The Dalaman Golf Club – one of the most closely watched golf course developments of the year – has officially opened, ushering in a new era for golf in Türkiye and the wider region.
As the first golf venue of its kind in the area, the club welcomed its first players on August 30 for an exclusive Founding Preview Invitational, pairing its new golf offering with the hospitality the neighboring Hilton Dalaman Sarıgerme Resort & Golf is known for, ahead of the course’s official opening for play on September 1.
Timed to coincide with Türkiye’s Victory Day, the invitational gave prospective members and guests a first look at the par-72 championship layout, along with the club’s broader facilities: a driving range equipped with Trackman technology, generous short-game practice areas, and a newly built clubhouse.
The day’s theme leaned into the occasion – a red-and-white colour scheme echoing the Turkish flag ran through the event, with men in white polos and red caps and women in red polos and white caps for an individual Stableford competition. Callum Kenny of Prenton GC in Merseyside topped Category A with 39 points; Can Özede won Category B with 32 points; and Maddison Merritt edged out Deborah Garnett on countback to take the women’s title with 31 points.
For The Dalaman Golf Club, the tournament was more than a ceremonial first round — it’s an early marker in the effort to build a golf culture in Dalaman and position the region as an international golf tourism destination.
Designed by the International Design Group, the course sits about 20 minutes from Dalaman International Airport, on a site prized for its ecology: long beaches, varied vegetation, and lakes that host migratory birds. Built on natural sandy soil with sustainability as a guiding principle, the 6,152-metre (6,728-yard) layout from the back tees offers unbroken views of the Mediterranean. Supporting facilities include a 20-bay driving range (ten bays fitted with TrackMan Range technology), a putting green, a short-game area, a clubhouse, a restaurant, and a halfway house.
The course sits alongside the Hilton Dalaman Sarıgerme Resort & Golf, which has occupied its spot at the mouth of the Dalaman River — where the Mediterranean meets the Aegean — since 2009. The ultra-all-inclusive resort offers a range of luxury accommodation, an extensive slate of sports and lifestyle amenities, a private beach, and dining spanning local and international cuisine.
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