GolfPlus May 2018 Digital Edition (May 2018) | Page 50

7UDYHO
KN Golf Links Cam Ranh Gets Shark’s Seal of Approval
reg Norman, one of the most
proli¿ c and venerated golf
course designers in the world,
said during his latest visit to
Vietnam that KN Golf Links
Cam Ranh’s breadth of character will
make for an experience unlike any other
in the booming golf nation. “The scale and
natural topography of the property lends
itself beautifully to a great variety of golf
holes,” Mr. Norman said while playing
with the course’s owner — KN Investment
Group Chairman Le Van Kiem — and
other inÀ uential ¿ gures in an invitation-
only tournament earlier this month.
“It plays links because there’s a lot
of up and down and natural contouring to
the layout, so you get these sensational
visuals from tee boxes especially and
really cool run-off areas where the ball
can roll and turn. It’s a lot of fun already.”
Scheduled to of¿ cially open later this year,
KN Golf Links Cam Ranh will be Mr.
Norman’s third course in Vietnam and the
¿ rst in Cam Ranh, a new resort destination
taking shape along an 8-kilometer stretch
of incomparable coastline less than an
hour’s À ight from Ho Chi Minh City. The
span is dominated by spectacular white
sand dunes and is within minutes of an
international airport that by May will be
home to a new, US $163 million terminal.
Mr. Norman’s 104th creation is
located at the southernmost end of that
long and gently curving sweep, interrupted
only by a ruggedly beautiful headland
and where the height of some of the
terrain makes for a number of remarkable
viewpoints. KN Golf Links Cam Ranh is
routed through many of those spots. Two
of Mr. Norman’s favorites are at the 10th
and 15th holes, a pair of par-4s that play
downhill toward azure ocean waters and
three small islands about 10 kilometers
offshore.
But what one of the greatest golfers of
all time likes most about the 7,165-yard,
60
6
0 Go l f P l u s
M AY
2 0 18
Greg Norman (aka The Shark) hits a
shot at KN Golf Links in Vietnam
par-72 layout is its playability. “You
can make a course dif¿ cult, but you can
also make it so people can get around on
their own skills,” said Mr. Norman, who
was known as The Great White Shark
during his playing days and held the No.
1 ranking for a remarkable 331 weeks.
“What’s clear to me here, especially
after observing a range of players have
a go at it, is that anyone can play all 18
holes.” Managed with consultation from
IMG, KN Golf Links Cam Ranh is among
31 courses in Vietnam in some stage of
development and the third golf facility
developed by Mr. Kiem, whose company
also owns and operates award-winning
Long Thanh Golf Club near Ho Chi Minh
City and popular Long Vien Golf Club in
Vientiane, Laos.
“There is a reason Greg Norman
Golf Course Design is recognized as
the premier signature golf course design
¿ rm in the world,” said Mr. Kiem, who
represented Vietnam in golf in the 1999
SEA Games. “His design philosophy
of ‘least disturbance’ — whereby he
effectively utilizes the surrounding
environment while highlighting natural
Cam Ranh Bunker
features — has given golfers so many
world-class courses.
“KN Golf Links Cam Ranh is Mr.
Norman’s latest masterpiece, and perhaps
his most distinct links-style golf course in
Asia, if not the world.”
When ¿ nished, KN Golf Links Cam
Ranh will be the ¿ rst milestone in the
inaugural phase of KN Paradise, an
800-hectare hospitality venture that’s
also slated to include a suite of hotels,
an array of real estate opportunities and
entertainment options, and at least nine
more holes designed by Mr. Norman. “I
could not be more pleased with how this
project is coming together,” Mr. Kiem
said. “It ¿ lls me with pride and I cannot
wait for the rest of the world to see it and
experience it.”
Cam Ranh Back LowSun Pano