By Andy Hiseman, Hiseman Ltd 

Jimmy Wallace has joined Crown Golf as English Open Sponsorship & Events Director, to spearhead the drive to raise sponsorship for the English Open – which returns to The European Tour in 2011.

With English golf going through a purple patch – this weekend’s WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship finalists, Ian Poulter and Paul Casey, are both English, and along with fellow Englishman Lee Westwood they occupy half of golf’s current top six World Ranking places – the appointment of a supremo for the country’s national Open is well-timed.

Wallace will be based at the company’s Blue Mountain headquarters, and will work in conjunction with The European Tour, Crown Golf Sales & Marketing Director, Nick Moran, and St Mellion International Resort Director, Stephen Towers.

The English Open will be staged on The Nicklaus Signature Course at St Mellion International Resort, in Cornwall, in August 2011. The Resort was recently refurbished, gaining an 80-bedroom 4-star resort hotel as part of a £20m redevelopment.

Jimmy Wallace has over 13 years experience in the golf operations, sports events and sports sponsorship industry in both the UK and Asia, covering golf tournaments co-sanctioned with The European Tour as well as football, basketball, cricket and snooker competitions.

He played an important role in raising funds for London’s successful bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012, and also provided expertise to BT’s Sports Sponsorship Programme. 

“I am very confident that Jimmy’s expertise and skill set will provide us with every chance of raising the sponsorship and making the English Open a successful event,” said Crown Golf Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Lewis.

“We are going to put England’s national golf Open back on the map,” said Jimmy Wallace.

“Anyone who has seen St Mellion since its reopening in 2009 knows that it is now a stunning venue for a big golf tournament, and we are going to use not only The English Open event itself, but also the huge audience Crown Golf can provide across its 30 golf properties to provide a powerful package for the title sponsor and the other event sponsors.”

At Crown Golf:  Jimmy Wallace, English Open Sponsorship & Events Director, Crown Golf.
Tel: +44 (0)7584 146593 / Email: j.wallace@crown-golf.co.uk

Media:   Andy Hiseman, Hiseman Limited
   Tel: +44 (0)1780 757461, Email: andy@hiseman.com

NOTES FOR EDITORS

The Crown Golf group (http://www.crown-golf.co.uk/) is the UK’s largest golf club owner/operator with 30 properties and 52 golf courses in its portfolio. With pride in customer service and innovation, it aims to provide an outstanding golf experience for its members and visitors, tailor-made to suit the lifestyles and needs of a wide range of golfers.

St Mellion International Resort (http://www.st-mellion.co.uk/) has recently undergone a £20 million re-development which has transformed it into a world class resort, including a new four-star 80-bedroom hotel complex. The work also saw a major refurbishment of the existing clubhouse and improvements to both golf courses – including The Nicklaus Course, which was the first to be designed in the UK by the legendary American Jack Nicklaus.

The English Open (http://www.englishopenatstmellion.co.uk/) returns to The European Tour in 2011 after an absence of nine years. The last event was won by Darren Clarke in 2002. The tournament was first played in 1979, with Seve Ballesteros the first champion. Only four English golfers – Howard Clark (1988), Mark James (1989 and 1990), David Gilford (1991) and Lee Westwood (1998) have ever won the event.

ONE OF MEDITERRANEAN GOLF’S KEY FIGURES JOINS GCA

A leading figure in European golf has become the latest member of the Golf Consultants Association.

Ramon Davila is widely known across the industry for the key role he has played in the development of Spanish golf, particularly in the Andalucia region, in the last fifteen years.

A former President and CEO of the Valderrama Group, Davila was a central figure in the Ryder Cup and Amex World Golf Championship events coming to Spain, and has spoken at many golf forums and conferences on his key passions of golf tourism, golf and the environment and planning.

Read his full biography HERE.

