The Trilby Tour - Take Your Hat Off to Those Brave Amateur Golfers
If you're a weekend golfer, you know the feeling.
There you are in your armchair, drink in one hand, remote in the other, claiming "even I could have got that one in.
" For the past three years, golfers from across the UK and beyond have been given the chance to do just that.
The William Hunt 'Trilby Tour' has become a British golfing phenomenon, where amateur players come head to head with the professionals.
Today the tournament is watched by around two million television viewers, which is quite something, when you consider that the Trilby Tour came about almost by serendipity.
William Hunt, who was once a professional sportsman himself before becoming a designer of menswear, had a chance meeting in 2004 with the then world number 6, Ian Poulter.
Poulter visited Hunt's premises in London's prestigious Savile Row, asking him to come up with a unique pair of trousers for that year's British Open.
The result was Poulter's Union Jack trousers and the rest, as they say, is sartorial history.
As more and more golf professionals approached William Hunt for sponsorship, so the Trilby Tournament was eventually born.
Since its inauguration in 2007 at Stoke Park, this series of thrilling one-day 18-hole games has developed from a one-club to a nine-club event, touring England, Ireland and Scotland each summer.
Those fancying their chances need to give it careful consideration, though - this is certainly not a championship for the faint-hearted.
Aside from having a maximum handicap of 18 (with a three-quarter allowance), each amateur golfer must have a caddie and is not allowed to play with friends.
Players go out three at a time.
As they must be on the tee at least twenty minutes before they set off, there are at least twenty people watching them hit their first shot.
Shouting, blatantly intended to intimidate, is common-place.
Yet there are plenty of amateur golfers out there eager to take up this challenge of 'playing with the big boys.
' Tickets sell out within weeks of the tour opening and the entry fee includes a full, stylish William Hunt outfit including, of course, the ubiquitous trilby hat.
A complete caddy outfit and Callaway bag complete the look.
Terrifying though it might be, for skilled golfers who go the distance, having nerves of iron definitely pays off: the 2009 winner, 19 yr old Charlie Lidyard, immediately turned pro and received sponsorship.
The Trilby Tour Amateur Champion not only wins an exclusive set of personalised Callaway clubs, but also receives lessons with top coach David Leadbetter and the opportunity to play head to head against the top European Tour professionals.
Intimidating, exhilarating and with thrills akin to 20/20 cricket, the Trilby Tour is the amateur golfer's chance to live the dream...
and you don't get that sitting in an armchair.
For more information about the William Hunt Trilby Tour please visit - www.
williamhunttrilbytour.
com.
There you are in your armchair, drink in one hand, remote in the other, claiming "even I could have got that one in.
" For the past three years, golfers from across the UK and beyond have been given the chance to do just that.
The William Hunt 'Trilby Tour' has become a British golfing phenomenon, where amateur players come head to head with the professionals.
Today the tournament is watched by around two million television viewers, which is quite something, when you consider that the Trilby Tour came about almost by serendipity.
William Hunt, who was once a professional sportsman himself before becoming a designer of menswear, had a chance meeting in 2004 with the then world number 6, Ian Poulter.
Poulter visited Hunt's premises in London's prestigious Savile Row, asking him to come up with a unique pair of trousers for that year's British Open.
The result was Poulter's Union Jack trousers and the rest, as they say, is sartorial history.
As more and more golf professionals approached William Hunt for sponsorship, so the Trilby Tournament was eventually born.
Since its inauguration in 2007 at Stoke Park, this series of thrilling one-day 18-hole games has developed from a one-club to a nine-club event, touring England, Ireland and Scotland each summer.
Those fancying their chances need to give it careful consideration, though - this is certainly not a championship for the faint-hearted.
Aside from having a maximum handicap of 18 (with a three-quarter allowance), each amateur golfer must have a caddie and is not allowed to play with friends.
Players go out three at a time.
As they must be on the tee at least twenty minutes before they set off, there are at least twenty people watching them hit their first shot.
Shouting, blatantly intended to intimidate, is common-place.
Yet there are plenty of amateur golfers out there eager to take up this challenge of 'playing with the big boys.
' Tickets sell out within weeks of the tour opening and the entry fee includes a full, stylish William Hunt outfit including, of course, the ubiquitous trilby hat.
A complete caddy outfit and Callaway bag complete the look.
Terrifying though it might be, for skilled golfers who go the distance, having nerves of iron definitely pays off: the 2009 winner, 19 yr old Charlie Lidyard, immediately turned pro and received sponsorship.
The Trilby Tour Amateur Champion not only wins an exclusive set of personalised Callaway clubs, but also receives lessons with top coach David Leadbetter and the opportunity to play head to head against the top European Tour professionals.
Intimidating, exhilarating and with thrills akin to 20/20 cricket, the Trilby Tour is the amateur golfer's chance to live the dream...
and you don't get that sitting in an armchair.
For more information about the William Hunt Trilby Tour please visit - www.
williamhunttrilbytour.
com.
Source...