The quick read
What to know
- Several Belek clubs overseed their summer grass for winter, which can close a course or restrict buggies while the seed establishes. The 2026 overseeding periods published by Gloria and Cullinan Links run between 1 September and 9 October.
- Hollow-tining and sand topdressing help manage organic matter in greens, but can leave holes and sand on the surface until the green recovers.
- Alexa Golf course pages show upcoming full-course closures, and the green-fee search names courses closed on a chosen date; tee times are confirmed per booking.
Autumn suits golfers who would rather avoid the summer heat in Belek. Early autumn is also when several of the area's clubs overseed their courses, a job that can close a course for a period or change how it is played once it reopens. Knowing why it happens helps you choose dates, courses and packages without surprises.
This explainer draws on published turf-management guidance and the clubs' own course information. It describes general practice and dated examples from published club schedules; each club sets, and can revise, its own dates.
Why Belek courses overseed before winter
Several Belek clubs describe summer grasses that are overseeded for winter. Gloria lists bermudagrass on the Old Course's greens and fairways. National Golf Club describes hybrid bermudagrass that is overseeded in winter, with its greens overseeded with Poa trivialis. Cullinan Links lists paspalum for summer, with Poa and perennial ryegrass for winter.
University of Arizona extension guidance, written for the state's low desert, explains the reasoning. Bermudagrass and other warm-season grasses go dormant and typically lose their green colour in winter. Overseeding means sowing a cool-season grass into the existing turf before that happens, so the playing surfaces stay green and usable through the cooler months. Perennial ryegrass is the most common choice; roughstalk bluegrass (Poa trivialis) and creeping bentgrass are finer-textured grasses used on greens.
Timing is a balance. Sow too early, while it is still hot, and conditions favour the bermudagrass, so the new grass struggles to establish. Sow too late and young seedlings risk frost damage. The practice is well established locally: a 2011 USGA Green Section Record article on overseeding noted that golf courses in Antalya overseed every year to keep green turf through the winter playing season. When checked on 1 October 2026, Gloria had published an Old Course overseeding closure from 10 to 21 September 2026 and Cullinan Links an overseeding period from 1 September to 9 October 2026, so the work can overlap an early-autumn trip; check the live club pages for your dates.
What overseeding means for your round
Overseeding is more than a single day's work. The extension guidance describes lowering the mowing height and working the seed into the turf so that it makes good contact with the soil. The seed then needs frequent watering: for Arizona conditions, the guidance suggests irrigating three to four times a day for the first seven to ten days, until seedlings emerge, and the USGA article described frequent daytime irrigation at Antalya courses. The same article acknowledged that some disruption is unavoidable while a winter cover establishes.
Reopening does not always mean normal play. When checked on 1 October 2026, Gloria's Old Course page listed a seven-day buggy restriction after reopening from winter overseeding; that September reopening window had already passed. Cullinan Links' 2026 notice said that one of its courses, Aspendos or Olympos, would stay open during maintenance and overseeding, without guaranteeing which, and that buggies were allowed only on designated paths during those periods to keep play safe and protect the greens.
Swipe to read the full table
| What you may find | Why it happens | What to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| The course is closed | New seed is establishing and needs frequent watering | The club's current dates for your playing day |
| Only one of a club's courses is open | A multi-course club can stagger its maintenance | Which course is expected to be open; the club may not guarantee it |
| No buggies, or paths only | Clubs restrict traffic to protect the playing surfaces | Buggy rules for the date, particularly if a player needs one for mobility |
| Holes, greens or tees out of play | Maintenance can affect part of a course rather than all of it | Whether any temporary greens, tees or reduced loops are in use |
Hollow-tining and other work on the greens
Overseeding is not the only reason greens can look unusual. Hollow-tining, also called core aeration, uses hollow tines to pull small cores out of a green. In an article published by the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA), Paul Jacobs of the USGA explains that too much organic matter makes greens soft and more prone to disease and damage, and that hollow-tine aeration physically removes some of it. Sand topdressing then dilutes organic matter and smooths the surface.
