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Golf guide • Turkey • Turkish Riviera (Antalya)

Golf in Belek: pines, sand and floodlit greens on the Turkish Riviera

Belek, on the Mediterranean coast east of Antalya, has the highest concentration of great courses in Turkey: Carya, the Montgomerie Maxx Royal, the National and Nick Faldo's 27 holes at Cornelia are all a few minutes from one another. Golfers come for pinewood and sandbelt golf, resorts set right beside the fairways and the proximity of Aspendos and Antalya. The best periods are spring and autumn.

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Belek is not an old town but a resort designed for tourism, in the district of Serik, east of Antalya. A long sandy beach borders a forest of pines and eucalyptus; behind it, the limestone peaks of the Taurus close the horizon and keep their snow for part of the spring. Loggerhead and green turtles still come to nest on these beaches, among the main nesting sites on the coast.

Golf arrived here in 1994 with the National, and courses then multiplied until, in 2008, Belek was named the best golf destination in Europe by IAGTO, the association of specialist golf tour operators. The sandy soil and umbrella pines give the layouts the air of Mediterranean heathland, and the European Tour's Turkish Open has been played in turn on the Montgomerie Maxx Royal, Carya and the National.

Stays revolve around the resorts, often built right beside the courses: you step out of your room and onto the driving range. But it would be a shame not to venture beyond the gates. The Roman theatre of Aspendos is about twenty minutes away, and Antalya's old town, with its harbour and lanes, is three-quarters of an hour away for dinner above the sea.

The courses

Green and yellow flag framed by umbrella pines, a sandy area and tufts of wild grass in the foreground, at dusk

Carya Golf Club

  • Architect: Peter Thomson, Ross Perrett & Tim Lobb
  • Opened 2008
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

Opened in 2008 and designed by Peter Thomson, Ross Perrett and Tim Lobb, Carya takes its inspiration from the heathland courses around London: nearly a million heather plants were set along fairways that follow a sandy ridge between pines and eucalyptus. It hosted the Turkish Open from 2016 to 2018, and all eighteen holes are floodlit, so you can play after sunset. Often cited as the best course in the country, it rewards accurate players more than long hitters.

Signature hole. The 6th, a 621-yard par 5 nicknamed "Long", is the longest hole in Turkey.

Official website

Montgomerie Maxx Royal

  • Architect: Colin Montgomerie & European Golf Design
  • Opened 2008
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

Colin Montgomerie designed this course with European Golf Design; it opened in September 2008 on 104 hectares of pinewood and sandy ridges. Large areas of wild sand border more than half the holes and several lakes come into play, making it a demanding layout from the back tees. In 2013 it hosted the first European Tour Turkish Open. The back nine is floodlit for evening rounds. It is the course of the Maxx Royal Belek, whose guests enjoy direct access.

Signature hole. The course opens and closes with two demanding par 5s, enough to start and finish the round with a long fairway wood.

Official website

National Golf Club

  • Architect: David Feherty & David Jones
  • Opened 1994
  • 18 holes

Inaugurated on 18 November 1994, the National is Belek's elder statesman. David Feherty, the Ryder Cup player, and David Jones laid it out over gently rolling ground, through pines and eucalyptus that were already mature, with ten lakes and the Taurus as a backdrop. It hosted the Turkish Seniors Open in 1996 and 1997, and later the Turkish Open. The back nine is floodlit. A members' club open to a limited number of visitors, it offers a more traditional atmosphere than the resort courses.

Official website

Cornelia Golf Club, Faldo Course

  • Architect: Nick Faldo
  • 27 holes
  • Par 72

At Cornelia, Nick Faldo designed a 27-hole course divided into three nines. They are combined to form the King, Queen and Prince layouts, all three par 72 and around 6,300 to 6,400 metres long, so a stay of several days never feels repetitive. The 4,800 m² clubhouse and the academy, with its driving range and practice greens, make it a good base for groups of mixed ability. The course adjoins the Cornelia Diamond, whose guests have privileged access.

Official website

Where to stay

Regnum Carya

Built along the Carya course, the Regnum Carya is the most direct golf base in Belek: its guests have access to Carya and to the neighbouring National, run by the same group. You stay in the main building, in Pearl rooms with a private or shared pool, or in a villa. Book a late-afternoon tee time on Carya, which is fully floodlit, and have your clubs fitted at the Carya Golf Lab on day one.

