Church makes play for golfers with ads down the hole

THE CENTRAL Baptist Church of Illinois has spent hundreds of dollars buying advertising space in territory more commonly occupied by demons: the bottom of holes on golf courses.

This exotic twist in the battle for the souls of Americans is likely to catch pagans when they are at their most vulnerable. As tired and frustrated golfers bend down to retrieve their balls, a brightly- coloured ad shines up at them from the darkness. 'An Inviting Church', says the logo, a plastic disc decorated with red flames. It might equally say - 'Playing on Sunday? Feel Guilty?' or 'Next time, don't take My Name in vain'.

The church has placed its subterranean ads in holes on six courses, but it is only one of scores of enterprises selling their wares in the same manner on more than 300 golf courses across the US.

The scheme - yet further proof that there is no escaping the tentacles of the advertising industry - is being pioneered by a company run by Ric Dark, a former professional American footballer from St Louis, Missouri. You only need one good idea to make a fortune, and Mr Dark had his when he was playing a scrappy game of golf several years ago. A fellow player remarked bitterly that no one was holing their putts, even though the holes were as 'big enough to put advertisements down them'.

Mr Dark, 31, did exactly that. He says his company is now worth dollars 4.5m ( pounds 3m) and confidently expects to become a millionaire. The potential market is huge. There are some 28 million golfers in the United States, and dozens of new courses open every year. So far Mr Dark's clients have included Coca-Cola, Cadillac, and Holiday Inn.

Next month he will hold talks with a Scottish group interested in acquiring a licence to introduce golf-hole ads to Britain. His invention was listed as a 1992 milestone by the Old Farmer's Almanac, alongside the first lead pencil (1812), rubber bands (1845), the zipper (1891) and Tupperware (1945).