GOLFERS WILL ‘POWERPLAY’ THIS SUMMER, AS CANADIAN GOLF EMBRACES TWO-FLAG REVOLUTION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

26 May 2009

A new version of golf, which is tipped to boost the game’s popularity worldwide, launches in Canada today

Copetown Woods Golf Club, Ontario, is the country’s first Official Venue for PowerPlay Golf, a shorter form of the game where golfers have two flags to aim for on each green during a high-pressure, nine-hole ‘risk and reward’ competition.

Canada joins nineteen other countries worldwide in the global pilot for the sport, which has received the backing of many of golf’s major governing bodies, tournament organisers, sports agents and TV broadcasters.

The club’s General Manager Barry Forth has created a pilot scheme, in partnership with PowerPlay Golf and the Royal Canadian Golf Association, for clubs in the Greater Toronto Area, which is designed to introduce the sport’s newest format to golfers across the region prior to a nationwide roll-out.

The PowerPlay Golf ‘Golden Horseshoe’ pilot in Southern Ontario runs from June to September 2009 at several golf clubs in the area, including Copetown Woods GC, Braeben GC, Caledon Country Club and Peninsula Lakes GC, with more set to join the pilot during the summer.

Each golf club in the pilot will become a PowerPlay Golf Official Venue, and will host at least two qualifying events. In September, all qualifiers will compete in the “Ontario PowerPlay Golf Championship 2009”, where a shootout format will decide the winner.

There will also be inter-club PowerPlay Golf events, where golf clubs compete to discover whose golfers have nerves of steel, and whose buckle under the extra pressure which PowerPlay Golf brings to the game.

In PowerPlay Golf, which is a nine-hole format using a modified Stableford points scoring system, players must choose between two flags on a green – a Black ‘PowerPlay’ Flag placed in a tough location, and an easier White Flag.

Players who make net birdie or better on a PowerPlay to the Black Flag score double points, but PowerPlays are strictly limited and golfers must choose carefully when to use them during their round.

There is a matchplay variant of the game, and also a special ‘Shootout’ version, which offers a condensed golf tournament (three hours maximum) tipped by many to become a popular TV version of golf for the 21st century.

And golfers can also go online, registering to earn PowerPlay Dollars by playing in both Official Events and in casual play, enabling them to climb World Rankings and also to compete in user-generated PowerPlay Golf Leagues both locally and around the world.

“We hope that hundreds of golfers in Southern Ontario will take their first shots to the PowerPlay Black Flag this summer,” said Barry Forth, who is also PowerPlay Golf’s Official Representative in Canada. “By the end of 2009, over 250,000 golfers will have played PowerPlay Golf worldwide, at over 600 golf clubs in more than 20 countries, so it is important that Canadian golfers have their say on the new format.

“Although individual golf clubs such as Copetown Woods are enjoying strong member and visitor levels, overall golf needs to encourage more participation, and we feel that PowerPlay Golf – which takes less time out of your day, yet which delivers a highly exciting shot of adrenalin – will appeal to both traditional, competition-minded golfers, and also to many who may have drifted away from the game over the last few seasons.

“And for beginners, or youngsters, or families, it is a terrific way to get introduced to golf, as it’s fast, fun, and gives you plenty to talk about afterwards.”

In Canada this week to launch PowerPlay Golf is one of the game’s founders and the most-capped English golfer of all time, Peter McEvoy, whose long and distinguished amateur golf career included the World Amateur Champion title, two-time Leading Amateur status at The Open Championship, and captaining the GB & Ireland Walker Cup team to victory twice against the USA. He remains, through 2009, the only British amateur golfer in history to make the cut at The Masters.

McEvoy, who was awarded the OBE for services to golf by Her Majesty The Queen in 2003, welcomes PowerPlay Golf’s introduction into Canada: “As one of the world’s five leading golf nations, Canada is hugely important to the sport. It is fitting that one of its newest and most progressive golf clubs, Copetown Woods, is the venue for our game’s launch in the country. We believe that PowerPlay Golf will trigger change for the good in the golf industry in many different ways, and we welcome all feedback from Canadian golfers and golf club owners this summer.”

