Belek, a golfer’s Turkish delight

The coastal town of Belek in Turkey‘s southern Mediterranean region of Antalya is the country’s golfing capital with a host of world-class golf courses and luxury resorts. Let’s take a quick tour.

Known as the Turkish Riviera, this stretch of coastline enjoys a superb climate for golf with over 300 days of sunshine per year and temperatures around 30°C in the summer and 15°C in the winter. There’s fabulous sandy beaches backed by the Taurus mountain range, thermal spas, great cuisine and nightlife, and incredible archaeological sites.

The plethora of five-star golf resorts provide all-inclusive luxury, superb service and facilities, as well as on-site or easy access to stunning golf courses. Antalya International Airport is the gateway to this region, within around 40 minutes of the main resorts and courses.

Maxx Royal Golf Resort

The five-star all-inclusive Maxx Royal Golf Resort is one of the most luxurious golf resorts in Europe, with the Montgomerie Maxx golf course opposite. There’s a large selection of room options for singles, couples and groups, including the Albatross golf villas, which can accommodate up to 10 people. There’s an incredible array of bars and dining options, a spa and several swimming pools.

Montgomerie Maxx Royal Golf Club, designed by Colin Montgomerie, opened in 2008 and in 2013-15 and 2019 staged the Turkish Airlines Open. It has stunning mountain views, several lakes, and pine and eucalyptus trees lining the fairways.

Regnum Carya Golf & Spa Resort

Opened in 2014, this stunning five-star beachside resort offers over 500 rooms, suites and villas with views of the sea and on-site Carya Golf Club. There’s a huge selection of restaurants and bars, a spa, six pools and a surf wave. As Regnum Carya is so close to Maxx Royal, you can stay at either resort and play both courses.

Carya Golf Club hosted Turkish Airlines Open between 2016-18 and is a heathland style course which plays like a little slice of classic English golf. It winds snugly between natural pine and eucalyptus trees, across undulating sand ridges, and was also the first course in Europe to be fully floodlit, so you can play in the evening.

Gloria Serenity

This is the ideal place to enjoy superb rooms, service and indulgent treatment. This five-star resort provides the perfect golfer destination with access to the magnificent Old and New courses at Gloria Golf Club as well as the Serenity Spa and opulent dining options.

The longer and narrower Old Course is the tougher of the two courses, studded with natural foliage and enveloped in a cocoon of peace and privacy making you feel you’re alone on the course. The New Course opened in 2005 and is nestled in the area’s natural pine trees, with beautiful rolling fairways and stunning vistas. The signature 17th hole is modelled on the spectacular 17th at TPC Sawgrass.

Sueno Golf Deluxe Hotel

The five-star Sueno Golf Deluxe Hotel offers the opportunity for golfers to walk to the on-site championship Pines and Dunes courses. Located between the beach and golf courses, this all-inclusive resort offers superb rooms and suites, leisure facilities, restaurants and bars.

The Pines is one of Belek’s most picturesque and popular courses. Great or all levels of player with a modern clubhouse and views over the Mediterranean, it rolls peacefully through mature pines. The Dunes is perfectly maintained with pines and natural undulations, dunes and strategically placed lakes. With such great golf on its doorstep, Sueno is a great option for your golf trip.

Cornelia Diamond Golf Resort & Spa

Five-star resort located within walking distance of the beach and town. Over 500 luxurious rooms, several swimming pools, an aqua park, an eco-spa, tennis courts, and a huge number of bars and restaurants compliment the on-site Faldo Course, as well as the David Leadbetter Academy.

With its 27 hole championship golf course designed by Sir Nick Faldo, Cornelia Golf Club, connected to the resort by a short shuttle, offers a true golfing paradise. This excellent course is routed around pine forests and sandy terrain with a dramatic ridge of dunes running through the middle.

Sirene Belek Hotel

A five-star gem with over 250 rooms and suites, some ideal for larger groups, 13 restaurants and bars, a beach, pools, and a spa and health club. It’s surrounded by two world-class golf courses where you can follow in the footsteps of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose who played on the PGA Sultan course here in 2012 for The Turkish Airlines World Golf Final. 

Opposite Antalya Golf Club, guests can get from their room to the tee in under three minutes. The resort also offers rounds at National Golf Club, the oldest course in Belek.

Antalya Golf Club – The Sultan & The Pasha

The club offers two championship courses, The Sultan and The Pasha. Of the two, Sultan has been designed with lower handicap golfers in mind and takes full advantage of the stunning surroundings, with plenty of water hazards. Pasha is shorter and less challenging, but golfers face an interesting mixture of wide fairways, open bays, challenging doglegs, cleverly placed bunkers, and tricky water hazards.

National Golf Club

The layout at National Golf Club has been wonderfully carved through a forest of eucalyptus and pine trees with the Taurus mountains as a backdrop. It’s a stunningly beautiful golf course, with an interesting layout and an abundance of challenging hazards.