PLAYGOLF NORTHWICK PARK OPENS  NEW american golf SUPERSTORE

Harrow now has its own american golf superstore, after Europe’s largest golf retailer agreed to move into the popular Playgolf Northwick Park golf complex on Watford Road.

Northwick Park opened in 2005 with the largest on-course golf store in London – a 6,000 sq ft retail space offering custom club fitting, clubs, clothing and accessories from all the major golf brands. american golf opened its doors at the facility this week, and plans for a new-look store, due in early 2008, are already underway.

Jimmy Wallace, General Manager at Playgolf Northwick Park, said: “We are delighted to welcome Europe’s largest golf retailer to our golf & sports complex.

“Thousands of golfers visit Northwick Park every week and we’re confident they will enjoy the huge range of products and money-saving offers that american golf famously provides.”

Northwick Park is home to the revolutionary ‘Majors’ golf course, where every hole is inspired by a famous golf hole. Golfers can play the 12th and 16th at Augusta and the Postage Stamp at Royal Troon. In spring 2008 it expands to 9 holes, permanently set up to play ‘PowerPlay Golf’ - the new way to play golf which features two flags on every green.

Northwick Park also features the UK’s only automated baseball and softball batting cages, a spectacular floodlit 56-bay driving range, conference facilities and an Adventure Golf course.

CONTACT: Jimmy Wallace, Playgolf Northwick Park, 0208 864 2020, jimmywallace@playgolfworld.com

MEDIA & IMAGES: Andy Hiseman, Hiseman Partners, 01780 757461, andy@hiseman.com

SCOTLAND RAISES BAR WITH WORLD CLASS NEW TENNIS CENTRE

27 November 2007 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Scottish tennis talent will no longer need to train abroad when a new public tennis centre opening in East Kilbride next autumn will serve up the most advanced public tennis centre in Scotland.

The centre’s eight indoor courts will boost the country’s provision of public indoor courts by a staggering 25%. And the scale of the centre means it will attract national events as well as create a new national focus for Scottish tennis achievement.

As part of Playsport, a huge indoor/outdoor sporting and leisure facility, the brand new centre will be the UK’s largest indoor tennis courts facility. The surfaces will be of international standards allowing coaches to nurture home grown talent in Scotland.  For players like Andy Murray who trained in Barcelona, the centre provides the chance for training on home turf. The centre will also hold four dedicated mini tennis courts together with a hand eye coordination development zone providing the perfect opportunity to nurture future champions.

Judy Murray, LTA Talent and Performance Manager Scotland said:

“There is a big drive by the LTA to identify talent across Britain but in order to develop that talent we need more indoor courts. There has never been a better time to attract kids into tennis in Scotland and the scale of the Playsport facility will provide a huge opportunity not just for training but for major competitions too.”

The developers are working closely with Sports Scotland and Tennis Scotland, together with the Lawn Tennis Association to deliver a revolutionary opportunity for the governing body. The centre will become a platform for the delivery of Tennis Scotland’s community programmes and will be first time the governing body has had total control over its own destiny.

David Marshall, CEO of Tennis Scotland, said:

‘Scotland as a whole and this area in particular is very poorly served with indoor courts. Playsport represents a massive opportunity for tennis in Scotland. The success of the Murrays has given our sport its highest ever profile and it is very important that this moment is seized with both hands. Although it will be great for our elite players the tennis centre at Playsport will be focused primarily on community use and developing grass roots participation. The wider the base of the pyramid, the greater the chance of unearthing the next Andy or Jamie.’

Playgolf CEO, David Piggins, said ‘We are making very good progress on site. The whole development is very exciting and there is no doubt that Playsport raises the bar dramatically for public tennis facilities within the UK. The overall range and scope of the facilities at Playsport means that people will be able to enjoy playing their sport, or watching others, in a very friendly, sociable environment. This is not something which has previously been available other than to the fortunate few and I believe will make for a much more encouraging environment in which to participate in sport.’

This new venture for East Kilbride will cater for sports enthusiasts, beginners and communities across Scotland. It is a partnership development by Playgolf, Kilmartin Property Group and South Lanarkshire Council.  

