I am often asked who won the Classic. The answer is simple. The golf club and its members!
The classic is a fundraiser for the club and where does the money go? It goes back into the running of the club. It does not get ringed fenced for other projects it will not fund driving ranges, but it does enable us to exist and is part of the club's budgeted income. Our treasurer sets me an ever-increasing target each year and my goodness we need all the help we can get this year.
The Classic is extremely time-consuming to arrange a lot of coordinated work goes on behind the scenes probably more than you can imagine. None of it could take place without the dedication of a few faces, you all know who they are by now, and the generosity of a myriad of people, local companies and other golf clubs.
It seems to get bigger every year. I can recall chatting with Brian Lever when setting up the first event in 2010 wondering if we could raise a bob or two and how we might go about doing it. We wondered if we could get 18 teams, what time of day we might hold it and how we should try not to upset the early morning starting members who might not want to join in.
It does seem to strike the right chord with those who play. Competitive fun and good comradery for a common cause. It’s a very social event, there is plenty of banter, with so many playing these days, the going is slow. One wag commented that he had fought “shorter wars”.
There was plenty of refreshment stops to counter the slow pace. Having worked hard to secure an impossible first prize this year I joked after many months of trying I am delighted to announce the first prize is a “dental appointment”.
It was something much more precious, a four-ball at Hunstanton golf club. The team of Steve McMurray featuring Alex Holmes will be strutting their stuff in North Norfolk at one of the country’s most highly rated courses. There was a fourball somewhere for every team who entered and as usual a prize on every hole.
The informality continued into the night and as his want these days Robbie Williams's dad was on hand to sing along with the guitar and the ukulele. Something quite nice about seeing Peter Williams sing, Angels he tells me he was the second person in history to hear that iconic tune.
I can confirm that yes, we were able to raise a few bob for the club too. Totalling up an excellent bar take and raffle income, entry fees and sponsorship and the contribution to the club is close to 8k.
Not a bad day at the office. My sincere thanks to you all.
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