Golf experiences new wave of popularity

by Vuong Tri Dung

HCM CITY — Golf has been played in western countries for centuries and has recently become even more popular all over the world. It will also be added to the Olympics in 2016.

Following an interruption due to war, golf made a comeback to Viet Nam along with the country's global integration.

In recent years the sport has begun gaining popularity with the advent of many good golf courses, domestic and international competitions, as well as the establishment of local golf associations like the Ha Noi Golf Association.

The Viet Nam Golf Association lists some of the highlights of the past year.

1. Golf become a sport at the National Sports Games for the first time, with a competition held at the Ocean Dunes golf club in Phan Thiet. The event, held from August 11 to 14, attracted golfers from 11 provinces and cities. HCM City won the men's event while Ba Ria-Vung Tau won the women's event.

2. The Mercedes-Benz Masters Viet Nam, one of the most important professional golf competitions in Southeast Asia, was organised last October at the Song Be course in the southern province of Binh Duong with 33 top players in the region taking part. Malaysian Nicolas Fung won the title, the first of his career, as the US$60,000 tournament used the match-play format for the first time.

3. Five young Vietnamese golfers qualified for the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final in China. Do Le Gia Dat and Nguyen Tri Dung went through after finishing first and second in the men's U21 event at the Youth National Golf Championships. Ngo Bao Nghi and Luu Thi Viet Nga finished first and second in the women's U21 event. Truong Chi Quan won the final spot with a win in the boys' U16 event.

4. The Viet Nam Amateur Open and Viet Nam Ladies Championships were held in Da Lat in June. The former attracted many top golfers in the Southeast Asia, including the gold, silver, and bronze medallists at the Southeast Asian Games. Thai golfer Wasin won the title while Viet Nam's Trinh Van Tho finished eighth. Ngo Bao Nghi won the Viet Nam Ladies Championships.

5. The Viet Nam Senior Championships was organised for the third straight year at the King's Island golf course in the north in March, with Duong Thanh winning the title.

6. The second Match Play Golf Championships featuring foreign professionals and amateurs working and living in Viet Nam was organised at the Montgomerie Links golf course in the central province of Quang Nam. Nguyen Thai Duong won the overall crown while Australian Scott Riddick won the division for foreign players. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Dung won the women's event and veteran Phan Thanh Chien finished first in the seniors' event. — VNS

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Golf swings into schools as young learn game

by Cong Thanh

Driving for success: Vietnamese amateur Nguyen Dang Phong hits a drive. He was one of the first young prodigies to complete a training programme organised by the Ha Noi Golf Association last year. — VNS Photo Hoai Nam

HA NOI — Vietnamese amateur Nguyen Dang Phong trained for two years before winning his first title at the National Junior Golf Championship at the Ocean Dunes Golf Club in Phan Thiet City.

Phong, 12, from Ha Noi, fought back to take the title in a play-off with a birdie on the fourth hole against HCM City-born Nguyen Thanh Trung after finishing level after two rounds at the championship in August.

The 12-year-old has held a handicap of 21 since he began practising every weekend at the Chi Linh Stars Golf and Country Club in Hai Duong City from the age of 10.

Phong's progress earned him a sponsorship from the Ha Noi Golf Association last year.

"I love playing golf and I go to the course every weekend with my parents. I also like playing other sports such as football and table tennis, but I prefer golf as I have been playing it since I was six," Phong said, adding that the sport helped him to stay fit and gave him confidence for his studies.

The 6th grade student of the Ha Noi-based Singapore International School was one of the first young prodigies to complete a training programme that was organised by the Ha Noi Golf Association last year.

"We will select six 12-year-old kids for an elite training programme next year, of which the top four will form a squad to compete at international junior tournaments," said vice chairman of Ha Noi Golf Association Dong Van Tiep.

"The association will provide training facilities for and pay for coaching fees as well as find sponsors for further training abroad," Tiep explained.

Phong's father, Nguyen Dang Khanh said he wants his son to continue playing his favourite sport, rather than getting into trouble on the streets.

"My son began playing golf at a young age. My wife and I used to play every weekend and we've been taking him with us since he was six," Khanh said, adding that his son can hit a 180-yard drive with ease.

"I was surprised by how quickly he fell in love with golf. He's very skilful and his swing and putting are better than mine."

"I encourage him to play as an amateur while studying hard. He can make his own decision about becoming a professional golfer after college," Khanh said.

Khanh said he plans to send his son to study in the US, where he can study and train at the same time.

The Viet Nam Golf Association (VGA) is developing a programme to identify talented young golfers in schools across the country.

The VGA has been seeking a long term sponsorship deal to get the project off the ground from next year.

"The association plans to introduce golf into the school curriculum from next year, but we have to find a strong enough sponsor to get it started," said the VGA's general secretary Nguyen Ngoc Chu.

"Golf will make its debut at junior and senior secondary schools rather than primary schools. Students from the ages of 11-15 will practise golf in school with further training on the golf course," Chu said.

Chu said he hoped the project would be a positive step and the association would try its best to reach a sponsorship deal soon.