>> Ends

CONTACT: David Piggins, Playsport Scotland

Tel: +44 (0)1926 422320

Email: davidpiggins@playgolfworld.com

MEDIA: Andy Hiseman, Hiseman Partners

Tel: +44 (0)7795 360112

Email: andy@hiseman.com

NOTES TO EDITORS

Playsport Scotland will provide:

TENNIS

• The UK’s largest indoor tennis centre, with 8 courts, in association with the Lawn Tennis Association and Tennis Scotland
• Four dedicated mini tennis courts

GOLF

• 9 Hole PowerPlay Golf course, featuring full-scale tributes to some of the UK’s most famous and dramatic links holes
• 60 bay golf driving range
• Golf Academy

FOOTBALL

• Eight 5-a-side football pitches
• Two 7-a-side football pitches
• Separate football bar and changing

OTHER SPORTS, HEALTH & FITNESS

• Four badminton courts
• Baseball/Softball range
• Climbing wall
• Aerial Adventure 
• 25,000 sq ft health and fitness centre with 20 metre swimming pool

OTHER AMENITIES

• 36,600 sq ft ‘family centre’ including indoor adventure golf, children’s gym and soft play area
• 6,000 sq ft of conferencing and events space
• 12,000 sq ft of restaurant space
• 15,000 sq ft of sports and sportswear retail space
• 450 car parking spaces

‘Tribute’ golf course aims to be London’s premier 9-hole venue

Playgolf Northwick Park, which opened in 2006 with a unique 6-hole layout featuring replicas of famous golf holes from around the world, is to be extended to nine holes and will become a permanent PowerPlay Golf centre.

Following extensive feedback from golfers who have played the 6-hole Majors Course at Playgolf Northwick Park in the last 18 months, Peter McEvoy, one of the original brains behind the concept admitted today: “It has become clear to us that while golfers support the need for a shorter version of the game, the answer is not just fewer holes. Golfers want a new, shorter form of golf and PowerPlay Golf is the answer.

“We will build one new tee at Northwick Park to fully realise our 9-hole vision, but in all other respects it is ready to become London’s premier 9-hole golf course.”

Owners Playgolf (Holdings) Plc were granted planning permission for a 9-hole course on the land in Harrow, London, building eight full holes and incorporating the ninth tour-specification green into an expanded National Short Game Centre.

In a bid to create a shortened, faster version of the game, Playgolf Northwick Park launched Europe’s first 6-hole ‘tribute’ golf course, using the eight holes in rotation.

Now a combination of a new tee and the original ninth green will enable Northwick Park to become a 9-hole PowerPlay Golf ‘Super Venue’, while the National Short Game Centre reverts to a 3-green facility.

Northwick Park, whose tribute holes include the 12th and 16th at Augusta and the Postage Stamp at Royal Troon, will be permanently set up to play PowerPlay Golf - the new way to play golf which features two flags on every green, hailed by many as golf’s answer to Twenty20 cricket.

Playgolf Holdings chief executive, David Piggins, said: “Golf in an hour sounds like a great idea but the feedback we have had over two years is that playing six holes just does not justify either the travel or the time off work, or give players enough satisfaction.

“We have found that PowerPlay Golf is being embraced as golf’s answer to Twenty20 cricket and we will provide that with a 9-hole PowerPlay Golf centre at Northwick Park.

“Going to nine holes will not affect the quality of golf on offer there, because we built full-size greens to start with. We remain fully committed to offering golfers the ultimate experience when it comes to playing a shorter, faster version of the game.

“We were the first people in the world to try 6-hole golf. Evidence from the pilot phase of PowerPlay Golf suggests that 9-hole golf presented in a more exciting and dramatic way is what golfers are after. This is supported by the fact that PowerPlay Golf is already a regular fixture at more than 100 golf courses in the UK, as well as at several in Australia and South Africa.”

Meanwhile, the new £16m Playsport Scotland development near Glasgow (formerly known as Playgolf East Kilbride) will be a full-scale tribute to nine of the most famous Open links holes, designed again by distinguished amateur McEvoy. And like Northwick Park, it will be a permanent PowerPlay Golf ‘Super Venue’.

