Sky Lake Resort & Golf Club Description:
(hilly Korean designed course with dramatic scenery)
Located 45 kilometers from central Hanoi, Sky Lake Resort & Golf Club is made up of two contrasting 18-hole courses – the Sky Course and the Lake Course. Sky Lake Resort & Golf Club was awarded in 2015 as both the best championship course in Vietnam and the 5th best course in Vietnam. This was the only Hanoi golf club to receive such notoriety. Both courses were designed by Korean architect, Mr. Ahn Moon Hwan of Bori Golf Design.
 
The Lake Course provides members with championship level golf and plays up-and-down through a series of lakes with mountains as backdrops. Most holes are routed over rolling hills. Scenic views overlooking the surrounding farmland can be had from the clubhouse and from many points on the course itself.  Fairways and greens are undulated and follow the hilly contours of the area. The course is long and challenging as it plays to 7,265 yards from the tips. 
 
Long and accurate drives are required to reach several lengthy uphill par-4 holes in regulation. Straying off the fairway will result in difficult lies in the thick rough or worse as large trees and severe drop off areas flank most holes. Moreover, large multi-tier greens guarded by steep greenside bunker complexes are also found on many of the Lake Course holes. At least to put things in perspective, most fairways are wide enough to accept most off-center hits and the ball sits up very well on the lush Paspalum grass.
 
The public assessable Sky Course is surrounded mainly by natural Vietnamese jungle and is suitable for golfers of all abilities. Fairways and green complexes are more generous and errant shots are not punished so severely.
 
Sky Lake Resort & Golf Club is managed by IMG which helps keep course conditions, facilities, and operations well-running throughout the year. After a round, golfers can enjoy mainly Korean food at the clubhouse restaurant which looks out over the golf course.

Chi Linh Star Golf & Country Club Description:
(one of the best courses around Hanoi)
The Chi Linh Star Golf & Country Club features 27 holes of challenging international standard golfing. The golf club opened in late 2003 east of Hanoi. Chi Linh Star Golf & Country Club played host to the first professional golf tournament in the north of Vietnam, the 2004 Carlsberg Masters Vietnam at which time both golf professionals and amateurs alike recognized the pure beauty of the layout.
 
Chi Linh Star Golf course was designed and constructed by Independent Golf Course Services a well known Australian firm who have also completed golf courses in Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, and China. The golf course is in a beautiful valley on rolling forested hills, with several creeks, lakes, and natural water hazards.
 
A large natural lake in the center of the course ensures that water comes into play on many of the holes. For example, several holes feature tee-shots with water carries, and others play to island greens formed by the lakes many capes and bays. For those playing well through the round, be forewarned, the final hole is nothing less than a 680 yard (yes that is correct and not a typo) uphill par 5. Reserve power and do not let up until in the clubhouse.
 
The par-4 380-yard second hole is also one of the best at Chi Linh with a long carry to an elevated well-guarded green needed to par this hole. Other memorable holes are the par-5 fifth which features sidehill lies all the way down the right side of the fairway and that large lake mentioned earlier down the left side.
 
Playing conditions at Chi Linh Star are generally good year round. Tiff Eagle grass greens ensure smooth and fast putting surfaces. Tee boxes and fairways are a Bermuda variant explicitly developed for Hanoi's changing temperatures. The thick rough, mainly when left to grow long, will present a constant challenge even for the most accomplished of golfers.
 
Whether for a day trip from Hanoi or merely stopping by on the way to or from Ha Long Bay, Chi Linh Star is the proverbial must play for a great round of golf.