'Catastrophic' future should 15th hole at L'Ancresse be lost

That is the opinion of Shaun McDade who, in his role of acting chairman of Golf Course Management which runs the links on behalf of the Royal Guernsey and L'Ancresse clubs, has written to the president of Education, Sport & Culture to outline GCM's concerns at proposed developments close to the championship-standard links course.

McDade said that clearly no thought had been given to the effects on golf at L'Ancresse and while the best-case scenario for his sport in the advent of 'managed decline' of the sea defences is bad enough, the worst-case picture is calamitous.

'In a best-case scenario, whereby the reshaping of the coastline is achieved with the minimal intrusion on the section of common in question, we foresee that the rerouting of the coastal footpath will necessitate a redesign of the 15th hole to divert play away from the area in which the public will be directed,' said Mr McDade.

That in turn, he says, will have massive repercussions elsewhere, as well as for the integrity of the course as a whole, as he explained.

'Since the 15th hole is widely regarded as L'Ancresse's "signature hole'', any changes would almost certainly be regarded as detrimental to golfers' experience of the course,' he said, while adding that hiring a course design expert would be needed and obviously be costly.

'In a worst-case scenario, were the shoreline to breach the projected maximum line of encroachment ... and flood the land beyond, it is entirely possible, indeed likely, that the 15th hole would no longer be playable in any form and thus lost to the course completely. That, in turn, would mean the preceding 14th hole could no longer be used, as the flow of the course would be disrupted.

'It is no exaggeration to state that the effect of such a scenario would, in both the physical and economic sense, be catastrophic.'

McDade added that it was vital islanders know that this is not just about saving a kiosk.

'That stretch of golf course is quintessential L'Ancresse. It represents 15% of the golf course.

'If you take 15 away you can't use 14 anymore. It becomes a cul de sac and you can't re-route it.

A wholesale redesign of the course in order to preserve the course's integrity and appeal would cost more than £1m. is GCM's assessment.