MEMBERS of the public are being given the opportunity to sample the course ahead of some of golf's biggest names.

With some illustrious names expected to hit Close House, in Heddon-on-the-Wall, for the British Masters over the weekend of September 28, a fund-raising four ball to raise funds for the 2019 World Transplant Games, coming to NewcastleGateshead, will take place on the resort's Colt Course next month.

The event has been organised by Close House owner Graham Wylie as he drums up support for the global event coming to the region, the founder of software company Graham Wylie chairman of the upcoming Games.

In addition to the charity golf day on August 16, a number of other fund-raising events are planned with Wylie and his team keen to encourage more people to sign up to the NHS Organ Donation Register, and very probably save somebody's life.

The North-East entrepreneur became aware of the importance of the register in 2010 when one of his twin girls, Kiera, required open heart surgery as soon as she was born.

A part of the parental network in the Children's Heart Unit Foundation in Newcastle's Freeman Hospital who had ill children, he saw first hand how life-saving transplants could be to people.

When asked if he would be chairman of the bid to bring the World Transplant Games, which have just been held in Malaga, to the North-East, he viewed it as an offer he couldn't refuse.

Wylie said: "We are trying to promote the organ donation register and get as many people as possible to sign up. Once you are dead, you don't need your organs any more but you can use them to give somebody else a second opportunity in life.

"The biggest issue currently is that not enough people are on the register, which means there are long waiting lists to have transplants. There is something like 300 people alone in the Newcastle area on the waiting, and that's quite staggering.

"The World Transplant Games celebrate the opportunities given to people who have had transplants, and there will be about 3,000 people from across the world head to the region, with 1,500 of them competitors.

"These are normal people who have had transplants, and can now enjoy normal lives because of the donor families. It's so important to so many people."

With Wylie leading the bid team, NewcastleGateshead was chosen ahead of American city Houston after Frankfurt, in Germany, dropped out of the running.

And he is excited to bring what he described as a truly humbling sporting event to his home region, which will see a multitude of sports, from athletics to petanque and tennis to golf, to these shores.

In the swimming pool, Hexham teenager Alicia Armstrong will look to build on her four gold medals and one silver, and three world records, from the Malaga Games!

Wylie himself was in Spain for the official handover to NewcastleGateshead, but he also took in a lot of the action to see what can be expected in two years time.

He said: "I went to see how the games were ran, and there is a lot of infrastructure required to accommodate so many people from so many different countries.

"Our goal is to give everybody a great welcome, make sure everything is stress free and make sure everybody enjoys the games. Most importantly, we will make noise for the whole event and the importance of organ donation."

There are limited spaces available for the World Transplant Games golf day at Close House, and bookings can be made available by contacting (01661) 852255 or by email: enquiries@closehouse.co.uk.