There's nothing artificial about Royal St George’s Golf Club; there's a natural look and feel to the course that blends beautifully into its historical Sandwich surroundings.
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The Greg Norman-designed golf course at The Bluffs Gran Ho Tram, took all of ten years to come to fruition after it was first earmarked for investment back in 2004...
The Bluffs Grand Ho Tram
The Bluffs is Greg Norman's second golf project in Vietnam, following the Dunes Course at the Danang Golf Club which opened for play in 2010. Actually, the Bluffs Grand Ho Tram course took all of ten years to come to fruition after it was first earmarked for investment back in 2004 by Asian Coast Development (Canada) Limited.
The highest point of the windswept property is located fifty metres above sea level on the 15th green but the most spectacular vantage point arrives earlier in the round at the signature par three 4th hole where golfers are treated to full 360 degree views of the course, the coastline and the Grand Ho Tram Strip, Vietnam's first integrated casino and golf resort.
Located 80 miles southeast of Ho Chi Minh City in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province on the southern Vietnamese coastline, the course lies on a coastal plateau and holes are routed around towering seaside sand dunes, with fairways constructed on sandy loam soil, affording good drainage and excellent turf conditions.
The Bluffs features sensational rolling dunes and dramatic ocean views which come into play on virtually every golf hole. During multiple visits, Greg Norman and his team explored numerous routings to ensure they utilised the natural rolling topography of the native dune system with minimal disturbance to the environment.
"We actually had a couple of holes designed down on the water," Norman said. "But because of future development we were asked to shift those holes away from there. It would have been great to get a hole down there."
"We spent a lot of time trying to ensure the best routing for this beautiful piece of property. We wanted to use a least disturbance approach. It's an incredible natural golf site and we want to deliver a timeless and memorable golf experience. It's how golf used to be built a hundred years ago.”
Masa Nishijima (our International Consultant) attended the grand opening of The Bluffs Grand Ho Tram and he commented as follows:
“It’s the work of the Greg Norman Team. The Bluffs is 130 km (82miles) distance from Ho Chi Minh City, and is located some 2 hours and 30 minutes from an airport.
The course is routed through huge sand hills of 50 m (165 ft) elevation. You can admire the beautiful coastline from all the 18 holes. The Bluffs is the best work of Greg Norman in Asia – the contours of the greens are way more interesting than Ireland’s Doonbeg. Greens are Tif-Eagle and fairways 419. It is a really wonderful course and the huge sand hills form terrific slope lines. There are a few routing problems though, for example 15th tee ~15th green ~16th tee goes and comes back via the same route. Why? I don't know. I haven’t asked Greg Norman.”
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The Bluffs Grand Ho Tram
