If Jules Verne were a golfer, he would have imagined this course. Floating architecture specialists Dutch Docklands Company, in collaboration with golf course developer Troon golf and Waterstudio are in process of developing the world’s first floating golf course. Located in the Maldives Islands, The Royal Indian Ocean Club, will be an 27-hole golf course built on 3 separate floating island platforms, connected by underwater tunnels.
The floating islands will also be linked to an underwater clubhouse, as well as a series of hotels by more underwater tunnels. It has a number of innovative designs to deal with pesticides and construction in order to minimize its impact on the surrounding ecosystem of Maldives, whose highest point is only two meters above sea level.
We told the president of the Maldives we can transform you from climate refugees to climate innovators
– Paul van de Camp, CEO of Dutch Docklands
The state-of-the-art golf courses are expected to bring new wealth, investment and tourism to the country (tourism already being the top contributor to the country’s GDP). The artificial floating islands will incorporate technologies such as water cooling, water desalination, and the use of floating solar blanket fields. The budget of the project is $500 million and is expected to be completed in 2015.
