The Major Redesign That Is Taking The Channel Islands By Storm
We take a look at the lovingly-redesigned course on Guernsey that is raising the bar for golf in the Channel Islands
La Grande Mare
- GF: £200 per round
- Stats: Par 69, 5,367 yards
- W: lagrandemare.com
The 6th is a short par 5 that may offer up a birdie opportunity
The Channel Islands sit off the northwest coast of France, with Guernsey a three-hour high-speed ferry crossing from Poole in Dorset. Along its western shore, a less well-known golf facility has recently completed a full transformation of its course, which opened for play this summer.
La Grande Mare is a long-term, multi-million-pound development with a state-of-the-art Performance Centre, and it will be complemented next year by a new country club, which will offer dedicated golfers' dining and bar facilities, luxury accommodation, a gym and fitness studio, a pool, a high-end restaurant with sea views and more. Its easily-confusable translation is not grand-mother, which would be grand-mère, but big pond.
For big-hitters and the brave, the 7th is an exciting risk-reward drivable par 4
The course opened as a nine-holer in 1994 and was expanded to a full 18 in 2001. The latest developments have seen the layout lengthened and reconfigured by Robin Hiseman of European Golf Design, the company responsible for the recent changes at Top 100 of the UK&I course, Portstewart, as well as two Ryder Cup hosts, Celtic Manor and Marco Simone. The work involved uses the very latest techniques to offer exceptional conditioning. Soil and turf material from the original layout were retained and reused wherever possible, while greens and surrounds have been constructed to the same specification as at Adare Manor.
The 10th is another short par 4 with plenty of danger awaiting
The latest drainage and irrigation systems promise excellent year-round playing surfaces, while three par 5s and six short holes mean there is more than enough variety to entertain all golfers.
