ALTHOUGH a back operation curtailed Neil Williams's golf playing, he is on course to build a business venture related to the sport.

Driving Sales evolved when Mr Williams, 34, of Kidderminster, saw an opportunity as he was looking to develop a new career.

His previous experience in retail as deputy manager of a store made him take more than a passing interest in the various forms of advertising dotted around golf courses.

Ranging from logos on balls to large hoardings they set him thinking about how course managers went about securing their advertising and how it could be improved - or managed for them.

Putting his concept into practice, he came up with the idea of seeking corporate sponsors to form links with particular courses, promoting packages himself on behalf of courses by pitching to potential sponsors.

Mr Williams has gone a fair way towards expanding the enterprise, which is based in Mitton Street, Stourport, in partnership with Jon Hetherington, also of Kidderminster, who has a sales background.

"I've got about five or six courses in the Kidderminster area in the process of getting signed up for it," said Mr Williams. "I can hold an open day on a course. I act as a go-between. Because I'm a golfer, I take into account their interests."

Sponsorship deals will, typically, last for a year, with quarterly reviews to monitor them on an ongoing basis. Items that can reinforce the sponsor message around a gold course include flags, scorecards and ball washers.

Sponsor companies can also entertain potential clients during a round of golf on the courses, depending on the type of deal they have agreed.

The level of sponsorship can be determined by the volume of footfall - players - who use courses or rounds played during the course of a year. That could be higher than 30,000 - which could prove an attractive promotional proposition.

Mr Williams has worked out that golfers could get up to five minutes exposure to media messages as they are waiting to tee off at the first hole or two seconds as they direct their ball towards a green with a flag bearing an advertisement.

Driving Sales has received the endorsement of professional player, Matt Morris, winner of the Danish Open last year. He said the company had tailored a "unique" package to UK courses.