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| ASIA AND THE MIDDLE EAST |
20 / 03 / 08 |
Turkey - a golf delight | |  | |
Sueno Hotel The Pines course
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We stood on the ninth green, a semi island surrounded on three sides by water and backed by the resort hotel terrace. Two Category 1 players and two mid handicappers, all resigned to the fact that not one single approach shot had made the green.
Mine, from about 170 yards with a rescue had sadly skipped across the apron into the water left, my sixteen handicap playing partner had sliced his into the water right. The low guys with their wedge approaches had both run off the back of the green. This was golf in Turkey and while the Cat 1's were busy picking through the bones of this difficult track, my partner and I were getting stuffed.
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The Pines
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Belek is an emerging resort dedicated to golf and is about 45 minutes from the airport at Antalya on the shore of the Mediterranean, set amongst pine forest. There are a number of 5-star hotels, each with their own golf courses and all of them differ in some way in layout and playability. We managed to play four of the courses and all of them were in good condition and belied the fact that they had only opened recently. They appear well established and mature, with only the fiery greens needing time to settle and become a little more receptive.
Sueno Hotel The Pines course was the third course we had played and was the finest, in terms of challenge and condition. The fairways were massively undulated, as if the designer had in some way crumpled up the plans in frustration and then decided to continue with this novel addition to the plan. Not one single lie on a fairway was flat, leading to inaccurate shots from the less disciplined golfers and thought provoking entertainment for the skilled.
We had also decided to play off the whites, the decision bringing a wry smile as my fourth shot, on the opening 600 yard par 5 into the wind, failed to get close. By the time I had reached the 7th hole, a par 3 with a 220 yard carry over a lake into the prevailing wind, with no bail-out area, I had decided that the whites were too tough for this 13 handicapper.
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Morning tee-offs can be chilly
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We arrived from Stanstead to Antalya on the Sunday evening and transferred to the comfortable Cornelia Hotel which was on an all-inclusive basis. Entertainment is provided in the evenings, along the lines of most Spanish package tour complexes. There were adequate facilities including spa, gym, massage and beauty treatments for the ladies. Rooms were comfortable, if a little dated in décor.
An early start on the Monday morning saw us wrapped in sweaters and jackets in the stiff and chilly morning breeze. Turkey may be sunny and bright in February but at night time the temperature drops to almost freezing. Evidence of this is the spectacular backdrop of snow-covered mountains, where the opportunity to ski at sister resorts is offered by some of the hotels.
The first course we played was the picturesque but tricky Cornelia Princes course designed by Nick Faldo. I found the front nine a struggle, trying to hold convex fairways that squirted the ball either right into water or left into trees if not hit down the middle. This made me question whether designers are trying to be too clever for the average handicap golfer.
This course was greedy for balls and unforgiving from the rough, which tended to be a sand base scrubland and was like playing out of a wet bunker. Using a three wood off the tee at least brought the fairway into play and I soon learnt that accuracy over distance worked around this particular course and I enjoyed a better back nine. The most gratifying was a well executed par on the par five 11th, which at stroke index 2 was a tight thread between the pines off the tee with a blind second shot, leaving a difficult pitch to the small undulating green. I enjoyed this course and would have loved to have played it again, after familiarising myself with its trickery.
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Antalya Golf Club's Sultan course
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The afternoon saw us playing 9 holes of the Antalya Golf Club's Sultan course. This was a wider and more forgiving course, though still beautifully presented, which I found much more suited to the mid handicapper whose occasional errant golf would not be as heavily penalised. My only regret is that I couldn't continue to a conclusion the round that saw me only five over at the turn.
Another 9 holes was played on the last day at the Gloria Golf Club, another stylish and lush course between the pines that makes playing golf in Belek a pleasure.
An evening gala dinner was held in the Kempinski The Dome Hotel, which had traditional Turkish décor and splendour and was, in my opinion, the best of the hotels visited, if only because it had more elegance. Obviously, this came at a price but would tick the boxes that my non-playing wife would require. Some of the other hotels, including the Cornelia, were much too golf-orientated. The lobbies were constantly cluttered with golf bags and the guest's attire, even in the evening, reflected their daytime passion.
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"Picturesque but tricky" - the Sultan
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Belek in Turkey is a terrific place to play golf; it is a bespoke area for golfers with enough courses to satisfy every type of golfer within a half hour radius. The hotel resorts are luxurious and comfortable and the Mediterranean never more than a six iron away. As an alternative to Spain or Portugal for winter golf I think it will become a serious contender.
I would say, however, that golfers should perhaps pick courses that are suitable for their standard of play - because of the inherent difficulty of some of the tracks, long rounds will otherwise become the order of the day. Having talked to some hotel guests about other courses in Belek, I was horrified to hear of six-hour rounds being the norm at some. We, however, didn't find that on the four courses that we played and the early, but cold, starts must have helped.
It is also important to arrange transport from hotel to courses and it is fair to warn you that some can be a bit tardy regarding pick-ups - not too clever when trying to meet a tee time deadline. We were well pleased with a company called Lauragolf who transported five of us around in style, in a Mercedes people carrier with a stretch limo style interior.
There are some excellent deals available at this time of year and although the weather isn't hot it is spring-like and dry enough to tempt this golfer away from the temporary greens and mats of Britain for a week, next year.
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