Byline: JULIA HUNT
CELEBRITIES play it, trendy young women watch it and designers base their collections around it.
It may have been around for hundreds of years but thanks to an image revamp it's fast becoming the hottest game around.
It's golf. I joined the new `in' crowd at St Andrews Old Course for the Dunhill Links Championship last week.
Stunning young women with Chanel shades and Prada handbags lined the fairways. This was Ascot without the hats, Cowes without the boats and Wimbledon without the tennis.
Golf was once only popular with middle-aged men and women in frumpy clothes and ugly shoes.
Replica CoachBut thanks to celebrity golfers such as Catherine Zeta Jones, Cindy Crawford, Mariah Carey and Claudia Schiffer who even spent her hen weekend golfing women now see it as a fun way to get fit.
St Andrews University student Octavia Pollock, 20, and pal Sarah Wattie, 19, are huge fans of the sport.
Octavia said: ``Tiger Woods is the Andre Agassi of golf he makes it more appealing to women and once you start watching you can get quite into it.
``Golf is definitely attracting a younger crowd as it adopts a trendier image.''
The Dunhill Links Championship could certainly be called trendy some of the world's most beautiful celebrities turned up to tee off. Models Jodie Kidd and Ines Sastre, the face of beauty giant Lancome, took to the greens last week as part of the pro-am tournament.
Dressed abercrombie clothing in tight camel cords and a camel and cream cashmere jersey, stunning French model Ines turned plenty of heads as she perfected her swing.
But the real crowd puller was Hugh Grant. Crowds of women followed the actor when he teamed up with Colin Montgomerie.
Iain Banner, Dunhill Links Committee director, said: ``Celebrities are associated with luxury brands associating them with golf helps make it appeal to a broader audience.''
The popularity of golf is increasing at a huge rate.
The Solheim Cup the female equivalent of the Ryder Cup drew crowds of around 90,000 in Sweden earlier this month with tickets selling out three months in advance.
Women's golf also has the fastest growing TV audience in the world. When female professional Annika Sorenstam took part in the Colonial Invitation a tournament on the US men's tour more people tuned in to watch her first two rounds on cable than the final two rounds on terrestrial.
Swede Sorenstam has held all four grand slam golf titles and is the world No.1.
But her pounds 1.3 million yearly earnings are still only a fraction of what Tiger Woods gets.
However, this could soon change. The first Women's
embroidered patches Golf World Cup in 2005 will boast prize money of around pounds 1 million.
CAPTION(S):
Fairway fans: Pals Sarah Wattie, left, and Octavia Pollock; Tee-d off: Hugh Grant misses a vital shot; Iron maidens; Playing around: Supermodel; Cindy Crawford has swapped the catwalk for the fairway; No 1: The world's top female player Annika Sorenstam celebrates another victory; Par-fect posture: Catherine; Zeta Jones looks as good on the golf course as on the big screen; Putt-ing on the glitz: Mariah; Care