Destination Golf Turkey 2015 2015 | Page 61

Antalya Montgomerie Maxx Royal The name of Colin Montgomerie is a key attraction at this big and glamorous five star golf resort. The course is the host venue for the Turkish Airlines Open, which was won in 2013 by Victor Dubuisson (–24), and by Brooks Koepka in 2014 (-17). Considering its length (6,522 metres), its heavily sloping greens and its long stretches of remarkable waste bunkering, such scores are impressive. The course has garnered much attention since opening in 2008. Its unique features are the greens and the bunkering, as well as its routing through a mature pine forest. Over a heavily undulating landscape – particularly on the back nine – the trees regularly stand alone to create distinctive fairways. And yet there is lots of room to play. Fairways are rarely tight but with a handful of tough doglegs and water appearing on half the holes, golfers are still challenged whichever tee box they choose. The course boasts five par threes (the 16th is outstanding, from high tee to high green, across a vast waste bunker) and five par fives. The 18th is a magnificent and challenging par five finish, descending to a twisting fairway flanked by sand and water, before rising to a shallow but wide green. The tower in the elegant clubhouse rises four storeys and offers striking vistas over the hole and beyond. www.montgomeriemaxxroyal.com Destination Golf Turkey | Page 59