David Leadbetter Golf Academies and Philips Electronics Celebrate the Grand Opening of The DLGA At LaPlaya Beach and Golf Resort.

Business Editors

NAPLES, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 10, 2003

David Leadbetter, one of the most recognized golf instructors in the world, and Philips Electronics today announced the grand opening of the David Leadbetter Golf Academy (DLGA) at the LaPlaya Beach and Golf Resort in Naples, Florida.

The new LaPlaya Beach and Golf Resort includes a Bob Cupp-designed golf course featuring a 6,907-yard championship layout, 18-hole, par 72 golf course, driving range, practice area, and 12,000 square foot clubhouse utilizing the latest in golf instruction technology, including Philips DVD recording. With the use of DVD recorders, instructors record all of the lessons onto DVD so golfers can maximize their lessons by offering a convenient, digital quality recording of their swing.

Video recording is a common tool in today's golf instruction. Recognizing the rapid growth of DVD, David Leadbetter Academies started offering its students lessons on DVD with the Philips DVD recorders last March. Creating a DVD copy of a golf lesson with a Philips DVD recorder allows golfers to enjoy the following benefits:

-- Take your golf lesson on the go - Utilizing the Philips DVD recorder, golfers now have the flexibility to watch their golf game in the airport on their laptop, on their office PC or on their home DVD player and share it with friends and family.

-- Building a life long game - Because VHS tapes degrade over time, the DVD recorder allows golfers to enjoy their lessons far longer than with VHS recorded lessons, as DVDs last much longer than VHS tapes. The digital recording will allow students to compare their swing throughout the years as they continue to improve their game and build a life long game.

-- Experience the benefits of digital quality - Philips DVD recording allows golfers to enjoy the same digital quality levels they enjoy on pre-recorded DVDs.

-- Quick and easy access to vital parts of your lesson - With the creation of an index picture screen, the DVD recording allows golfers to quickly and easily find the most important parts of their lesson. No winding or rewinding needed to review your lesson summary.

"The opening of our academy at LaPlaya allows us to offer more consumers outstanding golf instruction at an incredible location," said David Leadbetter. "Our academies feature the latest in display and storage technology, provided to us by Philips Electronics. Philips' products allow the Leadbetter Academies to provide our students with a state-of-the-art instructional experience. We have been using Philips products over the last year and we have found that they are a tremendous benefit to our teachings. The DVD recorders allow us to record each instruction on a DVD so the students can review their technique at home, work or while traveling."

Based on DVD+RW technology, Philips' DVD recorders allow consumers to create their own DVDs and play the disc back on most existing DVD players. In addition, Philips DVD recorders are compatible with most existing and future DVD-Video players.

Take Your Golf Lesson Beyond the Course

Philips DVD recorders allow Leadbetter Academies to quickly and easily transfer students' lessons onto a DVD+RW or DVD+R disc. Through Leadbetter's unique training and analysis system, the Philips DVD recorders are used to capture students' digitized swings and the instructors' analysis. A student's swing is recorded and digitized through the Academies' computer system to compare the student's current swing with that of a touring professional or measure their progress with previous lessons or other practice sessions. The Philips DVD recorder is then used to record the swing and analysis onto DVD, allowing the student to relive their lesson on the airplane, in the office or at home.

Students have the option of having their lesson recorded onto a DVD+R or DVD+RW disc, depending on the need of the consumer. A DVD+RW disc is ideal for editing and re-recording. DVD+R is perfect for preserving special golf outings, such as the Grand Opening of the LaPlaya Beach and Golf Resort or the broadcasting of the 2003 Players Championship. DVD+R will not allow someone to mistakenly record over those treasured moments.

The recorder also includes a component video input, which offers consumers a high quality analog connection to record from other video sources, such as a VCR or satellite receiver. Now golfers can use the DVD recorder to catalogue prior lessons on DVD and preserve the lessons far longer than with VHS.

Using the recorder to capture your favorite golf tournament from TV on DVD is as easy as pressing a button. Any time during the program, the user can press the record button and the DVD recorder will start to record automatically. Philips DVD recorders not only record, they also offer convenient editing features that allow the user to do linear editing directly on the recorder, utilizing the TV as a display.

View Your Golf Lesson at the Airport, at Home or in the Office

DVD+RW and +R media are interchangeable between PC and TV platforms, which means that consumers can record something with their camcorder, copy it onto a DVD+RW disc with Philips DVD recorders, edit it on a PC using Philips DVDR drives and play it back on most existing DVD-Video players and DVD-ROM drives. So no matter where you want to view your swing - in the office using your PC, at the airport on your laptop or at home on your DVD player - your lesson is ready to go. In addition to DVD+RW and DVD-Video discs, Philips DVD recorders play CD, CD-R, CD-RW, S-VCD and VCD discs.

A Recorder For All Life Styles: Philips DVD Recorders

Philips' line of DVD recorders offers consumers a variety of recording options. Based on DVD+RW technology, the DVDR985, DVDR75, DVDR80 and LX9000R provide consumers with outstanding picture quality and the ability to capture memories on a rewritable DVD+RW or permanent DVD+R disc. With the ability to play the recordings back on most existing and expected future DVD-Video players, consumers can share their memories with family and friends. Ranging from $799 to $999, Philips offers consumers the ultimate in DVD recording.

About LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort

LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort, a Noble House Resort, reopened in Naples, Florida in January 2002 after an extensive $50 million transformation and construction project. The comprehensive refurbishment transformed the local landmark into a luxurious, 189-room boutique resort located directly on the picturesque Gulf of Mexico. The hotel features an all-new championship Bob Cupp-designed golf course with driving range and practice area, over 11,000 square feet of function space, Baleen Restaurant, fitness center and a full-service Indonesian-inspired boutique SpaTerre.

About Royal Philips Electronics:

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is one of the world's biggest electronics companies and Europe's largest, with sales of $30.1 billion (EUR 31.8 billion) in 2002. It is a global leader in color television sets, lighting, electric shavers, medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring, and one-chip TV products. Its 170,000 employees in more than 60 countries are active in the areas of lighting, consumer electronics, domestic appliances, components, semiconductors, and medical systems. Philips is quoted on the NYSE (NYSE: PHG), London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and other stock exchanges. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter/usa/.

ATTN Broadcasters: Philips b-roll (via beta copy, fiber transmission and satellite feed), is available 24/7 by calling ([phone]).