hotel antalya turkey

1. COURSES COURSES TOP100SPOTLIGHT LykiaLinks,Belek TOP100 RANK48 CONTINENTAL EUROPE BRINGINGYOUTHEBESTPLACESTOPLAYEACHMONTH IsBelek’stop-rankedcourseactuallyalinks?Andjusthowgoodisitanyway?ChrisBertramprovidestheanswers. The2015USOpenwasnotshort extensiveearthmovingtocreatethe courseinvalidatesitsclaim.Thatwould (ifnothingelsedid)excludeChambers Bayandalsothreatenssomewheresuchas Kingsbarns(expertlybuiltonfarmland). Theplayingsurfaceisanotherfactor;it isturfthatisfirmanddominatedby nativefinefescues–oneofthefewthings thatwillgrowonthesandyland,hence itsavailabilityforgolfinthefirstplace. “Tomethetermlinksrefersvery specificallytocoursesfoundonnaturally occurringsanddunes,”architectGeorge Waters,authorof‘SandandGolf:How TerrainShapestheGame’,tellsGolfWorld. “Themoredynamicadunefieldis, meaningsandisinmotionthroughout thelandscape,theclosertoatruelinksit willbe.Manufacturedlinkscanplayvery muchlikeatruelinksbutdonotreach thefullstandard.Thiswouldinclude ChambersBay,wherethesandmoved intothesiteinmassivequantitieswill neverperformlikenaturallywind-blown sand.Atotallycreatedenvironmentwill neverbethesameasanaturalone.” Therealityisthatfewcoursesbuiltin thelast100years fitallthesecriteria. Thesetalesoftopographyand ofnarratives,butthestrongestwere centredonthecoursethatplayed host.Inadditiontodebatesoverits fairness,conditioningandall-round suitabilitytohostamajorwasthe questionofwhetheritwasalinks.What definitivelyconstitutesalinksisamuch- debatedtheme,dueinsomeparttogolf courseowners’(andtheirmarketing departments)widespreadeagernessto havetheircourseregardedasone.While it’sanunderstandabledesire–connecting yourownvenuewiththetypeofcourse onwhichthegamebeganandwhichis regardedasitspurestform–itisinmany casesapreposteroussuggestion. Thedescription‘links-like’isoftena goodindicationitisnotintheleastbit likealinks,saveforsomelong,wispy roughthatwavesinthewind.Theclaims ofthatkindofcourseareeasytodismiss. Buttherearesomemuchmoredifficult callstoo.Somegoodjudgesinsistalinks mustsitonlow-lyingsandysoilbetween theseaandthestartoffarmlandandthat LEFT:Aviewfrombehindthegreenofthepar-412thhole,oneofLykia’smostaesthetictests. BELOW:Asmilingbunkeralongthepar-513th. agronomywereattheforefrontofGolf 106 GolfWorldTheOpenIssue2015 September2015GolfWorld 107

2. COURSES World’smindaswearrivedatLykia Links(notethename)insouthern Turkey.Andattheriskofrenderingthe remainderofthissix-pagearticle redundant,Lykiacanbesummedupwith twostatements.First,itisanessential experienceforeverywell-travelledgolfer. Andsecond,itisnotalinksaswe understanditinBritain. Lykiaisn’tjustthemostdistinctive courseinBelek,itisoneofthemost distinctiveinallofContinentalEurope. Laidoutonalongstretchofcoastline nearAntalya,theimagesaccompanying thisarticleillustratehowcloselyLykia’s terrainresemblesthatofthelinksweare familiarwithinBritainandIreland. Indeeditisprobablyaestheticallymore appealingthanmanyfamiliarnamesin ourislands,owingtoendless,dazzling Mediterraneanviewsaswellastoday’s machinerypresentingdesignerswiththe abilitytoshapeacourseastheywantit. Sodunelandcanbemademoredramatic, andviewsmagicallyunobstructed. AtLykia,theterrainofoverhalfthe course–notablythefourholesfromthe ‘Thewindblewthecourseaway.Whentheowneraskedwhereithadgone,I toldhim,backtotheocean’ 