The Maldives will be the chosen location for a brand new golf course: The World’s First Floating Golf Course is on the verge of development, costing around $500 million. It is laid over three linked islands, comprising a conservation center, 200 villas and 45 private islands.
An underwater tunnel ties the islands with a clubhouse, through which golfers can head from a shot to another, or get to relax a bit at the bar. Another network of underwater tunnels connects the series of floating platforms, each containing two or three holes. All these are also connected to hotels around the complex, for easier access.
The Troon Golf company will take care of the golf course and game devices, while the engineering is done by Dutch Docklands. The whole project is designed by Waterstudio.NL. On the same hand with ecologists, the designers promise that the project will not leave any trace on the environment, and will not affect any local ecosystems. The electricity will be insured by solar energy, it has sustainable desalinization and water cooling techniques, also being helped by the Maldivian tide.
This whole project gives a hand to the Maldivian tourism, being a long term ecological investment. The works on the site are bound to start by the end of the year, with the course usable in 2013 and a project finalization date set to 2015.
