Golf in the Maldives: every resort with a course, and what you can actually play

There is no full-length golf course anywhere in the Maldives. The longest round in the country is nine holes at Shangri-La Villingili, Maldives, in the far south: a par-30 course of par threes and par fours. Every other resort with golf offers a par-3 short course, a pitch-and-putt or a practice centre, so the useful question is which of those you want.

Six resorts are worth knowing about. Two suit a golfer who wants to play properly, three suit someone who wants a relaxed hour with a wedge and a putter, and one is a place to practise rather than play.

What golf in the Maldives is really like

Resort islands are small, flat coral islands, and land is the scarcest thing on them. A course has to share the island with villas, restaurants and a staff village, so the holes are short and the driver mostly stays in the bag. The wind off the ocean does the defending. On a still morning a hundred-metre hole is a gentle wedge. In a crosswind it is a guess.

Two practical things shape the trip. Play early or late, because the middle of the day on the equator is punishing and there is little shade between tee and green. And think hard before flying a golf bag in. Seaplane transfers to resorts such as Jawakara Islands Maldives and Kuredu Island Resort & Spa allow 20 kilograms of checked luggage per person, and excess weight is charged. Shangri-La Villingili, Maldives, Jawakara Islands Maldives, Meeru Maldives Resort Island and Hideaway Beach Resort & Spa all have clubs on the island for guests to use.

Shangri-La Villingili, Maldives: the only proper nine holes

This is the one course in the country that plays like a real round. Nine holes sit on seven and a half hectares at the southern tip of Villingili Island in Addu Atoll, the southernmost atoll, just below the equator. Most holes are par threes, with par fours mixed in, and the average hole is 112 metres. The shortest, the sixth, is 58 metres. The longest, the third and the ninth, run to 160 metres. Each hole has a name: the first is Manta Ray, the sixth Skipjack Tuna.

The course runs between the open Indian Ocean on one side and a quiet lagoon on the other, so the wind changes club selection from one day to the next. It also holds an odd distinction. Mount Villingili, the highest natural point in the Maldives at 5.1 metres above sea level, stands on the course.

Around it are a driving range, a clubhouse, a refreshment bar and a pro shop, with equipment hire. The resort closed in 2020 and reopened at the start of 2026, and the course is part of the reopened island.

Getting there

Shangri-La Villingili, Maldives is reached by a domestic flight of about 70 minutes from Malé to Gan, then a speedboat of about five minutes to the island. Domestic flights run after dark, so a late international landing in Malé does not cost the first night the way it can on a seaplane island.

Velaa Private Island: the short-game academy

Velaa Private Island in Noonu Atoll is the place to get better rather than simply to play. José María Olazábal, a two-time Masters champion known for his touch around the greens, designed the Velaa Golf Academy. It is a golf academy rather than a place for a full round, and its short par-3 tees and greens play in many combinations, from short pitches to mid-irons. Troon, the international golf management company, runs the academy.

The teaching is the real draw. PGA professionals give one-to-one lessons in an air-conditioned studio whose doors slide open, so you hit out onto the course without standing in the midday sun. The studio has a TrackMan launch monitor and simulator, V1 video swing analysis and a SAM PuttLab, which measures a putting stroke in detail from a handful of putts. There is a putting green, and lessons are tailored to everyone from beginners and families to low handicappers. The academy opens from 9am to 6pm.

Getting there

Velaa Private Island is about 45 minutes from Malé by seaplane. Seaplanes fly in daylight only, so an international flight landing late in the afternoon can mean a night near the airport before the transfer. The full picture of the island is in the Velaa Private Island review.

Jawakara Islands Maldives: a nine-hole course on a family island

Jawakara Islands Maldives in Lhaviyani Atoll is two islands, Mabin and Dheru, joined by a 650-metre bridge over the house reef. The golf is on Mabin, the larger island at 1,400 metres long, and it is a nine-hole short course with a driving range alongside. Group lessons run on the range.

What sets it apart is that the course is a social place rather than a corner of the island. The Hideout, a casual restaurant serving burgers, sandwiches and salads with plenty for vegans, sits at the course and looks over it, and the Fore Bar is on the course itself. A family can split up for an hour of golf and meet for lunch without crossing the island.