2ndandthentheall-starsectionfromthe 12th–sitsonnaturalterrain.Itwas simply‘cleaned’ofscrub,thenteesand greenscreated.Itisusuallyeasytodetect manufacturedhumpsandbumpsand ontheseholesitfeelsauthentic;the topographyofthe12thislikeanexcerpt ofPrestwick,PerranporthorPorthcawl. Andthereisnodenyingthesandy natureofLykia’ssite;sandhillsarerarely outofviewandwhenyoustrayfromthe fairwaysyouaregreetedbypilesofthe stuff,populatedbyhardyindigenous vegetationthatthrivesinthiskindof sand-and-saltenvironment.Itreallydoes havestrongechoesofourseasidecourses. However,thedifferenceisinthekind ofgameyouplayhere.Whilethewindis asmuchafactorasitisonourshores– thatthereisminimalshelterfrombreezes isagoodindicationofhowunrestricted andbreathtakingtheviewsare–your tacticstocounteractitaredifferent. SowhereasatPortmarnockorLeven orSauntonyouwilladoptthe‘ground game’,atLykiaitisnotarealistictactic. Yes,youwillbeattemptingtohit three-quarter,knock-downshotstokeep theballlowerandtrytoreducethespin, “THISWASOURSHOT ATBUILDINGALINKS” Exclusive:ArchitectPerryDyeonwhythesiteforLykiamadehimsodesperatetolandthejob. YouarebasedinAmerica, sohowdidyoubecomeinvolvedinLykiaLinks? I am, buttheDyefamilyhasalmost300golfcoursesbuilt aroundtheworld. Thepropertywas perfectfor golf. So althoughthebudget wastight andtheconditionswereverytough–itwas anall-sandbeach-frontandthewindstormsmeantwewereredoing allourworkconstantly–theviewtothesnow-coveredmountainsandthegreatTurkishfoodkeptmycrewinspired. foranyoftheholes atLykia?TheDyefamilyhas alwaysbeeninspiredbyScottishlinks…myfatherPetebroughttheconcepttotheUSAintheearly1960s. I also travelled andstudiedlinksgolf andevendidagolf courseinLasVegascalledRoyalLinks, whichisacover ofallScotland’sOpencourses. WhichholesareyouespeciallypleasedwithatLykia? Ihave alwayslikedshort holes, andseasideshort holesonlyhappenwhenthey aredownwind. IthinkLykia alwaysplaysabit longerthanIexpected andit alsoplaysabitshorterthan Iexpected…itisthewind, itchangesthecourseeveryday. Itisneverthesamecourse…justtry playingfivedaysinarow…it goesfrombeasttobeauty. Whatwereyourfirst impressionsofthesite’sterrain? WhenIfirstsawthesight Iknewitcouldbeagreat course andIlettheownersknowourdesignwouldbeworldclass andmycrewwouldmovetoTurkey and doagreatjob. Iwantedto lettheworldknowtheDyes couldhandlesuchapreciousseasidesitewithultimateattentionandcare. Thesitewasseasidewithfewdunes…itwas allsandexceptwherelocalfamershadbroughtinclaysoilto growvegetables. Iknewwehadimmensepossibilitiesif Icouldconvincetheowners nottobuildthehotelinfront ofthesea… andIdid. Isthereanythingyouwoulddodifferentlyinhindsight?Yes–Iwouldbuildfivemorecoursesinthe area–plusaddafewmoreteestomakethecoursechangejustalittleeachday. Thepeoplewhoplaythewindbeastonlyonetimeleavewiththinkingitistoohard, andsometimesthe‘one-time’playerleavesandsaysitwastooeasy. So moreteeswouldhelpsolvethechangingdegreeof difficultyproblem. ABOVE:Alonetreeguardsthefairwayofthepar-410thhole, oneofLykia’sstandouts.LEFT:Thealmostwave-likeundulationsoftheapproachtothe12thgreen,withthe16thstretchingout beyond.BELOWANDBOTTOM:Twoviewsofthetestingapproachtothepar-34thhole,playedontoaninfinitygreen. DidyoutakeinspirationfromanyBritishorIrishlinks butyouwon’tbebumpingandrunning 108 GolfWorldSeptember2015 September2015GolfWorld 109