1883 Jersey Grouville Links

The Jersey Club was founded in 1878 on Grouville Common by residents and visitors to the island led by FW Brewster and encouraged by officers of the local militia . Grouville is in the south-east of Jersey and was often used for horse racing. The arrival of the railway had made it more accessible. It received its Royal warrant the following year. 

The Royal Oak pub served as the club-house, renamed The Golf Inn, and now called The Pembroke.

The early pioneers bought 36 golf hole cups, but they only had 10 flag sticks and bought 3 more later in two stages, which implies that they were adding holes as they went along. Reports say the course had 18 holes from the beginning, but it amy have been 10 or 13 holes in the first year, played as a round of 18 holes.

1883 saw the first known layout of 18 holes.

Grouville Links Jersey, picture courtesy of Royal Jersey Golf Club.

Several notable golfers have come from Jersey, including  Ted Ray and Harry Vardon, who is as well-known for his 'grip' as he is for his record six Open Championships and USA Open win.  Both Ted Ray and Harry Vardon learned to play as caddies at Grouville, but they were not members of the club. Recently new books have been written on both Harry Vardon and Ted Ray. 

In the first international golf match between England and Scotland, the English team contained four Jersey golfers from Grouville.

Worryingly, the course was heavily fortified during the years of German occupation in the Second World War, including concrete bunkering, barbed wire and anti-tank mines. After the liberation in 1945, the Germans were made to remove the mines and to march up and down over the course afterwards to prove they had done it. This was not so much for the benefit of the golfers, as the protection of the local population who could now roam freely. They still tell the tale of the two local schoolboys who were seen running through the minefield before the clearance was undertaken. They emerged safe.  Had they been anti-personnel mines, the outcome would have been very different.

Updated 22nd Mar 2019