Long Drive show is in the North East at last

Sep 11 2009 by Tim Taylor, The Journal

IT’S not often you can say Close House is one step from a £¼m jackpot in the Las Vegas area, as will happen when the TSG European Long Drive Championships are decided on Sunday.

Decision day in the first championships to be staged in the North East runs from 12.30pm until 5pm, when the last ball will be ‘crunched’.

The top five will go on to contest the £¼m first prize on offer in the world championships on October 25-29 at Mesquite, an hour’s drive from Vegas.

Sunday’s spectators at Close House, who are being given free admission and free PGA golf coaching from 10am to 5pm, will no doubt enjoy the golf trick show being staged at noon, also for free, by the defending champion, Swede Mikael Lindblom.

But championships organiser Neil Hodgson says this is far from the main event.

“Mikael is one of the guys who does this full-time,” he said. “Yes, his trick show will be fun to watch, but it’s the championships themselves people will want to see and which he will want to win. Long Driving gets big TV coverage in the States because it is an extreme sport.

“The top players are highly trained, specialist athletes. They use standard, legal equipment, although shafts are super stiff, up to six times the usual stiffness of shaft.

“The clubheads are not always what you would see in your pro’s shop. They have three and four-degree lofts.

“It’s really spectacular. The current English champion, Paul Slater, holds the world record of 884 yards and he’s playing as well. In Mesquite the whole town stops for world championships week.

“Long driving is the most spectacular golf imaginable. It is designed for spectator appeal, with all the action centred on one tee.” Like Close House, sponsors TSG are owned by Sage founder Graham Wylie.

Mark Joynson, the managing director for TSG North East, said: “We decided to support the event as long driving is a wonderfully unique experience. It’s more entertainment than golf. TSG is delighted to be associated with the European Championship. This kind of event has never before been seen in the region and it’s great for us to help bring it here for everyone to see at first hand.”

Organiser Hodgson added: “As our Long Drivers of Europe is a North East company, it is a great thrill to bring the finals to the region at last. Finding the superb facilities at Close House is a real boost for us and for the region.”

Past European championships have been held in Amsterdam, Dublin and Stockholm and the other UK venues have been Stoke Park and The Buckinghamshire. The European finals are the climax of regional rounds held in Finland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Germany and England.

FOR more information about Sunday, ring (01661) 852255 or visit www.closehouse.co.uk or www.longdrivers-eu.com.