TaylorMade’s legendary Kingdom custom-fitting facility – home to some of the world’s best players – has arrived in the UK for the first time. Joel Westwell, director of golf at The Grove, explains why the partnership is a natural fit for one of Europe’s most premium golf resorts.
Towards the end of 2025, TaylorMade announced the major news that The Grove was to become home to The Kingdom at The Grove, the company’s first ever UK-based iconic The Kingdom custom-fitting facility.=
The Kingdom venue, based at TaylorMade’s global headquarters in Carlsbad, California, has earned a reputation as one of the game’s leading fitting environments, welcoming players such as Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood and Charley Hull, setting the standard for fitting golfers of all levels.
The Kingdom at The Grove will add yet another dimension to the resort’s numerous offerings, featuring experienced and skilled fitters utilising Trackman, Foresight, GEARS and Quintic alongside the entire range of TaylorMade products for players to test, replicating many of the supreme offerings at TaylorMade’s US headquarters.
With the venue having opened for bookings last month, director of golf at The Grove, Joel Westwell, delves into the impact of the partnership, and the prestige it brings to one of Europe’s premium luxury golf resorts.
The Kingdom by TaylorMade is one of the most premium performance environments in global golf. Why is The Kingdom the right fit for The Grove, and why is now the right time for this partnership?
The alignment is natural. Both The Grove and TaylorMade operate at the premium end of the market and are focused on innovation, performance and experience.
The timing is right because the modern golfer is increasingly engaged in improvement and customisation, so The Kingdom at The Grove allows us to elevate our offering beyond a traditional resort experience and position us as a true performance destination, not just a place to play.
How do you think the arrival of The Kingdom at The Grove will change the way golfers engage with The Grove?
The Grove has always been far more than just a place to play golf. We’re a complete resort experience spanning dining, spa, meetings and events. The introduction of The Kingdom at The Grove adds another compelling dimension to that offer, rather than redefining it entirely.
For golfers specifically, it will deepen engagement by giving them the opportunity to not only play the course, but also improve, be custom fitted and better understand their performance. It creates a more rounded and personalised golf journey that complements everything else we offer on site.
Ultimately, it strengthens our position as a destination where guests can come for a variety of reasons, with golf and performance sitting seamlessly alongside the broader resort experience.
How do you ensure that The Kingdom at The Grove complements, rather than overshadows, the core on-course experience?
It comes down to alignment and collaboration from the outset. We’ve worked closely with TaylorMade to ensure a shared understanding that the golf course remains at the heart of The Grove experience, with The Kingdom designed to enhance, not compete with it.
The focus of The Kingdom at The Grove is custom fitting and performance which gives golfers a deeper understanding of their equipment and how it supports their game on the course. It’s about creating a natural link between performance and play, where one directly enhances the other.
By keeping the guest journey front of mind, we’ve created something that feels fully integrated, where each element adds value to the overall experience rather than operating in isolation.
How does The Kingdom at The Grove combine world-class performance with sustainability at The Grove?
Sustainability has been a key consideration since the project started. The building itself has been constructed to the highest environmental standards, incorporating a living roof, solar panels and an abundance of natural light to reduce energy consumption and integrate seamlessly into the landscape. Over 40 trees have also been planted during the build and it supports The Grove’s wider sustainability campaign, ‘A Greener Grove’.
It’s about delivering a world-class performance environment in a way that is thoughtful and responsible, aligning with both The Grove’s and TaylorMade’s long-term commitment to sustainability.
Modern technology now plays a huge role in how golfers practice and improve. How do you see technology fitting into the future of the game, and what place should it have within a resort environment?
Technology is now central to the evolution of the game. Launch monitors, data analytics and simulation tools have transformed how golfers understand performance. In a resort environment, it should enhance accessibility and engagement without overwhelming the experience. The key is balance and using technology to educate and improve while still preserving the enjoyment and simplicity of playing the game.
How central will performance, data and personalised experiences be to The Grove, and what does success look like once The Kingdom at The Grove is fully embedded?
Performance, data and personalisation will sit at the heart of how we evolve the golf experience at The Grove. In partnership with TaylorMade, The Kingdom at The Grove allows us to deliver a level of insight and precision that simply hasn’t been accessible in a resort environment before.
Success is about seamlessly integrating that into the wider guest journey where fittings, coaching and on-course play are all connected, and every golfer leaves with a better understanding of their game.
Ultimately, success looks like The Grove being recognised not just as a world-class place to play, but as a leading performance destination, setting a new benchmark for how golfers experience and improve their game.
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