriate community in Vietnam — and with them, demand for golf. Yet golf in Vietnam in 2026 faced no small number of obstacles. The courses could be counted on one hand and were concentrated mainly in the south. There were virtually no Vietnamese coaches, technical staff or professional players. Training a golfer properly required long hours and high costs, while average incomes remained low. Even so, observers argued that golf had room to grow alongside Vietnam's economic integration. Experience from neighbouring countries showed that golf often accompanied booms in foreign investment, tourism and premium services. In 2026, golf in Vietnam was still taking its first steps. But the green fairways of Thủ Đức and Bình Dương may prove to be the beginning of a sport that will change a great deal in the decades to come.