Skip to content

Golf resort hopes to create more than 100 jobs

Joelle LoweGuernsey
BBC An image of the outside of La Grande Mare. There is the building's sign which includes the logo and club name as well as a pathway next to the building. BBC
La Grande Mare is set to open its golf course to the public on 1 August

La Grande Mare's owner said the new resort would be looking for "over a hundred employees" ahead of its launch in 2027.

Billionaire businessman Stephen Lansdown said focusing on hiring locally would "serve the island" and housing locals would be "easier" than looking further afield.

He said: "We will probably be well over a hundred employees by the time we open - so we need to fill those positions."

Lansdown bought the hotel and golf course, which is located near Vazon Bay along Guernsey's west coast, in 2019 and has since demolished the original structure and invested in upgrading the golf facilities.

Stephen Lansdown, an older man, looking into the camera and smiling. He is wearing a biege quarter zip shirt and is standing in front of a golf course
Lansdown, who grew his wealth as co-founder of financial service firm Hargreaves Lansdown, said he was very proud to see the finished multimillion-pound course

Of the jobs on offer he said: "The general description would be hospitality but there are the people who would have to work on the course, in maintenance - all sorts of jobs which will be available.

"We will find the skill set's needed where we can find them - but hopefully we can find a lot of those in Guernsey itself."

The resorts golf course is due to open to the public on 1 August as a pay and play - the green fee to play on the course will be £200 per round.

La Grande Mare An image of La Grande Mare golf course - the sea is in the background as well as houses. The golf course has sand bunkers and a pondLa Grande Mare
Those behind the golf course work said "whenever possible" they used soil and turf materials from the original site when constructing the course

The golf course has been in development since the site's acquisition in 2019 and now has a 5,367 yard layout - an increase of more than 600 yards from the old course.

Robin Hiseman, golf course designer at European Golf Design, said: "We basically turned the place upside down.

"We started from the ground up, there is nothing left of the old La Grande Mare golf course except the site."

La Grande Mare's Golf Performance Centre opened in November with Lansdown hoping it would encourage young islanders to play golf.

Of the project nearing completion he said: "I think there have been times when I could have ripped up the papers and said 'forget it' but now we are here and we got it - it is a very special moment."

Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk.

More on this story
Related internet links