Swinging with the professionals

Amateur golfers can get up close with pros like Monty

Amateurs at the World Match Play event can stand shoulder to shoulder with their heroes courtesy of the Leadbetter Academy. BBC Sport Online's Kitrina Douglas reports.

The practice ground at most big golf tournaments is traditionally treated as the "holy-of-holies". The practice ground for the World Matchplay is no exception.

The ground is off-limits to the public and is viciously protected by railings and threatening-looking security guards.

Only the world's golfing elite are privileged enough to tread on its finely manicured grass.

It is probably every amateur's dream to break through the security cordon and stand alongside their heroes.

But that is exactly what they can do here at Wentworth during this four-day event.

Golfers will have every nuance of their swing analysed

Courtesy of the Leadbetter Academy, amateurs can sign up to take a complimentary lesson on the practice ground alongside the likes of Seve Ballesteros and Colin Montgomery.

The lessons are given by golf professional Alistair Halliday from the Top Golf Centre. Alistair is ably supported in this task by a formidable array of 21st century technology that has forced its way into golf coaching.

As if a golf lesson on the practice ground at Wentworth alongside some of the game's biggest names wasn't daunting enough for most amateurs, the whole event is subject to video analysis as well!

The video provides a computerised documentation of the lesson and the player's performance that can be taken home and re-lived as a permanent document of the event.

The "V1" video analysis system examines any golf swing to provide all the information a player could ever want to know about their technique.

This revealing (and perhaps soul-destroying!) analysis is then emailed directly to the player!

The Internet Golf Academy is the company behind this service, giving golfers something to take home to friends and family.

The Top Golf Centre is behind further technological advances in the golf world. This centre is the first place in the world to provide a facility where amateurs can hit golf balls containing a microchip.

Unfortunately, this microchip does not allow the player to change the ball's flight to correct a poor shot!

So what is the actual purpose of the computerised golf ball?

Sadly all this microchip does is provide feedback of ball flight details such as how far the ball travels and how close it lands to the target. Rather than mistakes being eradicated they are just emphasised!

However, this little chip means that amateurs can play against each other in a virtual-reality digital style fully appropriate for the modern age.