Forth and McEvoy also have plans to introduce PowerPlay Golf at PGA professional level in Canada this year, following the success of 2008 PGA events in Britain, Ireland and South Africa.

Elsewhere in the world, PowerPlay Golf is working with influential global organisation The World Golf Foundation, and will be running new pilot schemes across the USA, Western Europe, Eastern Europe and in Asia in the second half of 2009.

For all details visit www.powerplay-golf.com

CONTACTS 

Barry Forth, PowerPlay Golf Canada
Copetown Woods Golf Club, Copetown, Ontario
Tel: +1 289 238 8710, Email: barry@powerplay-golf.com
   
Andy Hiseman, PowerPlay Golf
01780 757461 / andy@powerplay-golf.com

By Andy Hiseman, Hiseman Partners

HELP AT HAND FOR GOLF’S TWITTER AND FACEBOOK ‘VIRGINS’

• New ‘Golf Social Media’ service trains golf companies to use new ‘social media’ websites as PR vehicles and revenue drivers
  
• How golf businesses are learning to use Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Blogs to drive new customers and create profit.

Leading industry PR & marketing agency Hiseman Partners has formed a new Golf Social Media team, which claims to help golf businesses worldwide make profit from the very latest ways of using the web.

“It’s moving pretty fast out there,” said agency head Andy Hiseman, “and I’ve learnt a huge amount in this area from helping to develop PowerPlay Golf worldwide, so I wanted to throw a lifeline to everyone in the golf industry who feels a bit challenged by all the talk about Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogging.

“But they are all becoming very effective PR vehicles, and aren’t time-consuming or costly if you know how to use them properly. They are also proven revenue-drivers.”

The new Golf Social Media entry-level service charges a flat fee of £395 + VAT for a simple four-step process. The team will create your company Facebook page, and show you how to build it up yourself; show how to integrate a free WordPress blog into your company’s website (or create a standalone company blog), and how to keep it up to date; upload one of your company’s videos to YouTube, and show you how to do it yourself; and show you how to use Twitter to get people talking about your business.

“The golf industry needs to get up and running rapidly with social media,” said PowerPlay Golf’s Andy Wool. “Most golf clubs or golf businesses now have a website and a search engine strategy – these new web tools go beyond that, are cheap to use, and quick, and can build your customer base and create new revenue. We’ve used this technology extensively to roll PowerPlay Golf out in 20 countries, and counting.”

Customers can also take advantage of longer term services. “Our new Golf Social Media team has the capacity to work on bigger digital projects for clients of all sizes,” said Hiseman. “We’ve found ourselves spending more and more time helping our core clients develop their business in this way, so we decided to take things a step further and form a dedicated team.”

Golf Social Media also advises golf businesses on:

• how to engage with your online audience as a company, or as an individual, or as an employee working for the company, or even under an alias
  
• how a well-used blog can gain incredible search engine rankings
  
• how to deal with negative comments about your golf business on the web
  
• how to monitor what is being said about your company on the web
  
• who are the golf industry’s most influential bloggers, and how to get them writing for you.

Among the golf industry’s ‘Twitterers’ is Mike Harris, editor of Golf Monthly: “We are always looking for new ways in which to communicate with golfers and introduce them to the Golf Monthly brand,” said Mike. “So when Andy Hiseman sent me an email in early February about using micro-blogging on Twitter to get the word around I was interested. Within a week Golf Monthly had a Twitter page and our following has grown day by day. The staff really enjoy ‘Tweeting’ via its simple interface, and we have used the site to not only run an office blog but also drive traffic to golf-monthly.co.uk with teaser stories on our best content.

“In the digital environment you have to be open to new ideas and way to connect with both existing and potential new users. I see Twitter and other social media as key tools in delivering that strategy.”

Nick Moran, Sales & Marketing Director at Europe’s biggest golf club owner/operator Crown Golf, is another who is sold on the marketing benefits of social media. “Twitter is the quickest PR platform know to man. We now ‘tweet’ press releases from our all of our 33 golf courses, and they all go on our recently- launched WordPress blog too.”

