Turkey, or Turkiye as it's now known, is blessed with some sumptious golf these days, especially in Belek where quality golf courses and majestic sprawling hotels and resorts are littered along the stunning coastline.

And one of the biggest and the best is Gloria Golf Club, with two 18-hole courses - the Old and the New - along with a nine-holer called the Verde meaning there's something for everyone.

We were lucky enough to get to play both the Old Course and New Course and while both are tree-lined, both have plenty of water and both have some pure greens there are subtle differences that means they offer different tests of your game.

Our visit coincided with the Race to Belek tournament Grand Final being held at Gloria Golf Resort - one of these amateur tournaments that I'm surprised more people don't try their luck in as eight finalists, and a guest, were flown out to Belek on an all-expenses-paid golfing trip in the lap of luxury.

And we all know the old thing better than holiday golf in the sun is free holiday golf in the sun.

Flights & five-star accommodation in Belek

I must admit I'd not heard of Corendon Airlines before travelling from Manchester to Antalya, but the Turkish kebab served on board was right up there with the best of them in terms of airplane food - and washing it down with an Efes did just the job on the long journey.

Turkish golf holiday specialists the Kaden Group organised the event and had pulled out all the stops with staying at the huge Gloria Golf Resort - one of three hotels as part of the group.

If you've ever been to this stretch of Belek you'll know there's some massive hotels along the coast, and Gloria Golf Resort is one of the biggest. It's simply huge and really does have everything, from swimming pools to water slides, tennis courts and kids club.

The hotels in this area also stretch across a river and onto the beach with a beach bar on a pier providing a brilliant spot for a post-round drink. And being all inclusive it's fill your boots time.

It's a long way to Turkiye from the UK and if travelling with family and children it's important to have other things for those non-golfers to do while you hit the links. This place has it all.

All inclusive golf gets the thumbs up

Speaking of all inclusive, your stay at Gloria Golf Resort will include some green fees down at the golf club, which is on the other end of a shuttle bus ride, and the cherry on top here is that clubhouse food and drink is also all inclusive.

So even as a non-guest at the hotel, you could rock up and pay around €150 and get not only 18 holes of stunning golf but also all you can eat and drink in what's a stunning clubhouse setting - especially the large outdoor terrace area.

The all inclusive concept is a great idea, and can be especially handy if you play the New Course as you walk past the clubhouse between the ninth and 10th holes so can use it for a prolonged pit stop if you wish.

Spain and Portugal still lead the way in terms of golfing holidays, but Turkiye has more of a year-round climate and with the standard now of resorts and golf courses it's coming up on the rails.

Old & New Course review

And so to the golf - where there's no excuses for playing badly given the swanky double decker driving range - which includes the first and only TrackMan Range system in Europe. That's another claim to fame for Turkey's largest golf course.

There's also a Phil Kenyon putting studio with all kinds of technology in there to help conquer the greens, which is a nice touch, and one thing that was pleasing to see on our visit was the amount of families and kids out enjoying the golf course.

Both the Old and New Courses were designed by renowned French golf architect Michel Gayon - both are heavily tree lined making accuracy off the tee essential and both are framed magnificently by the Taurus Mountains in the background.

Opened in 2005, the New Course is slightly more open off the tee, with the first probably the tightest drive you'll face! Luckily I managed to find a fairway here after a quick lesson with the pro and despite a 20-strong group of Germans watching.

There's a good variety of holes, some short par-4s and a couple of tight doglegs and par-3s hitting over water. Nine and 18 are great holes to finish your front and back nine with a big lake in between them as you head back to the clubhouse.

The 18th had just a hint of the last at TPC Sawgrass about it in terms of the water lurking down the left, trees on the right and a well-placed tee box at a funny angle meaning you have to bite off a chunk of the water. It didn't end well...

We were lucky enough to play the Old Course first thing in the morning which was stunning, but tough, as you kick-off with a par-5 with an approach needed over water, followed by a par-3 again hitting over the drink.

Fairways are noticably tighter, and since it was opened in 1997 it's more mature meaning the large trees have more of an overhang to narrow things up even more.

The routing is more enjoyable on the Old Course, where there are only six lakes to the New Course's seven, but they're heavily involved - the par-3 seventh is a stunner with the tee box out in the lake making it all carry.

The 14th is a long old par-3 across the same lake while the 15th and 16th offer up awkward tee shots, the 17th is a brute of a par-5 and you get a downhill par-3 finish.

An even better finish awaits at the all inclusive clubhouse bar though, as Turkiye really delivered a golfing trip to rival any of its European competitors.

The Details

Old Course: Par 72, 6,529m

New Course: Par 72, 6,523m

Where we stayed: Gloria Golf Resort

Flying with: Corendon Airlines

Turkiye Golf Trips: Kaden Group

Over the last 20 years or so, Belek in Turkey has emerged as a firm favourite for European holidaymakers in search of Mediterranean sun and top quality golf. There are a few reasons for this but at the top of those is the natural landscape, which is hard to beat.

