Royal Jersey Golf Club, Grouville, Jersey

www.royaljersey.com

White tees (men) par 70, 6190 yards, slope 121        
Red tees (ladies) par 71, 5428 yards, slope 121

This is the start of the Channel Islands swing!  We arrived at Royal Jersey Golf Club to one of the friendliest welcomes we have had from Tony the course ranger and the rest of the staff and members and at the end of the round the club presented us with a book, signed by the captain and manager, about the history of the course and club: 'Historical Links' by Mary Phillips.  The club was first established in 1878 on land which remains common ground to this day.  Harry Vardon was born in nearby Grouville and recalls the course being built when he was eight years old: 'The natural state of the land was so perfect that.......possibly no real good golf course was ever so easily made'. A year later the club received its royal warrant from Queen Victoria.  It appears that ladies were admitted a few years later as the first lady captain was appointed in 1894.  As with many links courses the second world war was a major challenge with much damage being done to the golf course by the German forces who occupied the island from 1940 to 1945 which took almost two years to repair. 

The first drive is ideally between the fort on the left
and the two gun emplacements on the right

Lying on the south east coast of Jersey, Royal Jersey is in a beautiful location overlooked by the mediaeval Mont Orgueil castle and with views over the sea to France only 14 miles away.  We played on a bright but windy day, accompanied on the first few holes by long time members Richard and Paul.  The course is tight with the prevailing wind across most holes.  The greens were good but the fairways were in a disappointing condition although it was early in the year.  The first drive is unusual with the line for the drive being between Fort Henry and and two WWII German concrete gun emplacements. The fairway runs from left to right so any shot drifting right is liable to land on the beach which is a no play zone.  The first is a par 5 followed by two par 3s and a par 5, all of which run along the beach.   

The par 3 fourth is overlooked by Mont Orgueil castle

The fifth turns back towards the clubhouse and has a hidden bunker which catches an approach shot to the right.  The eighth is a lovely par 3 although there were a few too many trees for a links course.  We were told that recent improvements had included removal of a large number of trees.

The statue of Harry Vardon

The second nine lies to the inland side of the first nine.  We particularly liked the 10th which is a par 4 from a tee overlooking the beach and heading inland to a challenging approach into the the prevailing wind to an elevated green. The twelfth hole has a typical rolling fairway and a blind shot to a green over a hill. Unusually the 15th and 16th are consecutive par 3s which are near the entrance road and a statue of Harry Vardon.  A  carry over gorse for the drive on the 17th takes the player back up to Fort Henry and a green cut into the hill.  The finishing hole is uphill to a green with panoramic views over the sea.

The eighteenth green

The approach to the 11th green

Worth playing?  Yes if you are going to the Channel Islands