National Golf & Country Club

National Golf Club is the most premium golf club in Romania. It has been founded by Metin Doğan, who is a Turkish businessman living in Romania for more than 30 years. The golf club is part of a compound which will be more than 250 villas once it is completed. The course is situated between the residential areas. One of the greatest aspects of the club is the people. Mr. Doğan himself is a single handicapper and very passionate about golf. When I was there, they were preparing to host a tournament and I witnessed Mr. Doğan attending to every detail. Club Director is a highly talented and experienced Ozkan Baykal, also from Turkey. The members and players have become a community closely and sincerely bonded. The most interesting member is Mr. Viktor Onta, former Prime Minister of Romania. He is a very down-to-earth and authentic person. The course is mostly flat. Fairways are sometimes forgiving in width, sometimes tight but currently they keep the rough short, thus playable. There aren’t too many single hcp golfers in Romania so they want to keep the course playable for a while before making it more challenging. There is a big lake in the middle and some other lakes around some greens. The signature hole is No.16. It is a 160 meters Par-3 and the green is surrounded by water. The course is in excellent condition. I have not seen any fairways or greens with flaws. The clubhouse has a great restaurant, nice seating areas at the terrace and inside. The Pro Shop has ample space and variety.