Antalya (PGA Sultan) Course Review: The crown jewel of Belek's best resort

Antalya (PGA Sultan) GC Fact File:

• Location: On the Belek Strip, between National and Carya, Southern Turkey
• Year Established: 2003
• Par: 71
• Length (yards from yellows): 6,526
• Green Fees (weekdays): €190
• Signature Hole: The par-5 16th is the one which will stick in your memory the longest
• Website: agc.com.tr

There are two courses at Antalya Golf Club, the PGA Sultan and The Pasha, with the former considered the more testing and championship version of the two. Here Northern Irishman David Jones, who had already laid out Belek's first course, National, with David Feherty, collaborated with European Golf Design to present two different but outstanding tracks.

"This was a difficult site but full of promise. I had the superb EGD partnering me on this one and we decided to dig out most of the swamps, create big lakes and run the tough Sultan course through them. We went for balance with a much shorter and more forgiving course, ‘The Pasha’, as the second 18, so that players could decide for themselves what sort of a challenge they were up for."

The first occasion it would get to test some of the world's best amateur players was when it hosted the 2012 Eisenhower Trophy. Then Justin Thomas was part of the winning three-man American team and the following week golf in Belek was beamed around the world when eight of the very best fought it out for the Turkish Airlines World Golf Final.

In the field that week was Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood, Webb Simpson, Justin Rose, Matt Kuchar, Hunter Mahan, Charl Schwartzel and none other than Tiger Woods. It would prove to be a one-off event, to be replaced by the Turkish Airlines Open the following year, and there would be a first prize of $1.5m which Belek specialist Rose would pick up. Woods would succumb to the Englishman in the semi-final of the medal matchplay format and he would describe the Sultan as a 'shotmaker's course'.

Antalya PGA Sultan Course Review

It's easy to pick holes in courses but the overriding feedback on the Sultan course is how immaculate it is. It is the usual Belek blend of tree-lined fairways and water, which features on nine of the holes, but it is certainly the more senior partner of the two excellent courses here.

It's a par 71 and includes six par 4s to begin the back nine, the hardest of which comes at the 12th, but before that the front nine signs off with a short par 4 which can be reduced to a very short iron if you take the bold line off the tee. The more likely option is that you play away from the trouble which may tend to be a recurring theme here.

Like all of Belek's courses you are close to the Mediterranean but the closest you'll get is on the 5th, Sea View, which is no longer the case because of the Kempinski Hotel which sits behind the green.

The back nine, by common consent, is the stronger and better of the two with that 12th that is described as 'maybe the toughest par 4 in Europe. It’s narrow, it’s long and bunkers await you all the way to the green. Be proud of par here.'

That might be stretching things a little but it does require your two best shots to have a chance of locating the putting surface.

The stand-out hole on the property is widely regarded as the 16th, the only par 5 on the back nine, but an absolute beauty where you dare to take off as much of the corner as possible before firing a long second to the right which is pointed to the right.

Belek does closing holes very well and the Sultan is no exception with the Taurus Mountains forming the backdrop to a strong 18th. With a cluster of trees left and water right the tee shot needs to be very precise and more water then guards the putting surface to the left.  

Final Verdict

This is a great 36-hole venue where the conditioning and fantastic greens don’t deviate whichever course you are playing. Antalya easily boasts two courses in Belek’s top 10, so a day spent here will be highly memorable.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

For more information, please visit the club's website here