Laurie O’Toole, Managing Director of Dizzy Heights agrees: “We’ve integrated Facebook into SaveAMillionShots.com so that golfers can engage with our brand, watch our golf videos and share golf tips with their friends. Getting your audience to spread your marketing message for you is online PR at its best. If social media is not part of your online marketing strategy, you may be missing a golden opportunity to cost-effectively grow your business online.”

“We’re using Facebook to sell golf lessons, promote our special offers on the range and generally build a loyal customer base,” said Craig Whitfield, General Manager of Playgolf Manchester. “It’s free to do, and doesn’t take much work. The skill is in maintaining it, which is where Hiseman Partners comes in.”

‘Social media’ websites such as Twitter – which has almost quadrupled its traffic already in 2009 – YouTube, Facebook and MySpace now account for more than 1 in 10 of all web visits in the UK.

Web: www.golfsocialmedia.co.uk. Contact info@golfsocialmedia.co.uk or call Hiseman Partners on +44 (0)1780 757537.

  
     
Company Contact: Andy Hiseman, Hiseman Partners / Golf Social Media
+44 (0)1780 757461 | info@golfsocialmedia.co.uk | Twitter: andyhise

By Andy Hiseman, Hiseman Partners

POWERPLAY GOLF ANNOUNCES USA ROLLOUT

PowerPlay Golf, the two-flag, ‘risk and reward’ nine-hole game, today announced its intention to introduce the innovative format more widely in the United States of America. As part of its USA rollout, PowerPlay Golf will benefit from an expanded relationship with the WORLD GOLF FOUNDATION.

Having recently launched a new adult player development program, Get Golf Ready, and with established initiatives The First Tee and GOLF 20/20 already in place, the World Golf Foundation is focused on promoting golf and participation in the sport both in the U.S. and around the world.

David Hardy, CEO of PowerPlay Golf, said, “The relationships that the World Golf Foundation already enjoy with all the relevant parties both in the U.S. and worldwide make it an ideal resource as we seek to bring PowerPlay Golf to a wider audience in America. There are clear synergies in our organizations: we both seek to make golf more accessible and appealing to new audiences.

“The World Golf Foundation will help us to establish a firmer footing in the USA by introducing us to key personnel within the infrastructure of golf in the country, and by advising us as we formulate a pilot program.

“In return, PowerPlay Golf will continue to support all the Foundation’s initiatives, including Get Golf Ready and The First Tee.”

Stephen F. Mona, CEO of the World Golf Foundation, said, “As part of our mission, the World Golf Foundation seeks to broaden awareness of new or innovative methods to grow interest and participation in golf. We are pleased to be of assistance as the PowerPlay Golf team embarks on a wider launch in the USA.”

In the last 12 months, PowerPlay Golf has established itself as the world’s leading ‘short form’ of golf.

PGA Professional championships have been held in the UK, Ireland and South Africa, while discussions about the global development of PowerPlay Golf are well advanced with a number of governing bodies and broadcasters around the world.

The South African PGA recently became the latest official Golf Development Partner for PowerPlay Golf, and over 75,000 golfers have now experienced the game in 15 countries.

PowerPlay Golf, which uses a modified Stableford points scoring system, challenges players to choose between two flags on a green – a Black ‘PowerPlay’ Flag placed in a tough location, and an easier White Flag.

Players scoring net birdie or better on a PowerPlay to the Black Flag score double points, but PowerPlays are limited and golfers must deploy them carefully during their nine-hole round.

Golfers earn PowerPlay Dollars from participation in PowerPlay Golf Official Events and also in casual play, enabling them to climb World Rankings and also to compete in user-generated Custom Leagues around the world.

Peter McEvoy, OBE, co-founder of PowerPlay Golf, said, “We are looking forward to continuing the relationship that we already have with The First Tee and GOLF 20/20, and to building it further with the World Golf Foundation.

“Because of its short, exciting format, PowerPlay Golf is ideally suited to support the Foundation’s aims of growing interest in golf.

