AquaNine
AquaNine, the world’s first floating golf course, has been unveiled by BACA Aquatecture and PASTE Golf Design merging British creativity with cutting-edge Dutch engineering.
This revolutionary concept reimagines the sport, offering a fully modular, ultra-luxury golfing experience set against a dramatic oceanic backdrop.
Picture yourself standing on the green, with the distant hum of passing yachts echoing across the water, sending gentle waves lapping against the platform’s edge. A cool ocean breeze passes through carrying the smell of salt; as players take their shots, yachts skim the horizon.
Players arrive either at a private marina or cross the bridge before ascending via a glass lift into a striking clubhouse and driving range facility that uses floating biodegradable balls, overlooking an archipelago of floating holes. The course is designed to have endless configurations as due to the fully modular design, each hole can be repositioned, creating unique challenges for both amateurs and professionals. The final hole is a true showstopper: a hybrid structure combining a marine base, a putting green, and a clubhouse/driving range facility. Beneath the course, a private casino and a members club beckons. It forms the beating heart of the course and promises an unforgettable finale.
The project brings together a shared passion for golf with world-class design and golf course design expertise. Creating a unique and luxurious experience that greatly reduces the environmental impacts the creation of new courses typically generates by using sustainable resources and allowing the expansion of leisure without the need to clear forests, wetlands, or convert farmland. This type of revolutionary course opens the door for endless possibilities of golf experiences across the globe, especially amongst coastal cities or in countries with less available landmass.
This game changing course, designed by RIBA Lifetime Fellow and founder of award-winning BACA Aquatecture, Richard Coutts, in collaboration with EIGCA member Ben Stephens of PASTE Architects/PASTE Golf Design, marks a breakthrough in the world of leisure and solidifies the sheer versatility in their designs. BACA’s concepts introduce a new way to approaching water, embracing it as a partner within the design process rather than a challenge to overcome.
AquaNine delivers more than a game—it offers a once-in-a-lifetime unique sporting experience, where innovation and indulgence meet on the open sea. Positioned as the new frontier for leisure, AquaNine has the potential to kickstart a global trend of waterborne sports.
We are proud to feature and promote in our architecture magazine: AquaNine, the world’s first floating golf course