"It's the best way to sustainably develop a sport. We can find a lot of fresh talent by introducing children to golf in school time," the general secretary said. — VNS

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Ocean Dunes teams with Singapore golf clubs

Golfers play at the Ocean Dunes Golf Club in Phan Thiet City. Ocean Dunes has set up deals for members with golf clubs in Singapore - Photo: Khai Nguyen

Ocean Dunes Golf Club in Phan Thiet City has started member exchange programs with some leading golf clubs in Singapore.

According to Kurt Greve, general manager of Ocean Dunes Golf Club in the southern province of Binh Thuan, the club has set up deals with Singapore’s Jurong Country Golf Club with three other golf clubs of Island Country, Orchid Country and Tanah Merah Country in the offing.

This cooperation not only benefits members of the Ocean Dunes Golf Club, as they will be able to visit a wide range of beautiful islands in Singapore and play golf for a preferential fee but will also attract Singaporean golfers from these clubs to play in Phan Thiet City.

Established in 1996, Ocean Dunes has been chosen to host the Faldo Series Asia (FSA) for Vietnamese young golfers for three consecutive years from 2008 to 2010. The ninth hole was chosen as the best par three in Vietnam in 2009 and among top 500 holes in the world by US Golf magazine.

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Rookie Fung swings to win

HCM CITY — Malaysian Nicholas Fung won the final at the Mercedes-Benz Masters Vietnam on Saturday.

The 20-year-old from Sabah beat Thailand's Panuphol Pittayarat, aged 17, 4&3 at Song Be Golf Resort in Binh Duong Province.

VN emerging tournament destination Martin Schulz, Mercedes-Benz's Director of Sales and Marketing talk about the prospect of Viet Nam tournaments. What do you think of the prospect of golf in Viet Nam? Viet Nam really has a tradition of golf, which saw the first golf course in Da Lat in the 1950s. The country is now emerging as a golf destination. Golf has been improving a lot. More and more Vietnamese golfers are engaging the game and for sure in few years of time more and more top players with world-ranking would come from Viet Nam.  How does Mercedes-Benz contribute to developing golf? Mercedes-Benz has two kinds of golf tournaments. The amateur competition or MB Trophy, is the biggest amateur golf tournament in Viet Nam. The Masters was established in 2007, providing a platform to identify and nurse talented young golfers. This year golfers even had a chance to qualify some big international tournaments, for example, the best six players today qualify for the Singapore Barclay Open. — VNS

Fung won the Vietnam Amateur when he was 17 in 2007 and was thrilled with his second victory in Vietnam, which earned him a cheque for US$14,000.

"It's my first victory. I am so happy. People here are great and supported me in the tournament.

I was a little nervous on the first nine, but calmed down on the back. I kept my ball in play really well this week, which was the key. I had two really tough matches on the first day so it's hard to believe I am standing here now as winner," said Fung.

He moved into third position on the Mercedes-Benz Tour Order of Merit with $21,373 in winnings.

Panuphol won $8,000 for what is his fifth second place finish of the season. He was runner up in the Mercedes-Benz Masters Singapore in August and also finished second in three events in Thailand.

In the playoff for third and fourth place Wisut Artjanawat from Thailand beat Filipino Rey Pagunsan.

Viet Nam's top golfer Tran Le Duy Nhat reached the second round and received $1,250. Nhat also plans to compete in the Mercedes-Benz Masters Indonesia, which is the season-ending Tour Championship.

According to Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Chu, General Secretary of Viet Nam Golf Association, to develop the sport, the golf courses need to have incentive price policies to allow more children to approach the sport.

The authorities also need to develop more public golf courses, which would allow more people to practice golf as well as develop the competition systems for young people. — VNS

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Quang Nam golf course gets US$10,000 to promote game to juniors

The Asian Golf Industry Federation (AGIF) has granted The Montgomerie Links Vietnam in Quang Nam US$10,000 to promote the participation of players at different ages and levels in the emerging game in Vietnam.

The grant will go to the AGIF Grow-the-Game / Let’s Go Golf initiative, which will run throughout January next year to encourage every age and level of player, including corporate outreach events, school visits, and other off-course activities. But, the emphasis is on novice junior players.

The goal is to introduce golf to 2,000 children and 1,000 adults, according to The Montgomerie Links Vietnam, which put into play all 18 holes in the central province of Quang Nam in August 2009.

“It’s a most welcome and significant exclamation point to our first anniversary,”  Jon Tomlinson, general manager of The Montgomerie Links, said in a statement. “Most important, it’s an affirmation of our passion for, and approach to, bringing golf to the area.” The cornerstone of the initiative is the Let’s Go Golf program, which was devised to expand golf playing in Vietnam and is supervised by Lee Marshall, British PGA professional and head professional at the Montgomerie Links Golf Academy.

“When a kid hits a shot that flies in the air and lands 90 yards away for the first time, the look on their face is priceless,” Marshall said. “That’s why we teach to help people achieve things they previously couldn’t. But they’re not the only ones having fun.”

Sanctioned tournaments for up-and-coming players, and even group activities for non-golfing parents and partners will be other golf-promoting aspects of the initiative, which is undertaken in association with Vietnam Golf Association.

The Montgomerie Links Vietnam said it won the grant after all golf courses and driving ranges in Vietnam were invited by the AGIF to submit bids.

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