Peter McEvoy, the former GB&I Walker Cup captain, said: “Golfers love the course at Northwick Park and they love the quality. But they want nine holes.

“We expect both courses – especially Playsport Scotland’s stunning links tribute course – to be exceptionally popular.”

Company Contact: David Piggins, Playgolf (Holdings) Plc
Tel: +44 (0)1926 422320, Email: davidpiggins@playgolfworld.com

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

FREE GOLF LESSONS AT PLAYGOLF MANCHESTER THIS CHRISTMAS

Playgolf Manchester’s ‘Big Hitter’ is the ultimate golfer’s Xmas present

Golfers in the North West can now get the ultimate game improvement package - over £100 of free lessons and driving range balls at Playgolf Manchester.

The Trafford Park venue, the largest golf practice facility in the North West, has launched an exclusive ‘Big Hitter’ promotion in time for Christmas, where golfers can treat themselves or their loved ones to a golf card costing just £99 – but with more than £200 of value.

The ‘Big Hitter’ card provides £120 of range balls and three golf lessons worth £27.50 each, saving the golfer over £100.

Golfers from Manchester, Liverpool, Chester and surrounding towns have already flocked to Playgolf Manchester, which features a two-tiered 64-bay driving range complete with targets and a digital golf swing studio, to take up the ‘Big Hitter’.

But it’s also being seen by shoppers at the nearby Trafford Centre as the ideal present for the avid golfers in their life. The card can be reserved online at Playgolf Manchester’s new website: www.manchestergolf.co.uk

“It’s only October, but we have sold loads of the Big Hitter cards as Christmas presents,” said Craig Whitfield, general manager at Playgolf Manchester.

“It’s on sale until December 24 - but can be used for up to 12 months. For anyone with a golfer in their family, it’s a fantastic present.”

Playgolf Manchester is the North West’s favourite golf facility, with teaching and practice packages for golfers of all standards. The venue’s facilities have been given a revamp recently, including brand new balls and mats in the range.

It is home to the North West Golf Academy - one of the UK’s largest golf teaching centres coaching more than 1,000 pupils every month.

The luxury floodlit golf driving range has 64 driving bays and four state-of-the-art video teaching studios. The site also boasts meeting facilities and a superbly-stocked american golf superstore, selling all the latest golf equipment.

Playgolf Manchester is ideally located at junction 10 of the M60, right across the road from the shops at The Trafford Centre.

CONTACT

Craig Whitfield, Playgolf Manchester
Tel: 0161 749 7000, Email: info@manchestergolf.co.uk, Web: www.manchestergolf.co.uk

31 August 2007

GOLFERS PLAY FOR LESS DURING RUGBY WORLD CUP 2007 AT PLAYGOLF NORTHWICK PARK

Popular Harrow family complex drops green fee prices� while Home Nations survive

Popular London golf complex Playgolf Northwick Park has announced a reduction in its green free prices to just £10 a round – as long as one of the Home Nations survives in this year’s Rugby World Cup 2007.

The offer starts on Friday 7 September, the day the World Cup kicks off, and ends – potentially – when the final whistle blows on Saturday October 20, in the Rugby World Cup Final. But with most rugby fans expecting at least one Quarter Final place for England, Scotland, Wales or Ireland, the first crunch weekend is likely to be 6-7 October, the first knockout stage.

And while the Home Nations are still in the hunt, Northwick Park has also dropped its two-round price to just £20.

That’s just twenty quid for twice around a golf course described by Open Champion Padraig Harrington as “a little oasis in the urban desert”, by runner-up Sergio Garcia as “completely unique”, and by Ryder Cup hero Colin Montgomerie as “fantastic”.

Jimmy Wallace, General Manager at Playgolf Northwick Park, says: “We know that many of our customers are also big rugby fans. Earlier this year we had the Six Nations on our plasma screens, which proved very popular. And we’ll have all the Home Nation games on our big TVs in the sports bar during Rugby World Cup 2007. We look forward to running our great value golf promotion well into October!”