To start with, you have the beaches that stretch out from a run of vast, mostly 5-star all-inclusive hotels. Then you have pine forests that lay behind those hotels and provide the ideal setting for the courses themselves (think of some of the pine tree-lined courses on our Top 100 GB&I list for a comparison). Finally, in the distance are the imposing and often snow-capped Taurus Mountains.

Gloria is one of the largest and most established resorts in the area and I recently had the chance to play the New Course (there is also the Old Course and the 9-hole Verde layout). We teed off at first light and seeing the course reveal itself from the shadow of darkness was a real treat. The tall pine trees and well manicured playing surfaces slowly emerged, covered by the early morning dew and I was excited to get started.

The golf course itself is both enjoyable and challenging. Depending on which tees you choose to play from (it can stretch to over 7,000 yards), it’s not overly long. But it is tight. The pine trees perfectly frame each hole and ensnare any wayward tee shots. However, for the most part, you will at least find your ball in the trees and can chip out fairly easily. This makes Gloria fairly playable for a range of abilities. The holes themselves are gently shaped and there are well positioned bunkers to avoid off the tee on most holes.

The first 7 holes are all tree-lined and beautiful - for a rough comparison, picture somewhere like Liphook. However, things change from the 8th hole onwards as water comes more into play - there are 7 lakes in total.

When you arrive on the par-5 9th tee, you see water stretch the entire length of the right hand side of the hole. It requires a good straight hit off the tee and a well positioned second shot to access a relatively narrow green that’s just under 25 yards long. It’s a tough finish to an othererwise friendly and enjoyable first half.

There is more water to negotiate on the back side and again, it provides a very strong finish. The par 5 16th is long, starts in the trees and plays out towards a more open area with water behind and to the left of the green. The 16th is a short par 3 played to an island green. And the 18th is another strong par 5 with water all the way down the left hand side. This combination means that you’ll need to strike the ball well to sign for a good score at the end.

Overall, the new course at Gloria is well worth playing if you are heading to Belek. It is a proper challenge that will test any serious golfer but at the same time, the beautiful natural landscape provides an enjoyable setting, regardless of how well you play.

Many great golf courses sit within the interesting country of Turkey. Here are some of the best.

The Best Golf Courses In Turkey

Turkey is an extraordinarily beautiful and fascinating country that occupies a uniquely interesting spot on the earth's surface.

Effectively straddling two continents - Europe and Asia - it offer s fascinating blend of Eastern and Western cultural traditions.

Indeed another interesting and unique aspect to the place is its golf courses which have gone from strength to strength over the past 20 or so years.

Below we have taken a look at some of the best.

Lykia Links

One which stands out from the others, literally as well as figuratively, is the Perry Dye creation, Lykia Links. Situated at the eastern end of the stretch, just across the River Köprüçay, it runs over quite undulating terrain and in places resembles Kiawah Island which was designed by Perry's father, Pete. 

There are impressive, natural sand dunes, large waste areas, sloping greens and slippered bunkers, very much a Dye characteristic.

Carya

Peter Thompson and his company is responsible for Carya which is built on land reminiscent of the classic heathland courses near London.

His aim was to build a traditional-style course and in the region of a million heather plants were imported to give that feel.

The holes run through eucalyptus and pine, and include the longest hole in Turkey, the 6th, which is a marathon 628 yards from the championship tee.

Cornelia

There are three loops of nine at Cornelia and the 18-hole combinations are known as King, Queen and Prince.

The Nick Faldo design makes the most of a broad dune ridge that runs through the centre of the property. There are plenty of dramatic and elevated tees and greens, and the Faldo principle of strategy - thinking your way round the course - is very much to the fore. Accuracy rather than length from the tee is vital as there are waste areas waiting to gather drives that run too far.

Antalya (Pasha and PGA Sultan)

Two of the best golf courses in Turkey sit at Antalya Golf Club, the Pasha and PGA Sultan.

Each of the two lovely and easy-walking courses has been carved out of mature forests and is a collaboration between European Golf Design and former tour pro, David Jones. The shorter and more forgiving is The Pasha, though it’s no pushover. It is also very pretty with several water hazards and plenty of risk and reward, particularly later on.

The tougher and longer PGA Sultan course has hosted several prestigious championships including the 2012 Turkish Airlines World Golf Final, a forerunner to today’s Rolex Series event. Tiger Woods described the layout as “a real shotmaker’s course”, and this it most certainly is. Many holes are tree-lined and water is in play regularly.

National Golf Club Antalya (Irmak & Tuna)

This was the first course to have been built in the Belek region, and opened in 1994. Like so many layouts that followed it, this David Feherty design was carved through a forest of eucalyptus and pine trees.

Montgomerie Maxx Royal

Another course which is receives plaudits in Turkey is the Montgomerie Maxx Royal which has hosted the Turkish Airlines Open four times, the last event being in 2019 won by Tyrrell Hatton.

