JUDAS PRIEST Guitarist K.K. DOWNING Holds Charity Golf Day; Video Available

September 16, 2010

According to the Shropshire Star, JUDAS PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing held a charity golf day in the grounds of his Shropshire home.

Twenty-four teams of four helped to raise thousands of pounds for the Lord's Taverners at Astbury Hall, near Bridgnorth.

The event was held prior to the opening to the public of the 18-hole golf course, which the musician designed himself for the grounds of his home.

Among those taking part in the event were: K.K. Downing; Ian Hill, JUDAS PRIEST bassist; Neal Radford, former England and Worcestershire cricketer; John Richards, former Wolves player; Steve Daley, former Wolves and Manchester City player, as well as golf professional Steven Carter.

Watch video footage below.

When asked in a 2009 interview with Golf365 if it's true that DEF LEPPARD got him into golf, Downing replied, "Yeah, kind of. They challenged us to a game of golf and we challenged them to tennis. That sort of got us back into golf, because I'd played before but after that we started playing on tour a lot. It made sense because we had the time. We'd get in a cab, me and Glenn (Tipton; fellow JUDAS PRIEST guitarist),didn't know where we were going, didn't care, we'd just ask the driver which was the best course in the area, he'd take us and we'd end up playing some great courses. One time we were in Denver and asked for the top course, ended up at Arrowhead. The memories of that course and to think I played there — it was a special place."

Regarding his early experiences of playing golf in the U.K., Downing said, "Well, golf's moved on a long way since I first thought about it. Coming from the Black Country, I know that it used to be a sport for people of a certain class. It wasn't that working class people didn't want to play because you'd see them knocking a ball around in the park. But where could they play? It reminds me of the way things are in Japan now. I don't know what the stats are but I've played there and I've felt guilty playing — yeah, guilty! It's something like 9 out of 10 Japanese golfers won't get to see a course!"

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