Going for Golf

Brand new Tat in Turkey

Tat International

During that period, Belek, half an hour’s drive from the international airport just outside the city of Antalya, has been transformed from little more than a coastal hamlet into a bustling town, thanks largely to the arrival of golf. Back in the summer of 1997, though, there were only three courses in the entire country – two on the outskirts of Istanbul, some 400 miles to the north, and a third carved from the pine and eucalyptus forest that surrounds Belek.

When Belek’s first 18 holes opened in 1994 at the National Golf Club, eyebrows were raised that the design skills of David Feherty and his fellow Ulsterman David Jones should have been employed at such an obscure and improbable location. But this project was merely the first brick to be laid in what had long been planned as one of the Mediterranean’s most enticing tourism edifices.

A combination of government investment and private finance, much of it emanating from Russia and other former Iron Curtain countries, has since seen the burgeoning of Belek into a settlement with 11 golf centres, more than 50 (mostly) five-star hotels, thousands of holiday homes and hundreds of shops.

But the place was still relatively sleepy when its second golf development (and Turkey’s fourth) came into being on September 1, 1997, with the official opening of Tat Golf Belek. Consisting of three loops of nine holes each, Tat was laid out by the long-established English firm of designers, Hawtree, which works closely with the R&A in preparing the courses used for the Open Championship. Hawtree was engaged because the owners of Tat Beach Hotel were clearly impressed by the upturn in their business following the National’s arrival a mile or so down the road and swiftly recognised that demand for golf in Belek was outstripping supply.

Tat thus became the region’s first golf resort, complete with luxury accommodation for up to 550 people, and in many respects it provided the template for others to follow. In the intervening 13 years, though, its 27 holes took a severe pounding as visiting golfers clocked up an annual average footfall in excess of 30,000 rounds. In recent times, it has been obvious that remedial action was needed to restore Tat, always one of Belek’s most attractive courses both from a visual and golfing viewpoint, to its former pre-eminence. So Hawtree, in the shape of senior designer Marc Westenborg, was commissioned by Tat Group’s CEO, Ugur Tatlici, to undertake a site assessment which in turn led to a much-needed facelift.

Good views of the Besgoz River and the bluest of blue seas beyond have always been Tat’s principal calling cards, especially as so many of its tees are positioned on former dunes and offer ideal vantage points. The perception that there is room to manoeuvre around Tat’s three loops has been restored by the amendments, though in fact it now has the smallest greens and most pinched fairways in the whole of Belek. In addition, it soon becomes evident that effective scoring on a comparatively short layout is impossible unless a way can be found to combat the swirling winds that seem to be omnipresent on Tat. Even the mildest of zephyrs can pose awkward questions when a mid-iron needs to be dispatched with pinpoint accuracy towards a raised putting surface with more than one run-off area. It’s a real test.

The rugged Mediterranean views for which Tat has long been renowned are only really to be found on its second nine, but, ironically, players tackling the first and third nines probably confront more watery graves. After a relatively innocuous opening hole, Tat presents a whole series of lake-related problems on holes two, three and four before handing over to the perils of the river down the right on five and six. Having battled through this stretch, the absence of a forest, so prevalent on all of Belek’s other courses, is furthest from the average golfer’s mind. None the less, the greatest degree of concentration on a golfer’s part is probably required over the third and longest nine where the fairways seem to narrow in proportion to the width thickening of the water hazards.

On my only previous visit to Tat in 1999, its hospitable clubhouse was filled with copious works of art. In addition to numerous abstracts, an enviable array of cabinets, mirrors and wall fittings bedecked in mother of pearl were on display. This time, they were nowhere to be seen as workmen raced against the clock to ensure the clubhouse could reopen at the same time as the courses. Needless to say, they hit their deadline and Tat Golf Belek is well and truly open for business this winter.

Just down the road, the Tat Beach Hotel also has a new look and feel now it is being managed by the Barcelo group. In truth, the main changes are to the foyer and reception areas – spring-cleaning more than anything.
Otherwise, the hotel is pretty much as I remember it – replete with an enviable range of facilities: six tennis courts; indoor, outdoor and children’s pools; a large, palm-tree-clad open space sandwiched between the main pool and beach that can stage all manner of sports activities. In addition, the health facilities include Turkish bath, sauna, massage, spa, Jacuzzis and a weights room.

Tat’s back – and it’s back to its best.