Turkey

Golf under the crescent moon

(Bild: Ilham - stock.adobe.com)

The season has only just begun here - and yet you should already be thinking about extending your stay for late fall. The region around Belek (Turkey) is ideal for this.

What on earth prompted someone to write a report about golf in Turkey when it was almost summer in spring here in Germany - the golf-savvy readership will ask themselves. Let me tell you: Late autumn is sure to come, and when it's too cloudy, too wet and too cold for our favorite sport, the Belek golf region will beckon with sun, warmth and a total of 15 golf courses.

INFO

In Austria, there are several providers for "golf all-inclusive" (flight/hotel/start time reservation): www.gruber-golfreisen.at
0316/70 89 50
www.tui.at and www.kuoni.at

Offers also available from Turkey specialist www.bilyanagolf.de

GENERAL INFORMATION: www.goturkiye.com

And: Now is the time to secure your start times, as many hotels close in late fall and it quickly becomes evening under the half moon. The courses have names that are as romantic as they are descriptive, such as "The Dunes" (you could also call it a mountain-and-valley drive on a plain), "The Pines" (endless pine forests) or "Lykia Links" (natural, challenging, but with a view of the sea). "The Sultan" is majestically long at 6477 meters. At "Nobilis", nomen est omen applies - the course has the classiest clubhouse. "Carya" and "Kaya" sound almost identical, but are two pairs of shoes.

None of them are easy. Golf titans Colin Montgomerie and Nick Faldo also left their mark in Turkey and designed "The Montgomerie Maxx Royal" and "Cornelia golf by Nick Faldo" respectively. And you want to be able to play like them in order to achieve a halfway respectable score (sigh!).

On the golf course

(Bild: Gabriela Gödel)

What is surprisingly common to all the courses in the Belek region is - water! Ponds! Lots of them and huge ones. I had enough balls in my luggage! They are cleaned - if still available - as a service at the end of the round, just like clubs and shoes. The trips to the golf courses can be arranged at the same time as booking the respective hotel facilities including start times, in our case it was new, comfortable, over-punctual shuttle buses.

After the games (my golfing friend Barbara was phenomenal, I was mixed), we enjoyed the late fall sunset by the sea before heading to the hotel's own hammam and then, all cleaned and groomed, to one of the 5 restaurants at the Sueno Deluxe Belek. Conclusion: Perfect extension of the season. Nice game!