Golf Shot

Keen golfers and non-golfers alike are challenged to produce the drive of their life to get the drive of their life in a novel competition, which will see someone win a brand new Mercedes-Benz worth £25,000.

Organised by the Golftorium, the UK’s biggest indoor golf centre, the competition is open to anyone who feels they have what it takes to land a hole-in-one.  Golftorium is in Ducie Street, just a few yards from Manchester’s Piccadilly station in the heart of the city, and it provides the ultimate in indoor golf to local golfers and non-golfers alike. The venue also has excellent parking facilities nearby.

The qualifying period takes place between 1 and 15 May, to make the final cut on 22 May. Entry for the qualification is free and participants will be pitching their way to winning the Mercedes-Benz by pitting their skills against the 7th hole at Pebble Beech, which has a famous 100 yard approach to the pin.

To progress to the final, golfers will need to land their chip nearest the pin to make the cut. The 100 finalists will then have the tougher obstacle of landing a hole-in-one at the 14^th hole at Harbour Town, which is a highlight of the PGA tour.

The first lucky driver to complete this challenge will pick up the keys to their new vehicle, courtesy of Mercedes-Benz Central.

“We are already getting a lot of interest in the competition and while the first shot is free, extra shots will have a small charge,” said Manchester’s Golftorium director, Craig Woodward.  “All the money raised is going to a good cause; we are donating the money to a newly formed local charity called HAWCS, the Habitat and Wildlife Conservation Society.”

“This is a great opportunity for golfers of any standard to come along and pitch themselves against the competition. Getting a hole-in-one isn’t just about skill, there’s a great deal of luck involved so it’s anyone’s game!”

Craig added: “I can’t think of a better way to celebrate an achievement like this than driving off in a new Mercedes Benz.  It’s a fantastic competition offering the change to win a brilliant prize, have some fun and help charity at the same time.”

More details can be found at www.golftorium.com or call the centre on 0161 228 0681.

Charlie Lidyard - 2009 Winner

The William Hunt Trilby Tour announces its Regional Championship Venues this week in its UK-wide search to find the next Amateur Golf Champion in a 12-part televised series on Sky Sports.

Created by Menswear Designer and golf aficionado William Hunt of Savile Row, the Trilby Tour aims to find the UK’s top amateur golfer and give him a taste of true Pro stardom with a chance to play head to head against the big boys.

Players from all walks of life will get the chance to feel like a golf tour pro for a day as 9 clubs from across England, Ireland and Scotland host the UK’s biggest Amateur televised golf tournament between May-August 2010.

Amateurs face a white-knuckle tournament in a thrilling one day 18-hole game in what is widely acclaimed to be golf’s answer to Twenty20 cricket.

Players must be over 18 to enter and will be kitted out with everything they need for their experience of pro stardom – each receiving a complete William Hunt outfit, a Callaway Bag and Caddy Suit as part of their £250 online entry to the 12-part televised series on Sky Sports.

Each Regional Champion and Eleven Runners-Up will go through to the Amateur Final held at the Buckinghamshire Golf Club on 11 August, culminating in an exciting 3 hole play-off and a unique Winner Takes All Finale. The top three finalists and regional champions will then be invited back on 12 August to play in the Sky Sports televised Professional Trilby Tour.

The Amateur Champion will the following receive as their prize:

Lessons with top coach David Leadbetter,
An exclusive set of personalized clubs by Roger Cleveland of Callaway
The chance to play head-to-head against the top European Tour pros.

Amateurs will play under the the Stapleford rules with a maximum handicap of 18 with a 3/4 (three-quarter) allowance.

Regional Championships will be taking place at:

8-June The London Golf Club
Kent & South East Championship

30 June – The Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire & West Midlands Championship

6 July – Marriott Sprowston Manor
East of England Championship

12 July – Bearwood Lakes
Berkshire & South Central Championship

22 July – The Park
Avon & South West Championship

28 July – Murrayshall
Scottish Championship

4 August – KP Club
Yorkshire & North East Championship

11 August – The Buckinghamshire
Amateur Final, National Championship

Last year’s Amateur Winner 19yr old Charlie Lidyard from Leatherhead, Surrey says ”The Trilby Tour is the only tournament that makes you actually feel like you’re a Pro Tour player. There are a few nerves when you see the cameras and the people watching. Some of the other guys didn’t like the cameras but it didn’t bother me, I actually loved it.” Lidyard’s triumph was further boosted by going on to achieve every amateur’s dream and turned pro the same day.”

Lidyard went on to play against top pros David Howell and Graeme Storm in the Pro Event: “It was a dream experience to play with the big boys.”

Entries are still pouring in and anyone who signs up now via the website www.williamhunttrilbytour.com will join a waiting list.

With possibly golf’s greatest ever player and the biggest global sports star of his generation out of the game for an ‘indefinite’ period of time there is of course huge interest as to when he will next play competitive golf.

After much interest in when he will return to professional golf, online sports betting company extrabet care taking bets on which Major Tiger Woods will next play.

Current odds for next Major Tournament event in 2010 are:

• US Masters 1/2
• US Open 4/1
• The Open 9/1
• USPGA 16/1
• Not to play a Major in 2010 7/2

The big price move has been that Tiger Woods will not to play a Major in 2010 which has gone from 5/1 to 7/2 in 1 week. Elsewhere he was 5/6 to play in the 2010 Masters and is now 1/2.

extrabet’s Chris Shillington explains further. “For what we would deem a ‘fun’ bet there has been huge interest in this market. It just reconfirms Tiger Woods as the biggest star in world sport’

Tiger Woods has been a real golf legend over recent years, set to be the greatest golfer ever.

• He has won 14 Majors. Jack Nicklaus has won the most golf Majors ever with 18
• Tiger Woods has won 97 professional tournaments worldwide
• Tiger Woods held all 4 Majors after winning the Open Championship in 2000
• He first swung a golf club aged 11 months

The latest Classic Sports Series title, Ian Woosnam’s Guide to The Open 2009, is out now, launched by sports and travel publisher, Absolute Publishing Ltd (APL).

Ian Woosnam's Guide to the Open 2009

This essential annual guide to the 138th Open Championship at Turnberry packed full of everything you need to know about enjoying golf’s most famous event, according to the publishers.

What would Tiger Woods be doing if he wasn’t playing golf? How is Padraig Harrington shaping up to be the first player since Peter Thomson in 1956 to win three successive Opens? And how is Rory McIIroy dealing with the pressure of being the young newcomer?
Find out the answers by reading interviews from key contender Tiger Woods, last year’s winner, Padraig Harrington and other major challengers, including Greg Norman; Paul Casey and golf’s rising star, Rory McIlroy.

Ian Woosnam states in his forward: “There has never been a clear winner at Turnberry and with Tiger back in the hunt there will be no easy path to the Claret Jug. Padraig Harrington is out to make history while Paul Casey is playing superb golf.”

Ian Woosnam’s Guide to the Open 2009 features a hole-by-hole course guide and Angus Loughran’s exclusive betting tips. In addition, a lifestyle section features the latest golf fashion and equipment, while there are guides to the best places abroad to look for golf property and to visit for a golf holiday.

Ian Woosnam’s Guide to the Open 2009 is available to buy for £3.75 from high street retailers or view the FREE digital edition of the magazine and sign up to receive more FREE sports editions too.

Visit:www.absolutepublishing.com/open09