Tuvana Hotel

In the heart of Kaleiçi, Antalya's old town, the Tuvana brings together six listed Ottoman houses around a garden of orange and pomegranate trees and bougainvillea. The central house, home of the 18th-century Ottoman officer Abdi Efendi, was restored in 1989. Ask for one of the two Pasha rooms, which open onto the garden. The hotel has its own car park behind the houses, handy for the 45-minute drive to Belek, and stays open all year.

White arcaded buildings and a long palm-lined pool, along a sandy beach shaded by pines

Where to dine

7 Mehmet

High in Antalya's Atatürk cultural park, 7 Mehmet has been open since 1937 and is now run by Mehmet Akdağ, the family's third generation. The menu follows the cooking of the region: stewed vine leaves, stuffed squash, pilaf with bergamot. Book a table outside, facing the sea, and try the minced-meat pastry, made to the same recipe since the day it opened. Allow three quarters of an hour from Belek.

Seraser Fine Dining

The Tuvana's restaurant, in Kaleiçi, Seraser has been reinterpreting Turkish heritage with a contemporary touch since 1989, among stone walls and low seating: grilled squid, spicy chilled watermelon soup with Ezine cheese, seared quail, beef-rib mantı. In fine weather, service moves to a shaded courtyard across the lane: ask for your table there. The address for a dressy dinner after a day of sightseeing.

Beyond golf

Antalya and Kaleiçi

Antalya's old town, Kaleiçi, runs down to an ancient harbour turned marina, enclosed within a double horseshoe-shaped wall. You enter through Hadrian's Gate, raised in honour of the emperor's visit in 130, before strolling among tiled-roof Ottoman houses, the fluted Yivli minaret and Hıdırlık Tower. East of the city, the Lower Düden Waterfall drops 40 metres straight into the sea.

Aspendos and Perge

About twenty minutes from Belek, the theatre of Aspendos, built around 155 by the architect Zeno, is considered the best-preserved theatre of antiquity. Since 1994 it has hosted an international opera and ballet festival each summer; attending a performance at nightfall is a rare memory. On the road to Antalya, the ruins of Perge, one of the great cities of Pamphylia, round off the day.

Köprülü Canyon

A national park since 1973, Köprülü Canyon cuts through the Taurus for 14 kilometres, with walls about a hundred metres high. The Köprü river can be rafted at a level suitable for beginners, and you cross the canyon on the Oluk Köprü, an intact Roman bridge. Higher up, the ruins of Selge overlook the valley. Allow a good hour's drive from Belek.

Old walled harbour with two wooden gulets moored below Ottoman houses with red-tiled roofs

When to go

The climate is Mediterranean: hot, dry summers, mild but wet winters and nearly 3,000 hours of sunshine a year. Spring, from March to May, and autumn, in October and November, are the best seasons: pleasant temperatures and courses in excellent condition. They are also the periods most in demand among European golfers. Summer is often too hot to play in the middle of the day. Winter remains playable, on courses overseeded with winter grass.

Getting there

Antalya airport (AYT), 13 kilometres north-east of the city, is linked to most major European cities, often by direct flights in spring and summer. Allow about 35 minutes by road to the Belek hotels, and three-quarters of an hour between Belek and Antalya's old town. The resorts arrange transfers; a car is only useful for excursions.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best golf course in Belek?

Carya, designed by Peter Thomson, Ross Perrett and Tim Lobb and opened in 2008, is generally ranked the best course in Turkey. The Montgomerie Maxx Royal, which hosted the first European Tour Turkish Open in 2013, follows close behind.

How long is the transfer from Antalya airport to Belek?

About 35 minutes by car. Most resorts offer transfers from the airport.

When is the best time to play golf in Belek?

Spring, from March to May, and autumn, in October and November. Summer is very hot; winter is mild but wetter.

Can you play floodlit golf in Belek?

Yes. All eighteen holes at Carya are floodlit, as are the back nines of the Montgomerie Maxx Royal and the National.

What is there to see around Belek on a non-golf day?

The Roman theatre of Aspendos, about twenty minutes away, Antalya's old town, Kaleiçi, three-quarters of an hour away, and Köprülü Canyon for rafting.

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Your golf trip: Belek

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