- Recep Turan won the Strokeplay category at the Balkan Senior Tour Grand Final.
- Phillip Evans finished second on 228 to clinch the overall 2026 Strokeplay season title.
- The Dalaman Golf Club, the first golf venue in the Dalaman region, opened for play on September 1.
The Dalaman Golf Club has hosted its first international tournament less than two months after opening. The Balkan Senior Tour’s ‘Race to Dalaman’ Grand Final brought three days of over-50s competition to the new par-72 on Türkiye’s south-west coast.
Players from Türkiye, Bulgaria, Greece, England, Germany, Romania, Northern Cyprus, Wales and the United States contested four categories from October 20 to 22. The final closed a season run with the Turkish, Romanian and Bulgarian federations, with the Dalaman club as main sponsor. That season began in Istanbul in April, where the opener at TGF Silivri drew 39 players from 12 countries, and then moved on to Bucharest and Sofia.
Who Won at Dalaman?
Turan was the most consistent player across the week. He posted rounds of 74, 74 and 73 to finish on 221. Evans was second on 228, five shots clear of Jason Hare in third.
The Stableford events produced the following podiums:
- Gross Stableford: Eileen Brader 84 points, Steven William Bowen 81, Robbie Messervy 80
- Net Stableford A: Dave Hanavan 99, Gelu Matei 98, Cumhur Ersin 97
- Net Stableford B: Michelle Goodenough 105, Serdar Candar 95, Alparslan Kaleli 93
Candar and Ersin both play out of Klassis Golf Kulübü, which congratulated its members on their finishes the day after the event.
The 2026 Season Champions
The season titles were decided on cumulative points from all four events.
Evans’ second place was enough to secure the Strokeplay crown. Brader took the Gross Stableford title, winning both the final and the season.
In Net Stableford A, Matei’s runner-up finish behind Hanavan was enough for him to take the season title. Kaleli did the same in Net Stableford B. His third place in Dalaman sealed the championship with 2,760 points across the four events, according to his home club, Ataşehir Golf.
What Is the Course Like?
The course was designed by International Design Group and built on natural sandy soil. It sits 20 minutes from Dalaman International Airport, among pine forests and wetlands, and has views over the Mediterranean.
The championship tees play to 6,152 metres (6,728 yards). The forward tees come in at 5,528 metres (yellow), 5,020 metres (blue) and 4,547 metres (red), with each nine a par 36.
The layout uses significant elevation changes, 55 bunkers and 15 natural water hazards. The standout so far is the par-five 15th, which drops 25 metres from tee to fairway between a nature reserve on one side and a lake on the other.
As we reported when the club opened for play on September 1, the club also has:
- a 20-bay driving range, with TrackMan in ten bays
- a putting green and short-game area
- a golf academy
- a clubhouse restaurant and halfway house
A founding preview invitational was played on August 30, almost eight weeks before the senior tour arrived.
Why Golf, Why Dalaman?
The club sits next to Hilton Dalaman Sarıgerme Resort & Golf. The resort opened in 2009 on the banks of the Dalaman River, close to where the Mediterranean and Aegean meet. It runs on an ultra-all-inclusive basis and offers:
- 550 accommodation units
- a 650-metre private beach
- ten pools
- the Elysion Spa
Ümit Yaşar Atalay, now general manager of The Dalaman Golf Club, set out the thinking before the opening in July.
“Golf will help extend the tourism season, attract a new high-value visitor segment and create year-round economic benefits for the destination,” said Atalay. “We believe the timing is ideal to establish Dalaman as Türkiye’s next major golf destination.”
After the final, Atalay said the response from players since launch had been strong. He described the Grand Final as an important step towards establishing Dalaman for international golf tourism. Club director Mitat Batır said hosting the event so soon after opening had been an early chance to show the course to visiting golfers.
What Does a Trip Cost?
The club launched introductory stay-and-play deals at the resort earlier this month. Prices are per person, based on two sharing:
- four nights with three rounds from €814
- five nights with three rounds from €937
- seven nights with unlimited golf from €1,414
All three packages include ultra-all-inclusive accommodation and a shared buggy for each round. They can be booked for stays to the end of November and again from March 5 to September 17, 2027.
Those paying as they go should note that the club’s green fees fall through the winter. From November 1 to December 5, 18 holes cost €130, or €110 for Hilton guests. From December 6 to March 4, that drops to €110 and €90 respectively.
A golf car costs an extra €60, or €50 for resort guests, and a free shuttle runs between the hotel and the club. The maximum handicap is 36 for men and women.
For more information and to book, click HERE.
Related: Tróia Golf Restoration Nears Completion Ahead of Spring 2027 Reopening
Simon Bale
Simon Bale is the publisher of Golf Today. A low single-figure handicap golfer, he was previously a major shareholder and course reviewer for Top100GolfCourses.com for over a decade, starting in 2010. Through this role, he developed extensive knowledge of golf course design and architecture while playing more than 300 courses worldwide.