Golf In Turkey
- Image via Wikipedia
After the fall of the Ottoman Empire after the First World War, the democratic republic that was created in Turkey has lead to a booming tourism trade that is now being exploited by golfers from all over the world. Turkey is an extraordinary country that straddles both Asia and Europe to give it one of the most diverse cultural and historical feels. Edging closer to the west with links to the EU it still fosters close links to the East. All this history and culture is not always first on the mid of golfers away on holiday but understanding the traditions helps to improve and make the holiday even better.
For the past 15 years the Turkish tourist board has been using their best efforts to market and promote the country's fantastic resources to golf course developers. The tourist board has put aside the need for the country to align itself with the East, and has embraced the economic and social values that attracting golf holiday makers can attract. Turkey has now become a premier golf destination of any standard of golfer and their family.
There are plenty of hotels that have grown around the city of Belek not far from the airport in Antalya. The rest of the area has the perfect land for golfing. Originally based on swampy marsh land the water table has been lowered and pine trees planted to form a sandy soil not to dissimilar to the heathland of Surrey or the North Carolina Pinehurst tracks. With the water table being just below the surface there are a large number of lakes and water features that have the ability to collect any wayward directed golf shots.
There has been a growth in the number of courses situated around Belek. All these courses can now be compared to the best golf destinations in Europe and the world. The hotels situated around the courses are numerous and have all the possible facilities you could ever wish for. They have live entertainment, restaurants, swimming pools and all other possible facilities you could ever ask for when on holiday. After a short haul four hour flight from the UK and a short transfer from the airport approximately 18 miles from the main resorts in Belek you can be relaxing and looking forward to enjoying your first round on the golf course in a short time.
With a succession of the biggest and best names in course design production an almost never-ending string of spectacular layouts, the extraordinarily high standards that were established at the outset have been rigorously maintained. All the courses are genuinely superb and the standard of the adjacent hotels is every bit as high. Add extremely competitive prices to the heady mix and you can begin to understand why Turkey has taken off in the past few years. All that's missing are the local golfers. Turks are passionate about football but have yet to truly discover golf which, from the visitor's point of view, leaves the courses more or less entirely to them.
Although Belek looks certain to remain at the top of Turkey's golf league for the foreseeable future, it should prepare itself for some significant domestic competition as plans are being drawn up to provide additional first-class facilities in Istanbul, Ankara and Mugla. But they will have to go some if they are going to be anywhere near as good as the golf in Turkey to be found in Belek.
Currently the Papillion golf resort is one of the most popular in the country. The Montgomerie designed course is one in a string of courses that are just inland from the beach at Belek. As part of a $100m complex you can expect the best use of the terrain that is around. With undulating holes waving their way through the pine trees and water features on the front nine the back nine isn't half bag either. There are testing tee shots over sandy wastelands the Colin Montgomerie and his European Design team have put in place to create some of the most popular designs around. The Sultan and the Pasha courses along with the floodlit driving range, academy course and practise facilities make the Papillion one of the best of Belek's golf destinations.
If you are looking for information on golf holidays away or golf in the Algarve then why not have a look at Your Golf Travel's golfing holidays that are available.
