Going for Golf

You’re spoilt for choice in Turkey

Montgomerie Maxx Royal

Back in 1994, Belek was a relatively obscure village best known for turtles laying their eggs on its beaches and dazzling views of the snow-capped Taurus Mountains a few miles inland. Since then it has become the eastern Mediterranean’s must-visit golf destination with 11 immaculately maintained developments, all carved from a pine and eucalyptus forest. Forty minutes’ drive from the international airport at Antalya, Belek also boasts more than 50 five-star hotels, where full-board means virtually unlimited food and drink. So whether you’re golfing, enjoying a spa treatment, soaking up the sun, dining out, exploring the local antiquities, or simply shopping, nowhere within three and a half hours’ flying time of London or Manchester offers a better deal.

The latest addition to Belek’s dazzling array is the Maxx Royal Golf & Spa Hotel which opened in May. Recently, the owners acquired one of the leading courses in the region, The Montgomerie, from the Papillon group and so were able to hit the ground running as a golf resort. Now one of the game’s elder statesmen, eight times European number one and last year’s victorious Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie is gradually shifting his focus towards course design. And, on the evidence of his efforts so far, he could ultimately make as much of a mark as an architect as he has as a player. 

The 18 holes he laid out across 250 acres of prime land in conjunction with European Golf Design in 2008 is now well established as one of Belek’s most popular courses and continues to attract rave reviews. It is certainly exciting to play, both visually and as a thought-provoking test of a player’s course-management skills.

The Montgomerie was carefully shaped to blend naturally with both its indigenous trees and age-old sandy ridges, features that contribute greatly to the variety of strategic options presented from every tee and conspire to create a challenge that is easy on the eye if not always easy on one’s golf game.

The pace of play on the par-72 layout is refreshingly brisk, thanks largely to a shortage of places where balls are likely to be lost – though some visitors initially felt he might have overdone the waste areas.