World’s First Floating Golf Course Set to Break Water in the Maldives

If you build it - they will come. At least that's what developers must be thinking as they launch plans for the world's first floating golf course in the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/maldives-to-fight-rising-sea-levels-with-floating-islands/">Maldives</a>. Threatened with rising sea levels from climate change, the island nation may be doomed to a watery grave unless it transitions to floating developments. Developed by <a href="http://www.dutchdocklands.com/" target="_blank">Dutch Docklands</a> and designed through a collaboration between golf course developer <a href="http://www.troongolf.com/" target="_blank">Troon Golf</a> and <a href="http://inhabitat.com/inhabitat-interview-waterstudios-koen-olthuis-on-float/">Waterstudio.NL</a>, the zero-footprint solar-powered <a href="http://inhabitat.com/putting-lot-design-an-urban-golf-course-in-brooklyn/comment-page-1/">golf course</a> will be one of the first floating developments and is expected to bring in a wave of new tourists.

Located five minutes from the Maldives airport, the 18-hole golf course will include luxurious accommodations, which overlook the green fairways and the surrounding <a href="http://inhabitat.com/%e2%80%9csilent-evolution%e2%80%9d-builds-a-beautiful-coral-reef-from-statues/">reef</a>. The golf course is doubly groundbreaking as it will be built on floating platforms, making it the first floating golf course, and it is also designed to minimize its impact on the surrounding ecosystem.

The artificial floating islands will incorporate technologies such as water cooling, water desalination, and the use of <a href="http://inhabitat.com/israeli-company-unveils-floating-solar-panels/">floating solar blanket fields</a>. Underwater tunnels will connect the holes and facilities together, while allowing golfers to experience the reef.