Northwick Park’s ‘Majors’ golf course features tributes to golf’s most famous holes, including full-scale versions of Augusta’s 12th and 16th, the legendary ‘Postage Stamp’ par 3 from Royal Troon, one of the hardest short holes in the world, and the 6th at Riviera with its famous bunker in the middle of the green.

Contact Playgolf Northwick Park on 020 8864 2020, or book tee times online at www.northwickpark.com or on www.teetimes.co.uk

CONTACT:

Jimmy Wallace, Playgolf Northwick Park, 020 8864 2020, info@northwickpark.com

MEDIA:

Kay Kelly, Hiseman Partners, 01780 757461, kay@hiseman.com

27 June 2007�

PLAYGOLF NORTHWICK PARK LAUNCHES MAJOR MEDIA BLITZ
Unique golf complex features on radio, tube stations, buses and in West End�

Playgolf Northwick Park – the revolutionary 8-hole golf course and leisure complex in Harrow, London – has just embarked on an impressive £60,000 multi-media marketing campaign which will feature the venue on radio stations, on buses, and at tube stations and bars in the West End.

Masterminded by media agency Hiseman Limited, the campaign includes 30-second radio ads on Capital FM and LBC during June and July, giant advertising posters at Baker Street, Harrow on the Hill and Northwick Park tube station platforms, and A3 posters in washrooms at 60 top West End bars, clubs, pubs and restaurants.

In addition, Playgolf Northwick Park posters will appear at high-traffic escalator sites at Baker Street tube station, and ads will also appear on the rear of 30 buses in the Harrow and Weald area.�

The campaign, which describes the facility as an attraction rather than as a golf club, has been crafted to reach 25-35 year-old sports mad males and families looking for a new way to spend their leisure time. The campaign also promotes Northwick Park’s newly-launched Family Card, which gives discounts to families with children aged 16 or less.

Campaign manager, Craig Bousfield, said: “The idea was to create a buzz about Playgolf Northwick Park in the immediate Harrow area and then to spread the word that London has a world class golf and leisure complex throughout the city.�?

All print advertising was designed by Steve Larkin at eighthouse.co.uk.
�
>>> Ends.

Contact:

JIMMY WALLACE, General Manager, Playgolf Northwick Park

Tel: 020 8864 2020 / www.northwickpark.com
Email: jimmywallace@playgolfworld.com

Media Contact:

CRAIG BOUSFIELD, Hiseman Partners

Tel: 01780 757478 / 07810 863869

Email: craig@hiseman.com

NOTES TO EDITORS

Playgolf Northwick Park is an 8-hole, £7 million family golf & leisure complex which opened in October 2005 on Watford Road, Harrow. It is owned and operated by Playgolf (Holdings) plc. The 8-hole ‘Majors’ course features full-size ‘tributes’ to great golf holes from the world’s great golf courses, including Augusta National, Royal Troon and The Belfry.

Playgolf Northwick Park features a 56-bay floodlit and heated 2-tier Range, home to the Premium Golf Schools teaching academy, plus The National Short Game Centre golf practice area, the 9-hole ‘Mini Majors’ Adventure Golf course, the ‘Dunes’ children’s golf course, the Uniq fitness centre, the Amano café bar and restaurant, and the UK’s only full-size Baseball & Softball Batting Cages.

Recently, ‘PowerPlay Golf’, billed as ‘the new way to play golf’, was launched by Playgolf Northwick Park. The format, in which golfers have two flags to aim at on every green, has become a worldwide talking point among golfers, and will soon be seen on TV.

11 June 2007� �

WORLD’S FIRST POWERPLAY GOLF COURSE TO BE UNVEILED IN SCOTLAND
East Kilbride wins prized accolade after worldwide approaches

The site of the world’s first purpose-built PowerPlay Golf course has been announced – and Scotland, the home of golf, has secured yet another first. PowerPlay Golf Limited has revealed that the first bespoke PowerPlay Golf layout ever devised will be built at East Kilbride as part of Playgolf Holdings Plc’s mammoth new public sports complex in the town.

It is expected that each of the new course’s 9 holes will be an actual-size replica of some of the UK’s finest and most famous Links holes. Speculation has been mounting that the world-famous Road Hole at St Andrews will be included at East Kilbride, but course designer Peter McEvoy is keeping quiet – at least for now – on this.

