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Dalaman Golf, the One Course With a Whole Coast Behind It

Dalaman has a single 18-hole course, on sand at the river mouth in Sarıgerme. Fethiye is about an hour away, Kalkan a little over two hours, Kaş about two and a half.

By Lycia Journal4 min read
A golf green with a lone player, bunkers and reeds, with the sun rising over wooded hills

Most arrivals at Dalaman airport turn toward the coast road for Göcek and Fethiye. A van with golf bags in the back heads for the river mouth instead, and about twenty minutes later it stops at a resort gate with the first tee next door.

The Dalaman Golf Club at Sarıgerme is the first golf course the Dalaman coast has had. This page covers the trip around it. A Dalaman golf holiday is a round in the morning and a decision about where to spend the rest of the day.

The next golf strip is beyond Antalya

Until 2026 the Dalaman coast had no golf course. Turkey's established golf is the Belek strip east of Antalya, well over 300 km from Dalaman. The club here has 18 holes, par 72, 6,152 metres from the back tees, with a 20-bay driving range, a short-game area, a clubhouse restaurant and a halfway house. The resort next door runs it, and a free shuttle links the resort to the clubhouse.

The first tournament had a guest list

The club opened with the Founding Preview Invitational, played by invitation two days before general play began. For a professional field the nearest stop is the Turkish Airlines Open at the National Golf Club in Belek. Sweden's Mikael Lindberg won the 2026 edition, his first DP World Tour title, and the club will host it again in 2027 and 2028. Belek is most of a day's drive east, so it is a trip of its own.

Fethiye in an hour, Kaş in two and a half

Times run from the club. Dalaman airport is about 20 minutes away and Göcek about half an hour. Fethiye is about an hour. Kalkan is a little over two hours by road and Kaş about two and a half. For golf near Fethiye, Kalkan or Kaş, this is the course, and the distance grows with each town. A round at Sarıgerme followed by an evening in Kaş is five hours at the wheel in one day. The easier order is golf first, then the move south with the bags already in the car.

Everything within a shuttle ride

The resort that runs the club is a five-star, 550-room complex beside the Dalaman River, with Lake House suites that have private piers and an ultra-all-inclusive board. The clubhouse has locker rooms, showers, bag storage and club cleaning, and you can book buggies, trolleys and hire clubs there. Sarıgerme village is mostly hotels, restaurants and shops, with a long sand beach backed by pines. Its main street closes to traffic in the evening.

Modern villas with water channels running between lawns and palm trees, and a river mouth beyond
An aerial view of two fairways and greens divided by a river channel and a pine wood

Reed beds, rock tombs and a turtle beach

The Dalyan river runs through reed beds from Köyceğiz lake to the sea. Boats from Dalyan take about half an hour to reach İztuzu, the long sand spit where loggerhead turtles nest, and on the way they pass the rock tombs of Kaunos, cut into the cliff above the water. Göcek, with its harbour and the islands in its bay, is about half an hour from the club. Fethiye and Ölüdeniz come at the one-hour mark. Sulphur springs and mud baths around Köyceğiz and Dalyan make a good day after a long round.

Editor's picks

  • Play first, then drive south.Do the rounds at Sarıgerme, then move to Kalkan or Kaş with the luggage in the car.
  • Warm up on the range.Twenty bays with Trackman, and a short-game area for chipping.
  • Take the boat to İztuzu.The river trip from Dalyan takes about half an hour.
  • Add a day in Göcek.Harbour, marinas and the islands, half an hour from the club.
  • Spend a day in Fethiye.About an hour away, with Ölüdeniz and Kayaköy a little further.
  • Save Belek for its own trip.The Turkish Airlines Open is a long drive east.
A wooden jetty with sunbeds on the beach and a rocky island offshore

Insider notes

The resort next door manages the club, so ask there first about tee times and access if you are not a guest. The course is meant to stay open all year apart from planned overseeding periods, so ask the club for the current dates, and ask which competitions are open to visitors. In the evening, park at the edge of Sarıgerme and walk the main street.

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How to get to Dalaman Golf Club

Dalaman is the closest airport, about 20 minutes by road. A pre-booked transfer is the simplest way in, since the dolmuş from Dalaman only runs to Ortaca and Dalyan, and the resort shuttle covers the short hop to the clubhouse. Flights from Europe and Istanbul are covered in Getting there.

Above the Dalyan river, the rock tombs face the reeds.

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