Destination Golf - June 2017 * | Page 19

Play golf on the Central Vietnam coast’s courses and you will cross a very special bridge as you travel through Danang. Spanning the wide Han River, the six-lane Dragon Bridge is Vietnam’s longest bridge and is built in the shape of a golden dragon writhing above and below the roadway. Every Saturday and Sunday at 9pm, the traffic is stopped and flames shoot spectacularly into the night sky from the dragon’s mouth. Danang’s fire-breathing dragon symbolises the friendly, welcoming and gentle Vietnamese who, according to ancient mythology, are descended from a dragon and a fairy. It also embodies the spirit of a nation that has risen from the ashes of a terrible war, first between the communist North Vietnam government and colonial power France and then with South Vietnam and its main ally, America, which finally ended with American withdrawal from Saigon in 1973 and reunification of the country two years later. Today, it is tourists who invade Vietnam and, with its fast-developing infrastructure of golf courses, it is attracting increasing numbers of golfers from around the world. Almost 45 courses are already open for play across the country, a total set to double to 90 by 2020 under a government directive. First named Undiscovered Golf Destination Volume 3 • Issue 39 19