IN an ultimate piece of oneupmanship, golfers may soon be able to drive a Bentley down their fairways.
The Le Mans-winning car builder, which will be show-
ing off its new 200mph, (pounds) 110,000 Continental GT at next month's Scottish Motor Show in Glasgow's SECC,
has commissioned John Letters, one of the world's best-known makers of golf clubs,
to design and hand-make prototype Bentley clubs at its factory in Hillington, Glas-
gow.
The clubs are undergoing a test programme. Once trials are complete, Bentley will take a decision, probably before Christmas, on whether they should enter bespoke production.
Gordon White, John Letters of Scotland chairman, first started talking to Bentley last year.
''I drive a Bentley and I had been invited to join them in France to watch the Bentley team race at Le Mans,'' said White, who bought John Letters three years ago.
''That's when they mentioned they were working on a new, high-performance car and might be interested in a golf tie-up. The first job was to create a golf bag that fitted the Continental GT's boot. We'll be trimming that in the same leather found inside the customer's car.''
White said that if the clubs entered production, they would be exclusive to Bentley.
''The woods would be closely related to our innovative Trilogy family, created by in-house design director Gordon Rennie,'' he said.
''Our clubs are unusual in always being made from new metal. Many golf clubs use steel that has already been heated to produce the previous club. Our way ensures there are no dead spots in the metal and that, in turn, gives excellent performance.''
Douglas Smith, Bentley's Scottish marketing manager, said: ''Interestingly, when we conducted research into prospective customers for the Continental GT, we found that 66% either actively played golf or had an avid spectator interest. That's far higher than usual and we're already looking at other connections with the game.
''At this stage, we are investigating the potential for special Bentley golf clubs. Our talks with John Letters are exploratory, though we've already agreed with them the design and supply of the Bentley golf bag.''
Any association with Bent-ley would be well timed for John Letters. Since White bought the company, which was originally set up in 1918,
he has been steering it towards a return to its glory days of
the 1950s and 1960s when it was the biggest seller in Europe.
Several of the great and the good were customers, including actors Sean Connery, Jack Lemmon, and Frank Sinatra who, each time a new range was introduced, ordered seven sets - one for each of his houses.
Perhaps one of its greatest moments came in 1949 when the British Ryder Cup team teed off against the United States at Ganton in York-
shire.
White said: ''No fewer than eight out of the 10 team members were playing John Letters clubs through choice.
''No club manufacturer - before or since - has had that dominance in any part of the game.''
Gary Player and Lee Trevino used them in competition. With the latter, Bentley's historians have discovered an earlier connection with Letters.
White added: ''Making the Bentley Flying 'B' bonnet emblem required a similar process to making a golf club head.
''At the time, Bentley was looking for new work for its foundry and so Letters club heads for Lee Trevino were cast there - to excellent quality standards.''
Ahead of the Scottish Motor Show - which runs from November 7 to 16 - the company's latest prototype range was given a short test drive with Kilmacolm's PGA golf professional, Iain Nicholson, underlining potential for a
new Scottish business connection.
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