THE WORLD’S FIRST FLOATING, solar-powered, zero-footprint 18-hole golf course is in development, and, if on schedule, will open in the island nation of Maldives in 2015. The Republic of Maldives is located in the Indian Ocean, about 400 miles southwest of Sri Lanka. It’s a chain of more than 1,000 islands; roughly 200 are inhabited. It sits about four feet above sea level. The nation’s highest point is just seven and a half feet above sea level.
Golf seems like an outlandish idea for a teeny island nation with a shortage of dry land. But it’s not far-fetched to the Dutch Docklands company. They’re the industry experts in floating technology who are developing a world-class golf facility that will be interconnected by underwater tunnels. It’s a $500 million project that will bring golf and new tourism opportunities to The Maldives.
The state-of-the-art golf course will not be constructed on the nation’s scarce acreage. Rather, the development will be a set of artificial floating islands. In other words, zero impact to the footprint of The Maldives. The project design includes sustainable features such as water cooling, sweet water collection floating on saltwater and use of floating solar blanket fields. The site is located five minutes from the airport and will include luxury accommodations that overlook the golf course and a reef.In addition to Dutch Docklands, Waterstudio.NL and Troon Golf are on the development and management team.
Still four years away, you have plenty of time to build up your frequent flyer miles for that airline ticket to The Maldives.
−The Armchair Golfer
(Conceptual images courtesy of Waterstudio.NL)
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