Golf in Turkey

With a massive surge in visitors in recent years and renowned golf course architects setting up camp left, right and centre, Turkey can no longer be labelled the new kid on the block.
In fact, the game has been on the go in Europe's Eastern block for quite some time now. To prove that fact, records shows that Istanbul Golf Club has been welcoming golfers to its fairways since 1895.

Turkey was once the undiscovered golf destination of Europe but in the past couple of years that position has changed dramatically. Scandinavian, German and French golfers have long known about Turkey as the perfect golf resort but with the help of various tour operators, the number of Brits has increased dramatically.

So much so that Belek, the golf resort on Turkey's Mediterranean coast, is building a further three courses to cope with the increased demand. Ulsterman David Jones is designing one 36-hole complex called the Antalya Golf Club with 18 holes, which opened last year, and a second 18 that opened this summer.

At present the resort has five full courses, two with 27 holes, plus two academy courses.
Dozens of five-star hotels line the beach, each set in its own beautifully landscaped gardens, and the courses are in excellent condition. The Gloria and Nobilis Courses, home to the European Seniors' qualifying school and to the Turkish Seniors' Open, are at one end of the resort and offer a superb day's golf.

Gloria is a fairly tight course with tree-lined fairways until you reach the 13th, a par three over water and a difficult green to hit. The next, index one on the card, runs alongside the same large lake.

Gloria has an impressive two-tier driving range over water with a number of enticing targets. Nobilis, the newest course in Belek but with an impressive air of maturity about it, is the more open of the two but lakes and streams come into play on several holes and the course plays long, particularly on the first three holes where a trio of pars would be a real achievement.

At the other end of the resort, but only ten minutes away by the free shuttles which connect the hotels and courses, are National GC, a David Feherty design, and Tat, 27 holes of glorious golf laid out along a strip between the Med and the Taurus Mountains. Both courses are impressive with true greens and a host of hazards to test the golfer.

National, the older of the two, has a wonderful feel about it. It is narrow and tree-lined with a superb opening hole, a double dogleg, 600-yard par five that will have you gasping for breath. That is followed by a par three of just 148 yards to an island green that is anything but simple. After a couple of rounds you should be shooting close to par, net or otherwise.

But it's a shame to pick out just one course or one hole as all they are all excellent and well worth a visit.

All courses have fantastic practice facilities, the ideal place to hone your game ready for the season.

With constant sunshine, wonderful food and hospitality and some impressive sightseeing within an hour's drive, you can understand why Turkey is becoming so popular.