McEvoy, Great Britain and Ireland’s most successful Walker Cup Captain and the founder of PowerPlay Golf, said: “We are really excited to be able to announce the world’s first specific PowerPlay Golf course. We have received a number of approaches from venues around the world wishing to become PowerPlay Golf courses, but it is fitting that the first should be in Scotland, where golf itself was born. We have chosen majestic holes where the greens can offer the variety of both black and white pin positions that PowerPlay Golf demands.�?
�
Billed as golf’s answer to Twenty20 cricket, and launched to massive plaudits from elite golfers and top golf writers at Playgolf Northwick Park earlier this year, PowerPlay Golf is a simple, shortened, yet highly competitive and strategic version of the game. Played over 9 holes, each green houses two flags, one white in a relatively ‘easy’ position and one black skull ‘n’ crossbones or ‘PowerPlay’ flag in a much trickier position on the putting surface. Before teeing off on each hole, each player must nominate the black or white flag. They must choose the black on three holes. If they achieve a net birdie or better on the black flag, their points score for the hole is doubled. This means that a bad round can turn into a great one in an instant.

PowerPlay Golf is running a nationwide roadshow in June with the aim of giving several hundred golf clubs the opportunity to host a PowerPlay Golf day for their members and visitors at their home courses later in the Summer. Further exciting announcements on the progress this revolutionary and much talked-about version of the game is making are also expected soon.

David Piggins, CEO of Playgolf, said: “We are always trying to offer our customers the best in modern sport and PowerPlay Golf fits the bill exactly. We believe that together with the rest of the facilities on offer at Playgolf East Kilbride we will be offering the local community something really special and a genuinely different experience.�?

>>> Ends.

Company Contact:

Peter McEvoy, PowerPlay Golf Ltd, Tel: +44 (0)1684 291345,� Email: info@powerplay-golf.com

David Piggins, Playgolf (Holdings) PLC, Tel: +44 (0)1926 422320, Email: davidpiggins@playgolfworld.com

Media Contact:

Craig Bousfield, Hiseman Partners,� Tel: +44 (0)1780 757478, Email: craig@hiseman.com

23rd May 2007�

GB BASEBALL STARS TO VISIT NORTHWICK PARK
Harrow-based golf and baseball leisure facility stages Open Day

Playgolf Northwick Park – the exciting new family leisure facility in Harrow – is staging a baseball and softball Open Day on Wednesday, 30th May.

The unique £7m complex is offering free use of its automated baseball and softball cages, the only ones in the UK, to celebrate a recent planning victory which allowed them to stay open.� Visitors will get complimentary use of the cages and equipment all day, while coaches from BSUK (Baseball & Softball UK) will be on hand to give coaching tips.

Playgolf Northwick Park general manager, Jimmy Wallace, said: “The positive outcome of the planning appeal means people of all ages can continue to enjoy our superb facility. Equally we can continue our support for the GB Baseball Team in their qualifying bid for the Bejing Olympics by providing a world class training facility for the team.

“This will be a fantastic fun day for anyone who fancies trying their hand at baseball or softball.�?Adam Roberts and Roddi Liebenberg, two members of the GB Baseball Team, will be at Playgolf Northwick Park from 4.30pm, signing autographs, and showing some of their skills in the cages.

Along with the baseball cages, Playgolf Northwick Park, on the Watford Road, in Harrow, boasts a unique 8-hole golf course, adventure putting course, 56-bay driving range and the National Short Game Centre.

>>>

Company Contact:

Jimmy Wallace, Northwick Park, Tel: +44 (0)208 864 2020, Email: jimmywallace@playgolfworld.com

Media Contact:� Craig Bousfield, Hiseman Partners,� Tel: +44 (0)1780 757461, Email: craig@hiseman.com

14 May 2007

NEW WEBSITE FOR PLAYGOLF NORTHWICK PARK
Major improvements and new look for www.northwickpark.com

As part of its commitment to increasing access to the game of golf, ground-breaking Middlesex golf venue Playgolf Northwick Park has just unveiled its new website. With better navigation, picture quality and information, www.northwickpark.com now offers users the opportunity to book tee times online as well as find comprehensive information about its golf lessons, conferences and corporate days. There’s also a unique blog section within the news pages.

