Four captains tee off for charity
John O'Gaunt's "Awesome Foursome" Club Captain Peter Horlock, Ladies Captain Anita Isaacson, Seniors Captain Bill Walker and Juniors Captain Caitlin Thomas took on 54 holes as part of The Longest Day Golf Challenge on Sunday 21 June 2020 in aid of their chosen charities. The captains teed off in a four-ball on John O'Gaunt at 7am, played two two-balls on Carthagena and ended their marathon over 12 hours later after another four-ball on John O'Gaunt.
Club Captain Peter Horlock is first to tee off at 7am
Seniors Captain Bill Walker gets his first shot away
Juniors Captain Caitlin Thomas stripes one down the middle
Ladies Captain Anita Isaacson shrugs off the pouring rain
Twelve hours later our intrepid heroes on the JoG 18th green
Anita, Caitlin, Peter and Bill take a well earned rest
Captain Bill's report of the day
So, finally the day had arrived. I was standing on the first tee of the John O’Gaunt course. The sun was shining down onto a beautifully striped fairway. Surprisingly, for a 7am start, there was a large audience waiting for the Awesome Foursome to tee off. I had been given the honour of teeing off first. I took my driver, and thinking of Lee Scarbrow’s encouraging words, I took a full swing and cracked the ball out of the meat of the club. The ball flew straight down the centre of the fairway sliding very slightly left to right. To my surprise, as well as the audience’s, given the gasp that came from behind me, the ball pitched just before the front fringe of the green and kicked towards the flag getting ever closer. The crowd’s voices grew ever louder as the ball moved inexorably towards the hole and reached a crescendo as the ball seemed to merge with the base of the flag. Then my alarm went off and I awoke with a start. It was 5:30am, I had 54 holes to play today and was that rain I could hear tapping at my bedroom window?
From that rather low point, the day itself got gradually better and better. It was a cheerful, if somewhat wet start, but before long the rain ceased and the banter began. The three rounds were spiced with a light degree of competition. Round 1 was an individual stableford qualifier off full handicap played on JoG. First and 2nd would then play a 2-ball match playfinal on Carthagena while 3rd and 4th would compete for the wooden spoon. Suffice to say, the ladies played the final, and the guys, well, you can work it out. The 3rd round was a 4-ball better ball team event with 1st & 4th competing against 2nd & 3rd. Given the play was over 54 holes the emphasis of play was more towards quantity than quality so I shall refrain from recording specific scores. The singles competition was won by Juniors’ Captain Caitlin Thomas while yours truly lifted the wooden spoon. The team match was decided on the 17thwith Caitlin and I victorious; leaving the Awesome Foursome to play wearily up the final 54thhole towards a waiting audience some 12hrs and 30 minutes after we had started.
I would like to offer my sincere thanks to my fellow Captains for joining me on this arduous but so rewarding journey. Also, my thanks go to my trusty Seniors supporters and indeed to all John O’Gaunt Golf Club members for their amazingly generous donations and so many kind words of encouragement. Thank you also to Gordon MacLeod and his team without whose unstinting support this could not have been so successful. The day will undoubtedly remain one of the highlights of my captaincy and that walk up the final fairway one of the proudest moments.
That evening, after a very hot bath, two very cold gin and tonics and a meal, I laid my head on my pillow and thought, “Now, let’s see if that ball on the first actually dropped!”
And finally, Captain Bill’s last putt of the day ... or was it???
Stop Press!!!!!!
The final total of donations to Captain Bill’s charity, Macmillan Cancer Support, was £2746 with gift aid, an amazing 549.2 per cent of the original target. Thanks again for your generosity
So, finally the day had arrived. I was standing on the first tee of the John O’Gaunt course. The sun was shining down onto a beautifully striped fairway. Surprisingly, for a 7am start, there was a large audience waiting for the Awesome Foursome to tee off. I had been given the honour of teeing off first. I took my driver, and thinking of Lee Scarbrow’s encouraging words, I took a full swing and cracked the ball out of the meat of the club. The ball flew straight down the centre of the fairway sliding very slightly left to right. To my surprise, as well as the audience’s, given the gasp that came from behind me, the ball pitched just before the front fringe of the green and kicked towards the flag getting ever closer. The crowd’s voices grew ever louder as the ball moved inexorably towards the hole and reached a crescendo as the ball seemed to merge with the base of the flag. Then my alarm went off and I awoke with a start. It was 5:30am, I had 54 holes to play today and was that rain I could hear tapping at my bedroom window?
From that rather low point, the day itself got gradually better and better. It was a cheerful, if somewhat wet start, but before long the rain ceased and the banter began. The three rounds were spiced with a light degree of competition. Round 1 was an individual stableford qualifier off full handicap played on JoG. First and 2nd would then play a 2-ball match playfinal on Carthagena while 3rd and 4th would compete for the wooden spoon. Suffice to say, the ladies played the final, and the guys, well, you can work it out. The 3rd round was a 4-ball better ball team event with 1st & 4th competing against 2nd & 3rd. Given the play was over 54 holes the emphasis of play was more towards quantity than quality so I shall refrain from recording specific scores. The singles competition was won by Juniors’ Captain Caitlin Thomas while yours truly lifted the wooden spoon. The team match was decided on the 17thwith Caitlin and I victorious; leaving the Awesome Foursome to play wearily up the final 54thhole towards a waiting audience some 12hrs and 30 minutes after we had started.
I would like to offer my sincere thanks to my fellow Captains for joining me on this arduous but so rewarding journey. Also, my thanks go to my trusty Seniors supporters and indeed to all John O’Gaunt Golf Club members for their amazingly generous donations and so many kind words of encouragement. Thank you also to Gordon MacLeod and his team without whose unstinting support this could not have been so successful. The day will undoubtedly remain one of the highlights of my captaincy and that walk up the final fairway one of the proudest moments.
That evening, after a very hot bath, two very cold gin and tonics and a meal, I laid my head on my pillow and thought, “Now, let’s see if that ball on the first actually dropped!”
1 comment:
The ball won't have dropped Bill: your eyes aren’t over the line. 😉
Well done though!
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