Former British Number One Tennis star Tim Henman proved that his hand-eye-ball co-ordination skills are not just limited to the tennis courts by smashing a massive 303-yard drive to officially open Golf Central, the new indoor golf centre in Bournemouth.
Over 100 VIPs and press including the Mayor of Bournemouth watched as Henman struck the opening drive down the ‘virtual 18th at St. Andrews’ on one of Golf Central’s simulators at 5pm last Thursday 18th February.
Henman’s 303-yard ‘Long Drive’ was the first shot struck in a 24-hour simulator ‘Long Drive Marathon’ designed to raise thousands of pounds for local children’s charity Julia’s House.
Hundreds of people took part in the challenge, which ran throughout the night, each paying a voluntary donation to the charity to have two goes at smashing their drive as far as possible. There were prizes for the longest male, female, junior and senior on the night, as well as a charity raffle for TaylorMade/Adidas golf products to raise more money for Julia’s House.
“The launch night was a huge success,” said Caroline Gogan from Julia’s House. “We are extremely grateful to Golf Central for selecting Julia’s House as the local charity they wanted to support. We raised over £1,000, which is absolutely fantastic and will go towards our current Pyjama Appeal, helping us give night-time care to special children.”
Henman, who retired from professional tennis in 2007, is now a keen golfer playing off scratch. “It was an honour to hit the opening drive at Golf Central to raise money for such a worthy local cause,” said Henman. “Since I retired from professional tennis golf has become a big passion of mine and I try to play as often as possible, although not too seriously, just for fun.”
Dominic Ellis, Managing Director of Golf Central added his praise on the evening. “We were extremely lucky to have such a high-profile sporting star here to open Golf Central. Tim Henman was brilliant, entertaining the guests all evening. The Long Drive contest was a great way for the local community to experience the fun of playing golf indoors while supporting a fantastic local cause. We look forward to welcoming the many participants back again to enjoy a full game of golf on our high-tech indoor simulators.”
Golf Central www.golfcentraluk.com