NORTHWICK PARK OPENED BY 'SIR' LES FERDINAND AS NEW 9-HOLE POWERPLAY GOLF CENTRE

London venue launches 'Power of 9' promotion to tie in with new development

Playgolf Northwick Park (www.northwickpark.com) opened today as London's premier 9-hole golf course - after unveiling the latest hole on its unique layout, which features replicas of some of the most famous holes in golf.

Former England and Tottenham Hotspur football legend Les Ferdinand officially opened the full 9-hole course on Wednesday, April 2, in his role as a Playgolf Ambassador.

The ‘Majors Course’ at the Harrow complex will also be set up permanently for PowerPlay Golf - the new way to play golf featuring two flags on every green.

Northwick Park general manager, Jimmy Wallace, said: "We are delighted with the latest phase of the course development, which now makes us London's premier 9-hole golf course.

"The quality of our Majors Course is unmatched by any other 9-hole venue in London and, uniquely, it gives golfers the opportunity to play the types of holes they might only have ever seen before on TV."

The Majors Course at Playgolf Northwick Park opened in late 2005 with six holes in play at any one time. But now the complex has completed its original intention of developing a high-quality 9-hole golf course.

Owners Playgolf (Holdings) Plc were granted planning permission for a 9-hole course on the land in Harrow, London, and during 2004/05 built eight full holes and incorporated a ninth tour-specification green into an expanded National Short Game Centre.

Added Jimmy Wallace: "One of the original concepts at Northwick Park was to give golfers the opportunity of enjoying 'golf in an hour' and we successfully promoted a six-hole round.

“However, evidence from the pilot phase of PowerPlay Golf suggests that 9-hole golf presented in a more exciting and dramatic way is proving to be more attractive to golfers and was something that we could not ignore.

"Golfers love the course at Northwick Park and they love the quality. But they want nine holes and we were easily able to satisfy that demand with some clever remodeling, which was always in our mind when we constructed the course in the first place."

The new 8th hole on the Majors Course has been modeled on the par 3 11th at Walton Heath Old Course, the famous Surrey venue which has hosted the 1981 Ryder Cup and five European Opens.

Having identified the last tribute hole, Northwick Park course designer Peter McEvoy OBE brought into play the full-sized green from the National Short Game Centre, which remains one of the UK's best chipping and putting facilities.

Extensive bunker remodeling and the introduction of heather - a key characteristic of Walton Heath - have completed the transformation.

To celebrate the opening of the 9-hole course, Northwick Park has launched a special ‘Power of 9’ promotion. Visitors who sign up for the venue’s monthly email newsletter can receive nine special money-off vouchers for its nine attractions – saving more than £50.

As well as the Majors Course, Playgolf Northwick Park features a 56-bay floodlit and heated two-tier range, American Golf store, Premium Golf Schools teaching academy, National Short Game Centre golf practice area, the 9-hole ‘Mini Majors’ Adventure Golf Course, state-of-the-art gym and the UK’s only fully automated baseball and softball batting cages.