Turkey is probably the last place you would think of when you say the word golf. But with an increased volume of visitors to the country in the past few years. Architects came to set up camp to design some of the best golf courses in the world. One activity than men and some women like to do when they go on vacation is, they like to place golf and with Turkey’s tourist population on the rise what better way to cash in. Now Turkey has so many golf courses that you have a hard time choosing where to play.
But if you go back into history, you will see that Turkey has been hosting golfers since 1895. People who live in the region such as Scandinavian, German and French golfers have known that Turkey has been a great place to play golf but vacationers had no idea. The city of Belek which is known as the country’s golf resort on the Mediterranean coast and is in the process of building three more courses to deal with the demand.
At present the resort town of Belek has 5 full courses, two of them with 27 holes and two academy course. There are dozens of five star hotels at the beach and they are set in a beautiful location and the golf courses there are in immaculate condition. The Gloria and the Nobilis Courses are home to the European Seniors qualifying school and to the Turkish Seniors Open.
The Gloria is a sort of tight course with trees aligning the fairway at least until you reach the 13th hole and then that is a difficult green to hit. The next hole runs along a large lake. But the Gloria has a very impressive two tier driving range that is built over water with many enticing targets.
The Noblis is the newer of the two courses in Belek but it has a very impressive maturity to it and is more open of the two courses but at this courses lakes and streams come more into play on many holes and the course tends to play long especially on the first 3 holes. At the end of the resort and only ten minutes from the courses is a free shuttle which connects the hotels and the golf courses for easy access.
The National GC has 27 holes of golf; all laid out on a strip between the Med and the Taurus Mountains. The National has a great feel to it. It is narrow and is also tree lined with a great opening hole, a double dogleg and a 600 yard par five. Then there is a par three of 148 yards and an island green that is very complex. All of the golf courses here in Turkey are just wonderful and playing here is unlike playing anywhere else. If you though Turkey was just for beaches and history, think again you would be surprised.
