Infinite Golf: The Vietnamese Bet Behind a Market Still Waiting to Be Decoded

Vietnam is attracting attention. In 2025, the country recorded GDP growth of 8.02%, driven by exports, public investment, and domestic consumption. Disbursed foreign direct investment also increased, reaching $27.6 billion. Although the World Bank forecasts a slowdown to 6.8% in 2026, the country remains one of the most

dynamic markets in Southeast Asia.

This momentum creates a strong impression: in Vietnam, some markets still appear open to those who arrive early, take the time to understand the local environment, and are willing to build in a business landscape that is less standardized than Europe.

It is in this context that Stéphane, founder of Infinite Golf, chose to relaunch his project in Vietnam.

Originally, Vietnam was not Plan A. His first project was meant to be built around Hong Kong, with a company dedicated to premium golf travel. The concept was straightforward: offering tailor-made luxury experiences to an international clientele through exclusive golf experiences, high-end services, and specialized travel.

Then COVID stopped the project before it even launched. Hong Kong became too expensive, Singapore too inaccessible, and Thailand was already well established in the golf industry. Vietnam then emerged as another path: less mature, less saturated, but with greater untapped potential.

This is often where Vietnam becomes interesting: in the space between what does not yet fully exist and what can still be structured.

A Young Market Already Supported by Strong Signals

Stéphane's bet is not an isolated one. Golf is developing rapidly in Vietnam. The country now has around 70 golf courses and nearly 100,000 local golfers, according to data cited by Reuters in 2025. The launch of a $1.5 billion golf resort near Hanoi also confirms the growing interest of investors in this premium segment.

The idea behind Infinite Golf came from a simple observation: Vietnam is developing a genuine golf culture, but the climate makes outdoor play difficult during part of the year. The rainy season, humidity, typhoons in some regions, and the lack of premium indoor facilities still leave room for hybrid concepts that are more premium and more flexible.

Stéphane saw an opportunity: to create an indoor golf center equipped with professional simulators, offering a structured coaching approach and a more international experience.

On paper, the project ticks several boxes: a growing affluent local clientele, an expatriate community, international executives, entrepreneurs, and a city like Ho Chi Minh City, where demand for premium leisure activities continues to grow.

But in Vietnam, having a good idea is not enough. Between the opportunity and actually opening the business, the road can be long.

Ho Chi Minh City: The Right Market, But Not the Simplest One

After an initial phase in Da Nang, Stéphane decided to settle in Ho Chi Minh City. The choice was strategic. The city accounts for approximately 23.5% of Vietnam's GDP and nearly one-third of the country's state budget revenue. It remains Vietnam's main economic engine.

For a project like Infinite Golf, this concentration is essential. Ho Chi Minh City offers a larger pool of potential customers, stronger business networks, greater purchasing power, more international companies, and more commercial opportunities.

The city is also more responsive, better connected, and more international. It is there that Stéphane found the energy needed to relaunch his project.

But this dynamism comes at a cost. Commercial rents are high, property owners sometimes overestimate the value of their buildings, and the commercial real estate market can lack clear benchmarks. An available space does not necessarily mean it is suitable for business. A well-located building does not guarantee that the paperwork, regulations, or commercial use are fully compliant.

This is one of Stéphane's strongest takeaways: in Vietnam, opportunities exist, but they must be verified line by line.

Five Years to Bring the Project to Life

Stéphane does not describe his journey as a quick success. His path has been marked by obstacles, abandoned projects, lengthy negotiations, and several last-minute decisions.

Before opening Infinite Golf, he spent more than two years searching for a suitable location. Several opportunities looked promising before collapsing during the document verification stage: non-compliant construction permits, uncertain commercial zoning, missing fire safety approvals, hidden costs, unexpected expenses, or landlords eager to sign without securing the fundamentals.

This is a key point for any foreign entrepreneur: in Vietnam, the apparent speed of the market can sometimes hide a much more complex reality. You can visit quickly, negotiate quickly, and sign quickly. But if the paperwork is not in order, the project can become fragile before it even opens.