Timing depends on the grass. The Arizona guidance places aeration of bermudagrass in summer (late June to August in Arizona), when it is growing actively, while the BIGGA article notes that conventional aeration of cool-season grasses typically takes place in spring and autumn. Gloria and Cullinan Links both published summer maintenance periods for 2026 as well as their overseeding periods. Neither page says what work is involved, but a summer trip deserves the same check.
For golfers, the visible result is holes and sand in the putting surface until the green recovers. The BIGGA article acknowledges that golfers can object to sand left on the surface because it affects ball roll, and describes smaller tines as less disruptive. If putting quality matters to your trip, ask whether any greens work is planned for your dates.
How our website shows maintenance closures
At the time of writing, Alexa Golf course pages show current and upcoming maintenance closures recorded in our booking system. A course-maintenance note appears in the booking panel and above the green-fee dates, naming the next closure periods and inviting you to ask about alternatives.
The green-fee search on our golf courses page applies the same information to a specific day. Enter an exact playing date, and any course closed that day drops out of the results, with a note naming it above the list. If a single course you chose is closed on your date, the page says so and links to a request for alternatives that keeps your date. Browsing by season without a date does not apply closures, so use the exact date when you have one.
There are limits. The notices cover closures of the whole course only. Nine-hole closures are not shown, and the notices do not cover buggy rules or temporary greens. They depend on the closures recorded in our system, and clubs can revise schedules after publication. Treat the website as a starting point: our team confirms tee times, maintenance and inclusions for each booking.
Planning an autumn trip around maintenance
Maintenance need not rule out an autumn trip, but flexibility helps. When you enquire, include your travel dates, group size, preferred courses and any buggy needs. We check the current maintenance schedules for those dates as part of the quote and can suggest alternatives where a course is closed, subject to availability.
A few habits also help:
- Check your exact dates on each course page and in the date search before settling on an itinerary, then check again closer to travel.
- Name the courses that are essential and those you would happily swap. Flexibility over the order of rounds makes alternatives easier to find.
- For a package, check which courses it names and ask whether rounds can move to another course if one is closed, and whether that changes the transfers.
- If anyone in the group needs a buggy, say so at the start, as buggies may be banned or kept to paths around overseeding.
A few more answers
Common questions
Why do some Belek golf courses close in early autumn?
Several Belek clubs overseed their summer grass with cool-season grasses so the course stays green and playable through winter. The new seed needs frequent watering while it establishes, so a course may close or restrict buggies for a period. Each club sets its own dates; the 2026 overseeding periods published by Gloria and Cullinan Links run between 1 September and 9 October.
Does the Alexa Golf website show every maintenance restriction?
No. At the time of writing, course pages and the date search show only closures of the whole course recorded in our booking system. Nine-hole closures are not shown, and buggy rules and temporary greens are not covered, so our team confirms them for each booking.
Can I use a buggy just after a course reopens from overseeding?
Not always. When checked on 1 October 2026, Gloria's Old Course page listed a seven-day buggy restriction after reopening from winter overseeding. That September reopening window had already passed. Confirm the buggy rules for your playing date.
Sources & further reading
- University of Arizona Cooperative Extension: Overseeding Winter Grasses into Bermudagrass Turf (az1683)extension.arizona.edu (opens in a new tab)
- USGA Green Section Record, 4 November 2011: winter overseeding establishment and Antalya coursesarchive.constantcontact.com (opens in a new tab)
- BIGGA: New trends in aeration and organic matter management (Paul Jacobs, USGA)bigga.org.uk (opens in a new tab)
- National Golf Club: course information and grassesnationalturkey.com (opens in a new tab)
- Gloria Golf Club: Old Course grasses and maintenance schedulegloria.com.tr (opens in a new tab)
- Cullinan Links Golf Club: general information, turf and maintenancecullinanlinksgolfclub.com (opens in a new tab)
