A resort to ‘make Guernsey proud’
MAKING Guernsey proud of the resort is the central point of plans to transform La Grande Mare on and off the golf course.
Owner Steve Lansdown made the first of several presentations at the hotel yesterday evening and they will excite all golfers said club captain Karl Ogier.
‘If the members are not excited about something like this then there is something seriously wrong,’ he said.
The existing hotel will be razed and replaced by a resort with accompanying lodges which will sit on the area currently occupied by the practice facility. A new fitness centre will be created, one that includes a four-lane 25m swimming pool.
Lansdown said he had long had the vision of combining the tourism aspect with the sporting aspect and how best to make it work.
At the heart of the plans is an upgraded par 68, lengthened circa 5,000-yard long course with a significant reduction in par threes.
There will be a PGA Academy with a 290-yard long driving range and the latest technology.
The design concept and narrative of the resort is to attract visitors to the island, boost the Guernsey economy and succeed as an events business and social centre.
Golfers will be keen to learn that with the purchase of extra land, only two totally new holes are being created, while all the others will be adapted as not to waste the ever-increasing maturity of what exists at present.
There will be two particularly testing par fives – the 552-yard long 13th and 503-yard 17th – and the par three count reduced from nine at present, to six.
It is hoped to start the project after next summer’s Island Games when it will be used for golf along with L’Ancresse. The project will have three phases with the completion date being the summer of 2023 for the buildings and 2024 for the new course layout.
Throughout the development 12 holes will always remain open.