“With time and money a major issue for many people, a game that can be played in half the time for half the cost – with added challenge and fun – is extremely appealing, particularly with new golfers.”

A number of golf courses in the USA have already become Official Venues for PowerPlay Golf. As part of The First Tee initiative, four The First Tee facilities have hosted PowerPlay Golf. Going forward, it is expected that additional The First Tee facilities will sign up to host the program in 2009.

The First Tee gives young people of all backgrounds an opportunity to develop life enhancing values such as confidence, perseverance and judgment through golf and character education.

Visit www.powerplay-golf.com to find out more about PowerPlay Golf.
  
   
Contacts:  
   
David Hardy, PowerPlay Golf | +44 (0) 7979 605150 | hardy@powerplay-golf.com
  
   
Bob Combs, World Golf Foundation | +01 (904) 940 4203 | bcombs@worldgolffoundation.org
  
   
Andy Hiseman, PowerPlay Golf | +44 (0) 1780 757461 | andy@powerplay-golf.com
 

By Andy Hiseman, Hiseman Partners

CROWN GOLF LAUNCHES ‘CREDIT CRUNCH’ MEMBERSHIP INITIATIVE

Crown Golf, Europe’s largest golf course owner/operator, has introduced a special ‘credit crunch membership initiative’ in response to the economic downturn.

For the first time the group has added a redundancy clause to its membership packages allowing golfers to suspend their membership if they lose their job.

In addition, the group is also allowing members to transfer membership to another player if they can no longer afford it.

The initiative has been brought in by Crown Golf to respond to the needs of their members across their club network – which amounts to more than 22,000 golfers at 34 golf clubs across the country.

Announcing the initiative, Crown Golf Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Lewis, said today: “We recognise that taking an annual golf club membership can be seen as a big commitment, so we are determined to give added value to our members – both those renewing memberships and those taking new ones.

“This is the first time we have brought in a redundancy clause and allowed golfers to transfer memberships to another player if money gets tight. Crown Golf is a very forward-thinking organisation, we care about our members and we feel this is the right thing to do in the current climate.

“Members are the lifeblood of the club. We appreciate their commitment to us and it is vital that we build long-term relationships with them by offering membership products that are attractive and fit their lifestyles.

“As an industry we have to recognise the situation that many golfers may face in the coming months.”

Their ‘credit crunch’ membership initiative also allows an individual club member to play up to eight rounds of golf a year at each of the other clubs in their network.

Crown Golf has 34 properties nationwide. A full list of clubs can be found at www.crown-golf.co.uk
  
     
Company Contact: Stephen Lewis, CEO, Crown Golf
Tel: +44 1344 383975
Email: s.lewis@crown-golf.co.uk

  
     
  John Weir, COO, Crown Golf
Tel: +44 1344 383975
Email: j.weir@crown-golf.co.uk  
     
Crown Golf
Media Contact: Andy Hiseman Hiseman Partners
Tel: 01780 757537. Email: andy@hiseman.com
 

By Andy Hiseman, Hiseman Partners

HANK HANEY & JIM FURYK JOIN SKYCADDIE TEAM

The makers of SkyCaddie – the number one rangefinder in golf – have signed world-renowned golf coach Hank Haney and PGA Tour star Jim Furyk to the panel of players, coaches and caddies who champion the use of the market-leading GPS devices around the world.

As new members of the SkyGolf Advisory Panel, Haney and Ryder Cup star Furyk will be extolling the course management and performance benefits of SkyCaddie – which provides Tour caddie standard information to golfers.

They join LPGA winner Natalie Gulbis; 7-times PGA Tour winner and Champions Tour Major winner Peter Jacobsen, and veteran PGA Tour caddie Mark Long (bagman for Fred Funk) who was instrumental in helping develop SkyCaddie’s outstanding golf course mapping methodology.

SkyCaddie UK managing director, Jackie Hitchcock, said today: “This is a major announcement. Hank Haney is one of the world’s top golf coaches and Jim Furyk is one of the most instantly recognisable – and successful – golfers in the world.