This does not necessarily make Vietnam a closed market. Rather, it is a market where understanding the local environment requires time, reliable local support, and the ability to anticipate issues that are not always visible during the first discussions.

An Administrative Framework That Must Be Understood Before Investing

Starting a business in Vietnam is not simply about finding an idea and a location. You also need to secure the legal structure, work authorization, visas, licenses, permits, contracts, taxes, import procedures, suppliers, and relationships with the administration.

This complexity is not unique to Stéphane's experience. The World Bank itself points out that Vietnam will need to strengthen its legal and regulatory framework, as well as the quality of its institutions, to achieve its ambition of becoming a high-income country by 2045.

This is precisely where the challenge lies for foreign entrepreneurs: the rules exist, but their application may vary depending on the people involved, the industry, the available documentation, and the local administrative authorities.

For Stéphane, this was one of the most demanding parts of the process. The answers he received could change depending on who he asked. The quoted costs varied considerably. Some service providers offered extremely expensive solutions, while others proposed much cheaper alternatives, without it always being easy to determine which option was reliable, legal, or sustainable.

In Vietnam, English is not always enough. Invoices, phone calls, purchase orders, administrative documents, and many day-to-day interactions are still conducted primarily in Vietnamese. Without a local lawyer, a Vietnamese assistant, and a reliable network, some procedures become much more difficult to secure.

The Real Risk Begins Before Opening

One of the most important lessons from Stéphane's journey concerns when the real risk begins. It does not start on opening day. It starts much earlier: when choosing the premises, signing the lease, obtaining licenses, structuring the company, and importing the equipment.

In the case of Infinite Golf Club, the equipment is central to the business. The project relies on premium technological equipment, particularly professional simulators and electronic devices imported from the United States. This added another layer of complexity: transportation, customs, taxes, delays, documentation, and potential administrative obstacles.

This is a point that many foreign entrepreneurs underestimate. The real cost of launching a project in Vietnam is not limited to rent, renovation work, furniture, and salaries. It also includes invisible costs: legal advice, translations, course corrections, delays, inspections, storage, customs-related issues, and losses resulting from inaccurate information.

A project may appear profitable in an Excel spreadsheet but become much more fragile once confronted with reality on the ground.

Why Stay, Despite Everything?

This is probably the central question of the interview.

Why stay after so many setbacks? Why continue after several failed projects? Why not return to Europe or move to a more predictable market?

Stéphane's answer is pragmatic: despite the challenges, the quality of life in Vietnam remains high. Everyday life is pleasant, the food is excellent, the cost of living remains attractive as long as you avoid relying too heavily on imported products, and the country's energy creates the feeling that things are moving forward—unlike Europe today.

Vietnam also offers a form of entrepreneurial freedom that Stéphane no longer finds in Europe. After living and working in France, Morocco, Spain, and several other international environments, he cannot imagine returning to what he considers a heavier, more rigid, and less professionally stimulating environment.

In Vietnam, everything is less predictable. But everything still seems possible.

That contradiction sums up his experience: the country can be exhausting because of its complexity, yet it continues to attract people because of its potential.

Vietnam Rewards Resilience, Not Improvisation

Stéphane's story is not an idealized account of expatriate life. Nor is it a criticism of Vietnam. It is a clear-eyed reading of a market where opportunities exist, but where it is impossible to move forward naively.

Vietnam is attracting more and more entrepreneurs, international professionals, and foreign companies. Its economic growth, expanding middle class, and strategic regional position create genuine positive signals. McKinsey estimates that more than half of Vietnam's population could join the global middle class by 2035.

But for independent entrepreneurs, the reality remains demanding. Success requires time, local contacts, patience, the ability to absorb delays, and constant attention to contracts, premises, licenses, taxes, visas, and business partners.

For Stéphane, Vietnam remains a country where it is possible to build something. But only if you understand that potential can never replace preparation.

Infinite Golf Club was born from this tension: a promising market, a relevant concept, a dynamic city—but also years of friction before the business could finally open.

Vietnam still offers genuine opportunities. But it does not hand them out easily.