As it says on the tin, it was designed by former Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie. With five short holes and five par 5s, there is great variety all the way and the rolling terrain incorporates a number of lakes and runs though mature pine.

Sueno

Regular visitors to Turkey may be familiar with this resort, located in the heart of a beautiful ten-mile stretch of coastline. There are two fine 18-hole designs here – the Pines and the Dunes – which wind away and out towards the distant Taurus Mountains.

The showpiece brings together the 9th green on the Pines and the 18th green on the Dunes. Both holes are testing par 4s, the greens of which are protected by a beautiful lake. The Pines is more challenging, but you’ll want to play both if you’re staying at this luxurious resort.

Gloria

Gloria stands on the Mediterranean coast in Belek, 45 minutes from Antalya, and is one of the best and most comprehensive golf resorts in Turkey.

There are two 18-hole layouts – the Old and New – plus a further excellent nine-holer in the Verde Select course. The Old opened in 1997 – eight years before the New – and offers a beautiful test, with fine views of the Taurus Mountains and several lakes to negotiate, the largest of which comes fully into play on the 7th, 8th, 13th and 14th holes.The New plays over rolling tree-lined fairways, and has hosted both the European Senior Tour and the Challenge Tour.

Its many memorable holes include the signature island-green 17th and the long 18th, where water flanks the left side all the way up to the green.

Notable Mentions: Regnum Boldrum, Kusadasi International, Nobilis, Titanic

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Antalya Golf Club, at the heart of one of the sport’s most bountiful regions, really does have it all. Rob Smith investigates

Golf in Turkey - Antalya Golf Club

Technically in Asia but often thought of as European, Antalya is close enough for a short break but far enough away to feel like a different world.

My only previous visit to Belek in southern Turkey was in 2000 when there was just a handful of courses and golf was very much in its infancy.

Since then, this beautiful region between the shimmering Mediterranean and the Taurus Mountains has evolved into one of golf’s most intensive hotspots.

There are now around 20 fine courses, and two of the very best are at Antalya Golf Club.

The Pasha Each of the two lovely and easy-walking courses has been carved out of mature forests and is a collaboration between European Golf Design and former tour pro, David Jones.

The shorter and more forgiving is The Pasha, though it’s no pushover.

It is also very pretty with several water hazards and plenty of risk and reward, particularly later on.

I was lucky enough to play with Michael Jones, son of the designer, who is now director of golf.

There are several standout holes, among them the 4th, a dogleg right protected by a tall, ancient pine.

This is followed by a lovely little par 3 over a pond, but the real drama kicks in at the drivable par-4 11th, again played over water.

The 13th and 15th are also very exciting, playing to a double green with the same lake in play down the right on 13 and the left on 15.

The 17th is another attractive par 3 with a shallow green where distance control is vital. I really enjoyed The Pasha, where the balance between challenge and visual appeal is just perfect for entertaining, but still testing, holiday golf.

PGA Sultan The tougher and longer PGA Sultan course has hosted several prestigious championships including the 2012 Turkish Airlines World Golf Final, a forerunner to today’s Rolex Series event.

Tiger Woods described the layout as “a real shotmaker’s course”, and this it most certainly is.

Many holes are tree-lined and water is in play regularly.

As you would expect, it is similar to its sibling, but everything seems just a bit more difficult and on a grander scale.

I could easily play the opening three holes over and over: a par 4 where you mustn’t drive right; a delightful short hole to a pine-encircled green; and a very tough long hole with a stream that crosses the fairway before becoming a lake down the left side.

There is drama all the way, with perhaps the most remarkable hole of the 36 being the PGA Sultan’s long 16th, appropriately named Temptation.

You have to stay left of a lake all the way, before then carrying a stream that crosses diagonally short of the green.

Off-course delights The clubhouse and pro shop have the friendliest staff, and there is a very relaxed atmosphere backed up by an ideal golfers’ menu. Enjoying a beer and banter on the spacious terrace is an experience I thoroughly enjoyed and would happily recommend to any golfer.

Perfectly located between the golf club and the beach are two wonderful five-star hotels – the Kempinski Hotel, The Dome, and the Sirene Belek Hotel.

I was lucky enough to stay in the former which is stylish, spacious, sophisticated and ideally suited to couples and small groups.

You can dine al fresco at the Palm Pavilion or in one of several very classy restaurants such as Cilantro, which serves delicious Italian cuisine.

Perhaps better for those seeking a bit more action, the Sirene is livelier, and packed with sports and entertainment facilities including live music, a night club, a spa and tennis courts. Each hotel offers an array of watersports and has its own pier jutting out into the ocean, with sunbeds, a bar and plenty of space to stretch out.

The all-inclusive packages at both offer exceptional value for money.

In an area packed with outstanding and varied golf, Antalya Golf Club and its two adjacent hotels can stand very proud indeed.

Related: Check out what else Turkey has to offer golfers

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