Titanic (River & Mediterranean)

Belek is situated on a long, sandy coastline that leads to a forest of eucalyptus and pine trees at the foot of the Taurus Mountain range and it on this fertile ground that a large number of golf courses have sprung up in a very short time. Titanic Golf Club (formerly TAT International) was one of the first complexes to be developed when Martin Hawtree designed a 27-hole layout on 325 acres in 1997.

The three loops of nine holes – named River, Mediterranean and Forest – are each configured with two par threes, five par fours and two par fives so whichever 18-hole layout you choose, it will have a par of 72 to play to. Situated on a tract of land between the Besgoz River and the Mediterranean Sea, it is no real surprise to learn that water comes into play at nearly half the holes on the property, though mostly in the shape of man made ponds and lakes.

Picking the best hole at each of the three nines is no easy task as there are a number of contenders on each loop.

The 193-yard, par three, 4th hole on the River loop is played facing inland, towards the mountains, from an elevated tee in the dunes to a green beyond a lake where the only bail out is right of the hole.

The 450-yard, par four, 12th hole on the Mediterranean nine plays along the coast beside the Med with out of bounds on the right (no beach recovery shots here!) and a large pine tree on the left at the landing area to hamper the over cautious tee shot.

The 517-yard, par five, 22nd hole on the Forest begins with a blind tee shot and ends with a green that is surrounded on three sides by water so the best policy is to lay-up with the second shot then hopefully pitch and putt for birdie.

Gary Johnson from European Golf Design is adding another nine holes at Titanic, with work commencing in the summer of 2020. The opening two holes on the Forest nine are to make way for a new beachfront hotel so they obviously need to be replaced. In addition, by re-routing holes and making use of available land along the coast, the golf facility can be expanded to 36 holes.

When the project is completed, Titanic will comprise two 18-hole layouts, the Black and the Red, but because all four loops will return to the clubhouse, it will be possible to interchange them if necessary for operational reasons. The current irrigation system is also to be replaced and the existing Bermuda grass regime changed to paspalum.