As golfers are becoming increasingly aware, signature design is all about branding and creating an impression that the famous name in question had some involvement in the design of the golf course. In the case of the Montgomerie Links in Vietnam, the marketing ploy was not only about convincing us that Colin Montgomerie was involved in design, but that the course he created would resemble, in some way, the great old links found in his home country. Sadly that’s not even close to being the case.

Montgomerie Links sits next door to the Danang Golf Club, in the tropical port city of Danang close to China Beach. The site itself lacks the sea aspect of its neighbor, and also the more subtle sandy undulations that are so essential for fun, linksy golf. Here the slopes feel either a little too steep, or that they were not used well enough within design to contribute anything meaningful to the golf. The par threes and shorter fours are particularly disappointing, which is a great shame, because the region has plenty of fans and the site itself some promising elements. It isn’t close to being a links though.

Whether Monty or the design team at IMG are to blame for the results on the ground, the fact is this is a pleasant enough place to play golf but with few, if any, interesting holes. The bunkering style differs noticeably across sections of the course, and there are too many anti-strategic or obviously gratuitous design elements to take seriously. Greens are probably less offensive than bunkers, although a number are overdone and often the internal slopes are disconnected from those surrounding.

While the opening holes are solid enough, once the golfer steps onto the 4^th tee the standard drops noticeably. The 4^th measures little more than 300 yards from the tee, but features a hidden landing area and tiny green protected so fiercely there is no point planning any sort of aggressive shot. The next is a water carry par three to a shallow green fronted by a bunker, that not only brings the cart path behind the green into play but looks to have been added to advantage high fading elite professionals like Monty himself.

The back nine features a couple of silly holes as well, but the biggest knock on the Montgomerie course is that there just aren’t any great or even very good holes to get excited by. On a site like this, in a location like Vietnam, you can’t expect Sand Hills or Royal Melbourne, but surely golfers are within their rights to demand more than they are given here.

Our recommended hotel partner in the Danang / Central Vietnam Region is Four Seasons Resort – The Nam Hai