Getting there

The seaplane from Malé takes 35 minutes. Seaplanes fly in daylight only, so an evening landing in Malé cannot connect to one. For a late arrival, Jawakara Islands Maldives arranges a domestic flight to Madivaru Airport, inside Lhaviyani Atoll, on request, and that route runs after dark. A speedboat of about 40 minutes covers the last stretch to the island. How Jawakara Islands Maldives compares with its Lhaviyani neighbours on reef and the way in is set out in Lhaviyani's seven resorts compared.

Kuredu Island Resort & Spa: six holes and a full-size range

Kuredu Island Resort & Spa, also in Lhaviyani Atoll, opened the first golf course in the Maldives. It sits on the eastern side of the island among palms, and it is a six-hole par-3 course with an average hole of 55 yards. Six holes sounds slight, but the course is set up to be played as six, twelve or eighteen, and the greens are artificial turf, so they putt the same in every season.

The practice facilities are better than the course length suggests. There is a full-size driving range where you can hit from shade or from grass, a large putting green and a practice bunker. Golf introductions and private lessons are available, and there is a clubhouse.

Getting there

Kuredu Island Resort & Spa is a seaplane flight of 35 to 40 minutes from Malé, with Trans Maldivian Airways. The seaplanes operate from 6am to 4pm. On the way home the latest flight usually leaves the island between 1pm and 4pm, which can mean a long afternoon in Malé before an evening flight. The resort also arranges a domestic-flight route.

Meeru Maldives Resort Island: pitch-and-putt by speedboat

Meeru Maldives Resort Island in North Malé Atoll is the easiest golf island to reach and the gentlest on a beginner. The pitch-and-putt course sits in the middle of the island, which is 1,200 metres long, next to the driving range and putting green. Nine holes cover 480 yards. There are nine tee boxes and six greens, so a full round of eighteen is possible, and each green has several flag positions of increasing difficulty.

Holes run 35 to 80 yards from tee to green. A sand wedge, a pitching wedge and a putter are all you need. The greens are artificial turf, some guarded by bunkers and some by water. The driving range is 120 yards long, with tall target markers out to 220 yards. Lessons on the range or the course are booked through the sports centre, and fun golf and tournaments run each week.

Getting there

Meeru Maldives Resort Island is a 55-minute speedboat ride from Velana International Airport. The boat belongs to the resort and carries only its guests, and speedboats are not tied to daylight the way seaplanes are, so the time an international flight lands matters far less. The trade-off between the two kinds of transfer is set out in seaplane versus speedboat.

Hideaway Beach Resort & Spa: practice, not a course

Hideaway Beach Resort & Spa in Haa Alifu Atoll, in the far north, has no course. What it has is a golf centre with a two-bay simulator, where cameras record each swing for replay and a PGA-qualified professional coaches, plus a five-hole putting course about 30 yards long with its own bunker. It suits someone who wants to keep their swing ticking over on a beach holiday, and it works in any weather.

Hideaway Beach Resort & Spa is about 75 minutes from Malé by seaplane, or a domestic flight of around 50 minutes to Hanimaadhoo followed by a short speedboat ride. The domestic route is the one to use after a late landing.

How to choose

For a real round. Shangri-La Villingili, Maldives is the only answer. Its domestic-flight transfer also makes it a forgiving choice for a late arrival in Malé.

To improve your game. Velaa Private Island. The course is short, but the coaching, the technology and the studio are on a different level from anything else in the country.

For a family where one or two play. Jawakara Islands Maldives. The course is part of island life, with a restaurant and a bar on it, and the rest of the family has two islands of other things to do.

For a beginner, or a casual hour. Meeru Maldives Resort Island or Kuredu Island Resort & Spa. Short holes, artificial greens that forgive mishits, and proper driving ranges. Meeru Maldives Resort Island is the one to pick if a seaplane is unwelcome.

Who a Maldives golf holiday isn't for

A golfer who wants eighteen championship holes, long par fours and par fives, and a different course each day. None of that exists here, and no resort pretends otherwise. A golf trip built around the Maldives will feel thin by the third day.

Anyone set on bringing a full tour bag. Seaplane baggage limits make it awkward and costly, and the courses rarely call for more than a few clubs. Pack a favourite wedge and putter, or nothing at all.

Common questions

The Maldives has no great golf course, but it has a few very pleasant ones. Shangri-La Villingili, Maldives is the round to play, Velaa Private Island is the place to be taught, and the short courses at Meeru Maldives Resort Island and Kuredu Island Resort & Spa are an easy hour before lunch. For a family holiday where golf is one of many things to do, Jawakara Islands Maldives gets the balance right.