But at the Toft Hotel course, between Bourne and Stamford, on Saturday (July 26), a landing hot air balloon provided another kind of obstacle.

Showing admirable accuracy, the pilot put the blimp down on the fairway on the approach to the par four second hole at about 8.15am, where it was snapped by a passing player.

The golfer said: "I was walking down the fairway with some other guys and saw it coming down and watched it land just short of us. I thought it was an emergency landing, but it looked like it came down safely and quietly.

"By the time I got there, there were a couple of vans there and people were pulling on the ropes to bring it right down to the ground."

The balloon belonged to Virgin Balloon Flights and had taken off from Belton Woods, near Grantham, at 6.50am.

The golf course was picked out as a landing site and per- mission was given before it made its landfall on the fairway.

Virgin pilot Alan Lusty stressed the balloon was brought down entirely normally, with no emergency measures taken.

He added: "After a lovely flight, we had a gentle landing at Toft Hotel golf club. The guys from the club were great and, after we packed away the balloon, the passengers enjoyed a traditional champagne toast."

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Virgin Balloon Flights also flies from Bourne and Orton Longueville, in Peterborough.

Visit www.virginballoonflights.co.uk for more details.