{"id":206,"date":"2011-11-20T17:54:37","date_gmt":"2011-11-20T17:54:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/daviddesmith.com\/?p=206"},"modified":"2013-05-10T00:49:04","modified_gmt":"2013-05-10T00:49:04","slug":"turkey-for-thanksgiving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/daviddesmith\/golf\/206\/turkey-for-thanksgiving","title":{"rendered":"Turkey for Thanksgiving?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Golf Adventure Awaits on the Turkish Riviera.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a golfer looking for something a little more exotic than another trip over the river and through the woods to grandmother\u2019s house this Thanksgiving, the \u201cTurkish Riviera\u201d is making a strong case for itself.\u00a0 Named Europe\u2019s \u201cDestination of the Year\u201d by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators in 2008, the region boasts four courses in Europe\u2019s Top 100, as ranked by the U.K.\u2019s Golf World<\/em> magazine.\u00a0 This is pretty swift progress for an area that opened its first golf course in 1994.\u00a0 Here\u2019s the lowdown on a place that\u2019s become popular with European golf travelers looking for something affordable and different.<\/p>\n

The Area<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Hadrian's Gate, built in 130 AD to welcome the Roman Emperor to the city<\/p><\/div>\n

Belek, located approximately 30 minutes southwest of Antalya on the Mediterranean coast, is the Myrtle Beach wannabe of Turkey.\u00a0 It features 17 different courses, plus numerous hotels offering varying degrees of luxury all along the shore.\u00a0 Fly into Antalya airport (a four-hour flight from London) and within 45 minutes you can be on the tee.\u00a0 Belek offers very little other than golf and beaches, but the Old Town in Antalya is worth a visit, as are the Roman ruins you’ll find throughout the region, particularly in Aspendos, Perge and Side, which are all less than an hour away.\u00a0 The construction boom that rolled through the area in the middle of the last decade has abated, leaving many half-finished projects all along the road from Antalya to Belek.\u00a0 Scenic this drive is not \u2013 but you\u2019ll certainly know you\u2019re not in Kansas anymore.<\/p>\n

The Courses<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Perry Dye-designed LykiaLinks<\/p><\/div>\n

The best of the bunch is actually a links-style course, LykiaLinks, which was designed by Perry Dye.\u00a0 It looks and plays like a traditional links, with pot bunkers and fast greens.\u00a0 Others worth playing include The PGA Sultan Course at Antalya Golf Club (designed by David Jones), the Cornelia Golf Club\u2019s Prince course (Nick Faldo), and the Montgomerie Maxx Royal Golf Club (Colin Montgomerie).\u00a0 The course at Carya Golf Club (Peter Thomson) is another favorite.\u00a0 The 36 holes at the Sueno Resort and 45 holes at the Gloria Golf Resort should be considered second-tier courses but are worth playing in you have the time.\u00a0 In 2012, a new course is scheduled to open; Belek Golf Club, a Jose Maria Olazabal design, is being built in conjunction with the European PGA Tour and is expected to add an additional championship dimension to the local golf scene.\u00a0 Generally the courses here feature fairways lined with pine trees \u2013 so accuracy off the tee is a must.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The golf course at the Sueno Resort<\/p><\/div>\n

Course conditions on the whole are usually very good — and green fees are fair.\u00a0 Expect to pay between 65 and 150 Euros per round if you’re not on a golf package, less if you are.<\/p>\n

The Hotels<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Belek area was envisioned to be a golf and leisure getaway spot for all of Europe, so gargantuan four- and five-star hotels predominate, mostly of the all-inclusive variety.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The Maxx Royal Hotel<\/p><\/div>\n

The Maxx Royal Hotel is one of the more glitzy and glamorous places you\u2019ll find in this part of the world, but it\u2019s hard to imagine feeling comfortable staying there unless you\u2019re a Russian mobster with a girlfriend who likes very high-end shopping.\u00a0 Slightly less over the top is the Cornelia Diamond, where the breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets feature literally hundreds of choices.\u00a0 The Gloria Serenity resort is another good choice, as is the Sueno Resort for those traveling on a tight budget\u00a0 Most hotels offer spa facilities and extensive outdoor activities along the beaches.<\/p>\n

Things to Know<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The Cornelia Diamond Hotel<\/p><\/div>\n

Turkey is not on the Euro, but Euros (as well as US dollars) are generally accepted in most places.\u00a0 This can get confusing as you try to convert one currency to another, particularly if you happen across a situation where Turkish lira are required.\u00a0 At the moment, one lira is worth about half a Euro, which itself is worth a bit more than a dollar.<\/p>\n

As an English speaker, you\u2019ll be able to make yourself understood with most hotel staff \u2013 eventually.\u00a0 But English is only one of many languages you\u2019re likely to hear.\u00a0 Travelers from Germany, Russia, France, the Scandinavian countries and the Middle East all come to the area for golf and relaxation by the sea.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The Roman amphitheater at Aspendos<\/p><\/div>\n

If you decide to go, definitely book through a travel agent so that you\u2019ll have someone to call upon if there are any issues.\u00a0 Complicated explanations can be lost on the well-meaning hotel staff.<\/p>\n

Turkish Airlines offers service to Antalya from Istanbul.\u00a0 Flights are inexpensive if booked far enough in advance, and the airport facilities and aircraft themselves are of good standard.<\/p>\n

Best times of year to visit are what we\u2019d commonly look upon as shoulder seasons \u2013 March-April-May and September-October-November.\u00a0 During these months, it\u2019s generally plenty warm enough to play in shirtsleeves and swim in the Med.\u00a0 Summer months are very hot.<\/p>\n

If you go, try to allocate some time to visit Istanbul.\u00a0 This city at the crossroads of the ancient world is home to 14 million people and its history and tourist attractions could easily keep you fascinated for a week or more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Golf Adventure Awaits on the Turkish Riviera. If you\u2019re a golfer looking for something a little more exotic than another… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":82,"featured_media":207,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,20890,17],"tags":[169354,171226,5249,966,6659,167885,152671,171333,569,169561,171662,5253,169869,152684,168230,571,172019,5254,170238,168539,170593,168893,170742,568,169153,6250,570,3114,170893,167499],"class_list":["post-206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-golf","category-golftravel","category-courses-and-travel","tag-lykialinks","tag-belek-golf-club","tag-turkish-golf","tag-perry-dye","tag-jose-maria-olazabal","tag-golf-in-belek","tag-antalya-golf-club","tag-turkish-airlines","tag-antalya","tag-pga-sultan-course","tag-gloria-serenity-resort","tag-aspendos","tag-david-jones","tag-istanbul","tag-side","tag-nick-faldo","tag-antalya-old-town","tag-perge","tag-cornelia-golf-club","tag-maxx-royal-hotel","tag-montgomerie-maxx-royal-golf-club","tag-cornleia-diamond-hotel","tag-carya-golf-club","tag-turkey","tag-sueno-resort","tag-peter-thomson","tag-belek","tag-iagto","tag-gloria-golf-club","tag-turkish-riviera"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/daviddesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/54\/2011\/11\/images-3.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/daviddesmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/daviddesmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/daviddesmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/daviddesmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/82"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/daviddesmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/daviddesmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":227,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/daviddesmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206\/revisions\/227"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/daviddesmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/daviddesmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/daviddesmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/daviddesmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}