One of the prestigious PGA EuroPro Tour competitions has been awarded to Longhirst Hall Golf Club and officials believe it will help to continue its upward spiral.

The three-day event will take place from June 9 to 11 over The Lakes course, where accuracy will be the key to victory as lakes and water features come into play on most holes.

Each EuroPro Tour tournament has a minimum prize purse of £40,000 and is covered by Sky Sports and golf channels around the world.

Longhirst Golf Club Manager Graham Chambers said: "This will be the biggest ever golf event in the Castle Morpeth area and we are excited to know that we are going to get national and worldwide coverage.

"It has been a 15-year process to get to this point and we have developed in stages, but once we had the club house in place three years ago I felt we were ready to hold an event of this stature.

"We look forward to hosting golfers from all over the country. We have a unique course for them to test themselves on and I'm sure they will find it demanding but enjoyable."

There will be free entry for spectators and places are available for a Pro-Am event with the golfers and sporting celebrities on June 8.

The club has continued to grow despite others hitting hard times because of the credit crunch, with a 25 per cent increase in membership last year.

"We were very pro-active in seeing what was coming so we tailored the membership and greens fees to help people who were struggling with their finances," said Mr Chambers.

"At the same time we decided to maintain the high standards of course maintenance so people know they are still coming to play on top quality courses.

"Our relaxed attitude and family-friendly feel, as well as having the best inland drainage system in the area have also helped us to get more people along and our next project is to improve further the driving range."

And Longhirst professional Wayne Tyrie said: "There is a five-year development plan to take the club forward so it will be one of the best in the North East.

"Many clubs in the region followed our pricing measures but Graham has many more ideas to keep us ahead of the game and having two courses (Dawson is the other) allows us to be flexible in what we offer."

Mr Tyrie is also looking to attract 350 to 400 young people to his academy this year, with 250 attending sessions in 2009. They start again on March 1 from 10am to 10.45am and 11am to 11.45am — open to those aged between six and 18 at a cost of £5 per head.

Other events to be held at the club this year include a clash between the north and south of Northumberland on May 1 and the return of the Steve Harmison charity golf day.

For more information about the club, or to apply to be part of the EuroPro Tour Pro-Am event, telephone 01670 791562 or e-mail enquiries@longhirstgolf.co.uk