Vattanac Golf Resort in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, has opened its East course, the first of two Faldo Design layouts planned for the resort.

Located 20 kilometres from the centre Cambodia’s capital, the 7,500-yard East course — which opened in May — is the first of two layouts that will form part of a luxury resort. The West course is set to be completed later this year.

The site – flat and featureless land within clay basins – required large-scale earthworks that were initially hampered by severe flooding in 2013, causing a delay to construction.

“Vattanac Golf Resort has been one of the more challenging but rewarding projects Faldo Design has undertaken, as we literally had a blank canvas with one or two trees on a flat plot of land that used to be occupied by rice paddy fields,” said Andrew Haggar, lead architect at Faldo Design. “The opening of the East course was a proud moment for the design team – the golf course looks absolutely superb and the design features will soon become a talking point around the world.”

“I’m very proud to finally see this course open for play, delivering on the bold development vision we were tasked with,” said Sir Nick Faldo. “After what was a detailed and bespoke creative design process, I am confident it will offer a strategic and memorable test to players of all standards and I look forward to seeing the impact it makes on the region’s golfing landscape.”

According to the design team, the layout has design features inspired from the Bayon temple at Siem Reap, and replicas of structures found in Cambodian history can be found throughout the site.

The Vattanac development will also include residential villas, a resort hotel, retail shops, an international school, and other sports and recreation facilities.