The region’s first golf club welcomes players with an exclusive event on 30 August, ahead of its official opening on 1 September.
The Dalaman Golf Club, one of the year’s most anticipated new course projects, has officially launched, marking a significant development for golf in southwest Türkiye and the wider region. On 30 August the club hosted its Founding Preview Invitational, giving invited guests the first opportunity to play the new par-72 championship layout. The event combined the course’s debut with the hospitality standards of the adjacent Hilton Dalaman Sarıgerme Resort & Golf, ahead of public play beginning on 1 September.
Timed to coincide with Türkiye’s Victory Day, the invitational allowed prospective members and visitors to experience the full offering. This includes a driving range equipped with the latest TrackMan technology, extensive short-game practice areas and a new clubhouse. The tournament adopted a red-and-white colour theme inspired by the Turkish flag. Players competed in an individual Stableford format, with men in specially designed white polo shirts and red caps, and women in red polo shirts and white caps.
Results saw Callum Kenny of Prenton Golf Club in Merseyside take first place in Category A with 39 points. Can Özede led Category B with 32 points, while Maddison Merritt won the ladies’ competition with 31 points, prevailing over Deborah Garnett on countback.
Beyond the inaugural event, the opening represents an early step in building local golf culture and positioning Dalaman as a destination for international golf tourism. Designed by the International Design Group, the course sits approximately 20 minutes from Dalaman International Airport in one of southwest Türkiye’s most ecologically rich settings. The site is bordered by beaches, diverse vegetation and lakes that serve as stopovers for migratory birds. Measuring 6,152 metres (6,728 yards) from the back tees, the layout was constructed on natural sandy soil using sustainable practices and offers uninterrupted views of the Mediterranean.
Supporting facilities include a 20-bay driving range (ten of them 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 opened in 2009. Located on the edge of the Dalaman River where the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas meet, the ultra-all-inclusive resort provides a range of luxury accommodation, sports and lifestyle amenities, a private beach, and multiple bars and restaurants offering local and international cuisine.
The Dalaman Golf Club’s arrival adds a purpose-built championship venue to an area previously without dedicated golf facilities, creating new opportunities for both local players and visiting golfers.
