NO HANDICAP FOR SPONSORS AS GOLF TAKES TO THE STREETS OF SHOREDITCH

During the Sunday of Spring Bank Holiday (May 30th, 2004), some people will be travelling into Shoreditch with their golf bags, dressed to play. They are the 64 competitors who will actually be playing golf in the streets around the trendy East End. Prospective competitors who have entered the draw at www.urbanopen.info are eagerly awaiting their selection one month prior to the Shoreditch Urban Open. The rules and the entry form on the site may encourage you to be ironic, stupid and funny but in the true spirit of Golf and Shoreditch, knowing people is all-important and entering famous locals you have met along your travels could clinch you an entry to this unique event. The course is set out in Shoreditch throughout the labyrinth of small streets. This tournament will occur at what is usually the quietest possible time of the year in the quietest streets around Shoreditch, but for once they will be full of activity. The tournament will have a unique event feel, as all players are encouraged to dress in the spirit of the event whilst adhering to the dress code, although all rules are up for interpretation. The ball has been redesigned as a soft leather ball rather than a normal golf ball. This is, amongst other things, a trade off between the soft playing conditions of a golf course and the hard of the urban environment, allowing players to use walls and street furniture as playing aids. Competitors may have their faithful supporters but there will be many other spectators as the holes pass local pubs/bars where gatherings will occur around the greens to watch play, hedge bets on the outcome and laugh at the outrageous dress. Contestants will be playing off mats and holes will be hydrant covers in the pavement around which green carpet will be laid to form the greens. Trees will be lampposts; bunkers will be drains and gutters. The event will be filmed and post-produced into a 20-minute humorous documentary, which will then be offered to the terrestrial and satellite TV companies for airing. We are told that the event has already had media publicity on the the front page of the Independent's Review, on BBC London, BBC Radio, etc. and has attracted an extensive list of entrants keen to play. It has generated interest among TV companies wanting to film documentaries, magazines with exclusives and newspapers for articles. Further publicity is currently being organized. Word of mouth has created a distinct 'underground' feel to the tournament and it is this exclusivity which appears to have driven the media, both nationally and internationally, and the general public's appetite for the event. Opportunities for Title Sponsors and secondary sponsors are still available to date.   Contact: Jeremy Feakes. Tel.: 07771 922669. Other contact details in our Sport: General/Golf section.   E&OE