“They will be instrumental in communicating to golfers the most effective ways to use SkyCaddie in developing great golf course management.”

“Both truly understand how valuable it is for amateur golfers to have trusted course information at their fingertips, especially Jim who is renowned for his accuracy1.

“The quality of SkyCaddie’s course mapping sets us apart in an increasingly competitive marketplace and having a Tour player like Jim and a coach of Hank’s stature to communicate the benefits of reliable course information is a major coup.”

SkyCaddie is the industry’s only Gold recipient in the 2009 Golf Digest “Hot List” for GPS rangefinders and the clear market leader.

Announcing his association with SkyGolf, Haney said: “Backed by a good caddie, the game’s best players execute a solid game plan on the course every time they play.

“With SkyCaddie, golfers are provided with the same reliable course information and distances as Tour players, and I am excited to be working to educate amateur golfers on how best to utilise SkyCaddie in managing their on-course strategy.”

Furyk, a US Open Champion and 13-time Tour winner, said: “As a Tour player, I count on my caddie, Mike ‘Fluff’ Cowan, each week to provide me with accurate course information and distances so that I can manage my game, and enhance my shot making.”

” Most recreational golfers will never experience the benefits of having a ‘Fluff’ on their bag. SkyCaddie, however, is almost the same, because it offers amateurs the same information based upon the same reliable methods used at the professional level.”

Only SkyCaddie, after getting permission, walks every one of its golf course partners with skilled golfers using survey grade equipment to record precise distance information – the only method trusted by Tour caddies to get information for their Tour player.

As a result, golfers can be sure of having the most up-to-date and reliable course maps in the game today.

SkyGolf’s patented IntelliGreen technology automatically rotates the true shape of the green to match a golfer’s angle of approach from anywhere on the course. It not only provides the front carry and back distances, but the depth of the green from any line of approach, just like a Tour caddie.

From the tee, SkyCaddie gives precise carry distances to hazards and also recommends ‘safe’ lay-up zones. All have been identified by the company’s expert ‘course mappers’.

SkyCaddie conforms to USGA/R&A rulings and golfers are able to download the courses they want to play via a range of annual SkyPlayer Membership schemes.

” Having U.S. Ryder Cup star Jim Furyk join our team of professional advisors makes a significant statement about the growth of this new market we have pioneered and the importance of our products to the game of golf and the business of golf today,” said Richard Edmonson, CEO, SkyGolf.

” The relationship between player and caddie is critical in the success of professional golfers. As an accomplished Tour player who knows first-hand the value of a professional caddie, Jim Furyk understands just how much SkyCaddie, as the closest thing to actually having a Tour caddie, can contribute to improving play of today’s amateur golfers.”

As part of the working relationship between Hank Haney and SkyGolf, and in support of Haney’s contribution to the SkyGolf advisory team, Haney’s exclusive single strategy DVD, along with the Essentials DVD Collection, will be available to golfers on the SkyGolf website at www.skygolf.com.

For more information golfers can call SkyCaddie in the UK on 0870 112 0513 or visit the web site: www.skycaddiegps.co.uk
  
     
Company Contact: Jackie Hitchcock, SkyCaddie
Tel: +44 (0)1865 876469, Email: jackie@skycaddiegps.co.uk
Web: www.skycaddiegps.co.uk

  
     
Media Contact: Andy Hiseman, Hiseman Partners
Tel: +44 (0)1780 757461, Email: andy@hiseman.com
 

By Andy Hiseman, Hiseman Partners

ST MELLION INTERNATIONAL NAMED IN ‘UK TOP 100 COURSES’ GUIDE

St Mellion International Resort has been named one of the best 100 golf courses in the UK, just five months ahead of its official reopening following a £20m redevelopment by owners Crown Golf.

The new hotel at the famous resort in Saltash, Cornwall, will open its doors in June after the multi-million pound golf course, clubhouse and hotel redevelopment – a fact recognised in its inclusion in the ‘Golf World Top 100′, one of the most widely regarded course guides in golf.

