GRAEME MCDOWELL seemed to be having a tiny bit of trouble in hitting Augusta’s difficult pin positions last weekend, but how will he fare when there are two flags to aim at on each green?

The US Open champion is one of a host of stars who will be competing at PowerPlay Golf: Ignition, a revamped variation of the sport which will take place at Celtic Manor on 30 May 2011.

The new format – designed along the same lines as the Twenty20 game which has proved to be so successful in international cricket – will see players complete a nine-hole round with a choice of pin positions to aim for on each green.

“PowerPlay Golf (PPG) is a shorter, faster format of the game where players face the choice of two pins to target on every hole instead of the usual one,” a PPG statement explained earlier today.

The extra twist is the innovation of adding two flags on each green. One – the white flag – will be in a standard pin setting.

The second black flag will be harder to reach and players can choose to win – or lose – extra points by taking a ‘PowerPlay’ and going for the Black Flag.

Among those joining McDowell at the event at Celtic Manor will be US Women’s Open champion Paula Creamer, British stars Ian Poulter and Paul Casey, and nine-time Major winner Gary Player. The winner of the nine-hole tournament – scheduled to tie in with this year’s Welsh Open at the same course – will receive £100,000 from a £350,000 prize fund.

Though very much a minority interest thus far, the game of PowerPlay Golf has been in operation since early 2007 with UK National Championships held annually in the sport.

Last November, sports promoter Convers Sports Initiative acquired a controlling stake in the format. The other brands in Convers’ sporting portfolio include the Russian Ferrari race team and North One Sport, the global promoters of the World Rally Championship and the Isle of Man TT race series.

Watch CBC’s introduction to PowerPlay Golf below.