Cullinan Golf Links Resort, Belek: Where Golf Meets the Mediterranean
All Square 6min read •
27 Sep
There are plenty of golf resorts around Belek, but few combine coastal golf, a luxury all-inclusive resort, 36 holes and floodlit play quite like Cullinan Belek. Set on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, the resort is home to Cullinan Links Golf Club, where the Mediterranean Sea lies on one side of the property and the Beşgöz River on the other.
With two 18-hole courses, extensive practice facilities, an 800-metre private beach, multiple pools, restaurants, a spa and a wide choice of accommodation, Cullinan is designed for much more than a golf-only getaway. Golfers can spend their mornings on the course while partners or families enjoy the beach, pools and other resort facilities — and everyone can come together again in the evening.
Golf Between the Mediterranean and the Beşgöz River
The setting is one of Cullinan Links‘ defining characteristics. Covering approximately 110 hectares, the golf complex occupies an unusual stretch of land between the Mediterranean coastline and the Beşgöz River, with the Taurus Mountains visible inland. This gives the resort a distinctive landscape compared with many of Belek’s more traditional inland golf venues.
The club features 36 holes across the Olympos and Aspendos courses, both designed as par-71 layouts. Olympos measures approximately 5,641 metres, while Aspendos is around 5,463 metres from the championship tees. Multiple tee positions allow golfers to adjust the challenge according to their ability and playing style.
The courses combine broad fairways with pine trees, water hazards, strategically positioned bunkers and elevated greens. Across the complex, there are 119 bunkers and 10 lakes, in addition to the natural presence of the Beşgöz River. The greens average around 600 square metres, while the club also provides extensive practice facilities, including five putting greens and two chipping greens.
The two courses offer enough variety for a multi-round holiday. Olympos includes several long par 5s, with its 18th stretching to approximately 486 metres from the back tee. Aspendos has its own demanding finish, with the 18th playing to around 447 metres from the championship tee.
Rather than relying solely on length, the layouts place considerable emphasis on positioning. Water, bunkers and the shape of the fairways create decisions from the tee and into the greens, while the choice of tee allows higher-handicap golfers to enjoy the same layouts without necessarily playing the full championship distance.
The Appeal of Night Golf
One of Cullinan Links‘ most distinctive features is its floodlit golf. The club offers the possibility of combining nine holes during daylight with another nine under floodlights, as well as dedicated floodlit playing options.
This is particularly attractive in the warmer months, when temperatures in Belek can make an afternoon round less appealing. Golfers can play earlier in the day, spend several hours at the beach or pool, and return to the course later when the temperatures have dropped.
It also gives the resort a different atmosphere. Once the sun goes down and the surrounding Mediterranean landscape becomes darker, the illuminated fairways and greens create a very different experience from a conventional daytime round.
For golfers travelling in a group, it can also make scheduling easier. One person can spend the afternoon relaxing while another plays, without forcing everyone into the same daily timetable.
A Resort Designed Around the Golf — and Beyond It
One of Cullinan Belek’s biggest advantages is that the golf course is integrated directly into a large luxury resort rather than operating as a separate golf facility.
The accommodation ranges from 45-square-metre golf-view rooms to swim-up rooms, family suites, lagoon accommodation and private villas. The Lagoon Golf Swim-up rooms, for example, combine golf-course views with direct access to a shared pool, while larger family accommodation provides considerably more space for groups travelling together.
At the top end, the 280-square-metre Cullinan Villa features four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a private garden, an outdoor dining area and private swimming pool.
For golfers, the resort’s location means that there is little need to organise complicated daily transfers between the hotel and course. A golf morning can be followed by a completely different afternoon without leaving the property.
And there is plenty to do when the clubs are back in the locker. Cullinan has an 800-metre private sandy beach, multiple indoor and outdoor pools, an aquapark with 13 slides, a spa, fitness facilities, tennis and a range of activities for children.
That makes the resort particularly suitable for couples, families and mixed golf groups, where not everyone necessarily wants to play 18 holes every day.
Dining, Relaxation and the Non-Golfing Experience
Cullinan Belek is built around an all-inclusive holiday concept, with a wide selection of restaurants and bars alongside its recreational facilities.
Dining options cover a range of cuisines and styles, including Turkish, seafood and steakhouse concepts, while Cullinan Bistro operates 24 hours, giving guests flexibility around early tee times and evening golf.
The resort’s extensive wellness and leisure facilities also mean that a golf trip does not have to revolve entirely around playing. A typical day can easily combine an early round with breakfast, time by the pool or on the beach, a spa treatment and dinner — or finish with another nine holes under the floodlights.
This balance is important because Cullinan is not positioned simply as a golfers’ hotel. It is a destination resort where golf is one of the major experiences rather than the only reason to stay.
When to Play and What to Know Before Booking
Belek is one of Europe’s most established golf destinations, with a long season that extends well beyond the traditional summer holiday period. Cullinan Links operates throughout the year, although opening hours vary seasonally. The club currently lists operating hours of 07:00–19:00 in summer and 08:00–18:00 in winter.
Golfers should pay particular attention to maintenance dates when planning a trip. For 2026, the club lists a maintenance period from 16 June to 31 August, followed by overseeding from 1 September to 9 October. During these periods, one of the two courses remains available, although golfers cannot necessarily choose between Olympos and Aspendos, and buggy use may be restricted to designated paths.
The All Square Take
Cullinan Belek stands out because it brings together several elements that are rarely combined so closely: 36 holes of golf, a Mediterranean coastal setting, the Beşgöz River, floodlit play and a full-scale luxury resort.
For golfers, the two courses provide enough variety for several rounds, while the practice facilities and PGA instruction make the resort suitable for players looking to work on their game. For families and partners, the private beach, pools, aquapark, restaurants and spa mean there is no need to structure the entire holiday around golf.
And that is perhaps what makes Cullinan Links particularly appealing as a golf destination. You can make the trip as golf-focused as you like — playing Olympos in the morning and returning for floodlit holes later — or treat the golf as one part of a broader Mediterranean escape.
Either way, the combination of coastal scenery, resort luxury and genuinely distinctive golf gives Cullinan Belek a character of its own within the Belek golf scene.