The venue is home to the highly-regarded Nicklaus Signature Course, the first to be built in the UK by 18-times major winner Jack Nicklaus, which has been extensively upgraded; and also the remodelled and extended Kernow Course.

“We are delighted that the Nicklaus Signature Course at St Mellion International Resort is back in the Golf World Top 100 UK Courses guide,” Crown Golf CEO, Stephen Lewis said today.

“To feature alongside legendary courses like St Andrews and The Belfry shows just how highly St Mellion is rated as a tour-quality venue by the golf industry and reflects the enormous amount of work that is going into making it the most prestigious golf resort in the South West.”

Major upgrades have been made to the Nicklaus Signature Course and Kernow Course; a new four-star standard hotel has been built, equipped with leisure and spa facilities; while dining, hospitality and function facilities have all been significantly upgraded.

This extensive redevelopment of St Mellion International Resort, combined with its inclusion in the Golf World Top 100, is set to further establish Cornwall as a golf hotspot with both UK golfers and overseas tourists.

Despite the announcement today of the postponement the English Open, due to be held at St Mellion International resort in August, until 2011, Crown Golf remains positive that their redevelopment of the venue will be a major boost to the region.

Added Mr Lewis: “We are delighted that Crown Golf’s own £20 million rebuilding and refurbishing hotel and course renovation project is progressing well, and that the landmark hotel with 80 rooms will officially open in June.

“We have a long term agreement with The European Tour to host The English Open but unfortunately like many companies the credit crunch has created additional challenges for the third party developers engaged in developing the non-hotel golfers’ accommodation at St Mellion.

“A two year postponement provides a good time frame for all work to be completed and we have reiterated our commitment to The European Tour to host The English Open from 2011. We appreciate The European Tour’s assistance in working with us.”

The English Open will return to The European Tour International Schedule in 2011.

Keith Waters, Director of International Policy of The European Tour, said: “The two year lead-up will enable Crown Golf to progress the project to the high standard both they and us demand for our players.”

St Mellion International Resort is ranked #100 in the Golf World Top 100 Golf Courses in the UK, returning after a six year absence.
  
     
Company Contact: Stephen Lewis, CEO, Crown Golf
Tel: +44 1344 383975
Email: s.lewis@crown-golf.co.uk

  
     
Crown Golf
Media Contact: Andy Hiseman /John Kelly, Hiseman Partners
Tel: 01780 757537. Email: andy@hiseman.com / john@hiseman.com
 

By Andy Hiseman, Hiseman Partners

CROWN GOLF ACADEMIES EXPANDS – AND DELIVERS ‘COMMUNITY LINKS SCHOOL GOLF’ INITIATIVE

Crown Golf Academies is to expand its network of academies to 14 this winter, cementing its position as the largest provider of golf academies in the UK.

New Crown Golf Academies are being opened at The Bristol GC (Bristol), Orpington GC (Kent), The Chase GC (Staffordshire), Oak Park GC (Surrey), South Essex GC (Essex) and Paultons GC (Hampshire) and will be added to eight that were established in the last 12 months.

Meanwhile, coaches from the entire network are on course to provide golf to more than 270 schools in the coming months in an initiative being spearheaded by Group Academy Manager, Rob Spurrier, in partnership with the Golf Foundation.

Said Rob: “An over-riding aim of Crown Golf and Crown Golf Academies is to develop grass roots golf.

“By linking to schools we are able to introduce golf coaching to children in a structured, fun way and at the same time establish their regional Crown Golf Academy as an important facility in their community.

“Making the link between the golf that is being provided at school and each local golf club is essential if the game is to grow.”

With 33 clubs and more than 50 courses nationwide, Crown Golf is the UK’s largest golf course owner/operator. Many of its clubs run successful junior sections, which are expected to grow as the new academies roll out in parallel to the schools initiative.

John Weir, Crown Golf Chief Operating Officer, said: “We are delighted to be working closely with organisations like the Golf Foundation to grow grass roots golf. They are very successful at helping to create links with schools and securing funding, while we are able to provide a large-scale golf coaching resource.

