Golfers tee up a cash bonanza for hospice
Golfing Rotarians have raised over £10,000 for Strathcarron Hospice with just one event - helping the sum raised over three decades for the charity to reach almost half a million pounds.
For the past 33 years, Bridge of Allan and Dunblane Rotary Club has held an Am-Am golf competition at the Dunblane New Golf Club, with the proceeds going to support Strathcarron Hospice.
Over that period, a total sum approaching £450,000 has been raised. Enthusiasm for the event has never waned, with 52 teams of four players entering this year’s competition. Many of the teams travelled considerable distances, with the five teams from Oban being particularly welcome visitors. Helping the spirits of the competitors this year, the event was blessed with excellent weather.
Given the number of teams, there was a need for an early start, with the first team teeing off at 7.30am, and those at the other end of the day not finishing until shortly after 8.30pm – a long day for those in the club looking after the arrangements. However, during the day, the competitors were refreshed with a variety of food and drink.
Organiser of the event, Rotarian Jim Gardner said:“We are deeply grateful to Dunblane New Golf Club for allowing us to hold this annual event, with no charge being made for the use of the course. It goes without saying that without this generous gesture the proceeds going to Strathcarron would be greatly reduced.”
He also paid tribute to the continuing support from long-term sponsors Farmfoods.
During the day, the results coming through from competitors showed that the outcome was going to be in doubt until the final team finished. In the end, the winning team was“The Wee Swallie”from Dunblane, with members Willie McGregor, Jim Reavey, Jim Forbes, and Bob David. Their winning score of 92 was comfortably ahead of the Dunblane New Golf Club team of Jamieson, Saunders, McLuckie and Gibson who finished with a score of 88.
The competition for the best yellow ball was won by the Baird Lumsden team with a score of 39, ahead of the Auchterarder Rotary Club team close behind with 38.
Jim Gardner paid tribute to members of the club who had worked to make the competition a success, particularly singling out Russell Clark who had been responsible for a major part of the organisational arrangements.
“All in all”, Jim said,“the club can be very satisfied with the outcome of the day: our competitors have been well pleased with the arrangements; and we have again been successful in generating a very useful cash sum for Strathcarron”.