The new website went live on the first anniversary of the official opening of the much talked-about Harrow venue, now firmly established as the outstanding destination of choice for London and South-East golfers seeking a great golf experience in an hour. With its six-hole Majors course, the National Short Game Centre and unrivalled driving range facilities, Playgolf Northwick Park continues to secure rave reviews from visiting golfers.

And with announcements expected soon about similar Playgolf launches near Glasgow and in South Yorkshire, coupled with the emergence of PowerPlay Golf – which was launched at Northwick Park and embarks on a nationwide roadshow this Summer – these are exciting times for Northwick Park and Playgolf.
�
>>> Ends.

Playgolf Northwick Park:� Jimmy Wallace, Playgolf Holdings PLC
Tel: +44 (0)208 864 2020 Email: jimmywallace@playgolfworld.com

Media Contact: Craig Bousfield, Hiseman Partners
Tel: +44 (0)1780 757478, Email: craig@hiseman.com

17th� April 2007

LONDON’S ONLY BASEBALL CAGES GET REPRIEVE
Playgolf Northwick Park wins appeal to keep batting cages open in Harrow

The future for London’s only automated baseball and softball cages has been secured, after plans to have them ripped up were quashed by the Planning Inspectorate.

Now bosses at Playgolf Northwick Park, home of the sports complex in Harrow, London, have welcomed the decision as a ‘victory for commonsense’ and slammed critics for undermining their attempts to create and maintain a world class leisure facility in the borough.

Following complaints by a handful of unrepresentative local residents, Brent Council issued an enforcement notice alleging the erection of a baseball batting cage was a breach of planning control at the £6m world class golf and leisure facility in Watford Road, Harrow.

They asked for the nine cages and lighting to be completely removed and the concrete base dug up and returfed.

But Playgolf Northwick Park’s appeal against the notice, which saw more than 50 supporters pack council rooms in Brent in February, was this week upheld by the government’s Planning Inspectorate.

Jimmy Wallace, general manager at Northwick Park, said: “We are delighted by what is clearly a decision for commonsense.

“Our batting cages are unique in the UK and have been used by hundreds of schools, organisations and families in the Harrow area.

“They are clearly very popular and have created a much-needed facility in a part of London that was crying out for a world class sports and leisure complex.�?

In granting Playgolf Northwick Park’s appeal, Inspector Mr D A Hainsworth said: “I consider the court to be an open-air facility for sport and recreation that complies with the Metropolitan Open Land policies in the London Plan.�?

He said the cages were ‘well sited’ in the complex, at a lower level than the access road, partially screened and there was plenty of parking space for visitors.

He added: “The kiosk, pitching machines and lighting equipment are unobtrusive.�?

Playgolf have agreed to make several alterations to the batting cage, which will include lowering the central column which supports the nets by 3m, lowering the netting when it is not in use and carrying out more planting on the Watford Road boundary.

David Piggins, chief executive of Playgolf Holdings Plc said: “I am very pleased the Inspector could see the value that Playgolf Northwick Park provides to the local community and greater London as a whole.

“There is a vocal minority of people living near the complex who are hell bent on trying to destroy a facility that is used and enjoyed by thousands of people every week – sometimes up to 4,000 people a weekend in Summer.

“I am delighted the government has confirmed that its policy supports our stance. This is an innovative facility that is great for London and, in the case of the baseball and softball cages, great for the UK.�?� � �

There are nine fully automated baseball and softball cages at Playgolf Northwick Park, with people of all ages able to select from three balls speeds. The cages sit alongside a unique 8-hole Majors golf course, 56-bay driving range, the National Short Game Centre and an adventure putting course.

>>> Ends.

Company Contact: � David Piggins, Playgolf (Holdings) PLC, Tel: +44 (0)1926 422320

Email: davidpiggins@playgolfworld.com

Media Contact:� Andy Hiseman, Hiseman Partners,� Tel: +44 (0)1780 757461

Email: andy@hiseman.com