This paper examines Morocco’s golf tourism sector in a comparative context. It assesses the redoubled emphasis on golf tourism – and the broader ecological demands of the country’s tourism. It challenges the assumptions that the sector is sustainable. Morocco is a middle-income country that is already hydrologically challenged; water provision is deeply fraught throughout the country. And future climate change projections are that temperatures will increase, rainfall further diminish, and winds will intensify. The paper assesses the significant and ongoing “bureaucratic politics” concerning water access – with powerful ministries such as agriculture and mining vying for ground water. And it sets the sector in the broader international political economy: golf tourism is very remunerative for balance of payment accounts; European, North American, East Asian, and Persian Gulf tourists are a prized source of foreign exchange. The paper relies on mixed-methods research. In this early stage of the project the work will rely on secondary materials and data from official sources – e.g., the UN World Tourism Organization and Moroccan government sources. Ultimately, subsequent work in a long-term project (that builds on this initial paper) will involve interviews with officials in Rabat and visits to golf courses in the Middle Atlas and in the Marrakech region.