Golf is a relatively new pastime in Cambodia, but it is developing fast. There are only four courses in the country right now, but four more courses are expected to be completed by 2011.
Most Cambodians know little or nothing about golf. So far, only foreigners and the upper echelon f Cambodian society can afford to play. Ordinary Cambodians are more concerned with making ends meet than learning about a foreign sport. This cultural and economic gap means that the new courses are still wide open to foreign visitors.
Golf courses in the planning stages include a 36-hole Arnold Palmer-designed course, part of a $1-billion project by the country’s Sokha Hotels & Resorts. Construction also began on a French-financed resort that will include a golf course near Cambodia’s port city of Sihanoukville, and on a “Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship Golf Resort” that straddles the international border.
Near the southern town of Kampot a new resort is planned: the Kampot Golf Resort and Marina Project. However, progress on the Grand Phnom Penh Golf Course has been very slow. So far only four holes have been completed and the remaining parts of the layout are lying dormant.
Phokeethra Country Club
The Sofitel-managed Phokeethra Country Club brings world class golf to Cambodia with a challenging layout featuring water on almost every hole.
Signature 18th hole with double water and island green. Sweeping fairways and generous greens give the Club a distinctive identity in the region. Natural lagoons and sand traps thread through the course to challenge golfers to raise their game.
Cambodia’s profile as a golfing destination received a major boost when the Phokeethra Country Club in Siem Reap hosted the country’s first international golfing event in November 2007. The inaugural Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open was played at the newly opened club, with Prime Minister Hun Sen teeing off the first ball of the tournament.
Angkor Golf Resort
With an emphasis on strategy, and an ironclad commitment to protect the stunning natural surroundings, Nick Faldo had unveiled all his internationally acclaimed talents at the Angkor Golf Resort within a short distance of the world famous temple complexes of Angkor.
Siem Reap Lakes Golf Resort
This latest addition to the Golf courses around Siem Reap is on the road to Phnom Penh, about 25 minutes out of town.
The Siem Reap Lake Golf Course layout features generous palm lined fairways and with 5 sets of tees is suitable for both beginners and the most accomplished golfers. Unique features are meandering creeks that cross several of the holes almost making for blind water hazards and severe greenside bunkering which demands accurate shot making into the greens. On the other hand the fairways are wide and flat and the greens very large which balances out the course difficultly very nicely.
City Golf Driving Range
The new City Golf driving range in Phnom Penh is first class with a putting and chipping green as well as a par 3 nine hole course. Perfect for learning and practice!
Cambodia Golf & Country Club
One of the oldest golf courses in Cambodia. The first nine holes have wide fairways and are dotted with palmtrees and other local trees. 
The second nine holes are laid out with numerous water features.
The Cambodia Golf & Country Club has an impressive colonial-style clubhouse and is located 35 kilometers from the capital Phnom Penh.
Royal Cambodia Golf Club
Flat course set among rice paddies and coconut palms with numerous sand and water hazards.
Located 9 kilometers south of Phnom Penh on route 4 towards the beach resort of Sihanoukville.
Being the closest course to the capital, the Royal Cambodia Phnom Penh Golf Club is popular with local dignitaries.
Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship Golf Resort
A somewhat controversial project is the Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship Golf Resort.
Located on the main highway between Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh, this 18-hole transfrontier course will have nine holes in each country.
The par-five 18th hole will be truly international – golfers will have the amusement of teeing off in Vietnam and hitting a second shot over water to a Cambodian fairway.
The hole will end with an island green that has the international border running through it.
Course construction is slated to start later this year.
See locations of golf courses in Cambodia. Click on the markers for more information.
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