|PIC1|Golfers at a Herefordshire Golf Club are in for a surprise when they reach the 6th hole. For the first time ever, players at Burghill Golf Club will find a board advertising the Church of England locally.

"We hope players will not be put off their strokes, in fact we hope they will feel a little inspired," said Anni Holden, spokeswoman for the Diocese of Hereford which is sponsoring the hole.

"We decided it would be a good idea to advertise all our Churches to the local and visiting golfers, so our advert has gone up."

The Diocese of Hereford has chosen the sixth hole, which is one of the longest on the course at 487 yards and is par four. It is 487 yards long.

The sign erected is double sided so players will be able to read it however they approach the tee.

The advert says "The Church of England, The Diocese of Hereford, A Branch in Every Village..."

"We did toss about quite a few ideas and I quite liked 'fairway to heaven' but after a wide consultation we played safe with 'a branch in every village...' which golfers and non-churchgoers seemed to like," added Anni.

"We hope it will remind players of the presence of the Church in the beautiful county in which they live. Other suggestions included 'Putt your trust in God' and "For when your life is in the rough."

The Diocese of Hereford has advertised before, more usually in wedding magazines. This is the first time they have chosen to sponsor something at a sporting venue. Burghill Golf Club, which is about four miles north west of the city of Hereford, has around seven hundred regular members but many more visiting players, to a course set in spectacular English countryside.

"We'll see how this goes and would welcome other suggestions both for signs and other venues where we might advertise. The Bishop of Hereford, a keen golfer, sometimes plays at the course but we haven't told him so it will be a surprise next time he plays!" said Anni.

"We have to find new ways of telling people about ourselves, and we will be checking out if this idea comes up to par or whether we're just putting our money down a hole".