“While every new Crown Golf Academy we open adds a new dimension to its home club, it also shows how golf can support government objectives of increasing the numbers of schoolchildren who take part in physical education.”

Crown Golf Academies has formed relationships with several School Sport Partnerships to deliver golf at schools – including 50 around Chelsfield Lakes GC at Orpington, Kent, and 70 close to the Chase GC in Penkridge, Staffs.

The School Sport Partnership programme (formally known as the School Sport Co-ordinator Programme) was established in 2000, in support of government targets to increase the percentage of school children who spend at least two hours each week on high quality physical education (PE) and school sport to 75% by 2006. This target has since been increased and extended to 85% by 2008.

Added Rob Spurrier: “Working in this way allows us to introduce golf to children of all ages – progressing from TriGolf and Golf Xtreme through to structured coaching at a Crown Golf Academy and even culminating in clinics at The English Open next year at St Mellion International Resort.”
  
     
CROWN GOLF
Contacts: Robert Spurrier, Crown Golf Academies
Tel: 07920 509545 Email: r.spurrier@crown-golf.co.uk
  
     
MEDIA Contact: Andy Hiseman, Hiseman Partners
Tel: 01780 757461. Email: andy@hiseman.com
 

By Andy Hiseman, Hiseman Partners

SKYCADDIE WELCOMES EGU RANGEFINDER DECISION

SkyCaddie, the number one rangefinder in golf, has welcomed the decision by the English Golf Union to allow distance measuring devices to be used in all its championships in 2009.

The move, which was agreed by the EGU’s board of directors following the recommendation of the Championship Committee at its recent meeting at Woodhall Spa, follows a decision earlier in 2008 by the PGA to allow the use rangefinders at its championships.

Jackie Hitchcock, UK managing director of SkyCaddie, said: “This is great news. The EGU should be applauded for accepting that distance measuring devices are now part and parcel of a golfer’s equipment and only add to the enjoyment of the game.

“Increasing numbers of golfers use SkyCaddie to give them precise distance information and this decision gives golfers at the very top of the amateur game access to technology that can only help them improve.”

Only DMDs that calculate distance will be permitted in the EGU championships. Those providing other information such as wind speed, temperature and elevation, will not be allowed. Any player found using such a DMD will be in breach of Rule 14-3 for which the penalty is disqualification, regardless of whether any such additional function is actually used.

EGU officials have contacted the R&A and the other Home Unions to inform them of the move and the change is being written into the conditions of each of next year’s events.

SkyCaddie – the official rangefinder of the PGA of Great Britain & Ireland – is the ultimate golf rangefinder. The IntelliGreen technology enables golfers to measure the full depth and shape of the green from any angle of approach (even the wrong fairway!) and shows distances for all targets and hazards.

And with 95% of courses in England, Scotland and Wales now mapped – along with thousands of other courses worldwide – demand in the UK for the innovative hand-held units has been soaring. SkyCaddie GPS rangefinders appeal to golfers on two levels – playing better, and playing faster!

They give instant and accurate information via satellite, which includes exact yardages to the front of hazards and to carry them, and precise distances to the green.

The yardages have been physically measured on foot by SkyCaddie’s UK team of ‘course mappers’. So unlike other rangefinders, who used outdated aerial photography, the on-course detail has been verified by golfers, for golfers. This really is like having a Tour caddy on your shoulder.

SkyCaddie conforms to USGA/R&A rulings and golfers are able to download the courses they want to play via a range of annual SkyPlayer Membership schemes.

For more information golfers can call SkyCaddie on 0870 112 0513 or visit the web site: www.skycaddiegps.co.uk
  
     
Company Contact: Jackie Hitchcock, SkyCaddie
Tel: +44 (0)1865 876469, Email: jackie@skycaddiegps.co.uk
Web: www.skycaddiegps.co.uk

  
     
Media Contact: Andy Hiseman, Hiseman Partners
Tel: +44 (0)1780 757461, Email: media@hiseman.com