La Grande Mare opens new golf academy

The Golf Performance Centre has 10 driving bays, two tuition suites for the academy and a custom club-fitting studio

A new golf academy which is set to open "exceeds the expectations" and will "put Guernsey on the map for golf" according to its owner.

The multimillion-pound Golf Performance Centre at La Grande Mare has 10 driving bays, two tuition suites for the academy and a custom club-fitting studio.

Billionaire businessman Steve Lansdown said "Guernsey deserves" the new facility which is opening on 1 November.

He said: "The finish is superb, the technology is out of this world. If you're going to build something...you might as well get to the highest level, not accept second best."

Steve Lansdown said the facilities are "world-class"

He added: "A youngster wanting to play golf they've got to have the best facility to be able to get to the top of the game if that's what they want to do, so this gives them the opportunity to do that."

Golf performance director, Sue Shapcott has worked in golfing academies in the US for 25 years and said she "can't think of any other facility that I've been to...that beats this."

She said: "We have great technology, we have a great facility, but we want it to be a place where everyone feels like they're welcome and they can come here and they can improve their game and they can fall in love with golf the way that many of us have."

In 2019, Mr Lansdown bought the Grande Mare Hotel and demolished the original structure with the intention of building a "world-class country club".

The opening of the Golf Performance Centre is the first part of the hotel's transformation with the golf course set to open in August 2026, and the country club, accommodation and wider resort expected to open in 2027.