Golfers raise over £5,000 for ICU in mammoth challenge

Golfers who took part in a 72 hole challenge in one day have raised over £5,000 for Scunthorpe hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

The event took place at the Normanby Hall Golf Club near Scunthorpe and saw 14 golfers from the local area tee off from 4am for a long day of golf (four rounds) that saw them finish the last hole at 8.30pm. They have so far raised £5,640.

Dominic Foley was one of the golfers who took part on the day and in terms of the sport, he said everyone that took part were at different levels.

He said: “We wanted to do our bit to show our appreciation to the incredible staff working long shifts in full PPE to help critically ill patients. We are all middle-aged so getting up at 4am to play 72 holes of golf and walking over 20 miles is no easy feat! 

We have so far raised over £10,000 for local causes by playing golf including the Disney Ward at Scunthorpe hospital. We initially set out to raise £2,000 and have been overwhelmed by the response from friends, families and local businesses supporting us and almost trebling the target."

“We all enjoyed it. After meeting up at 4am, it then started raining for four-and-a-half hours so it wasn’t the nicest of beginnings, but we endured. We managed the first 18 holes in four hours which was slow so had to up the anti for the second 18. The sun helped as we were dry and able to play quicker.

“After 36 holes, we had a break for a bite to eat and then we were onto the third round. There seemed to be more shouts of 'fore' than earlier rounds as I’m guessing the tiredness was kicking in but our little competitions were keeping us upbeat. We had a quick change after 54 holes to our NHS T-shirts and then tackled the last 18.

“The blisters started to appear, we had aching backs when picking the ball up and the odd knees starting to stiffen up but we managed to get over the line with Emma Hartley (Scunthorpe Community Champion) from the Health Tree Foundation at the final hole to welcome us home.

“There were some tired faces and funny walks as we had our prize giving and raffle which was a great ending to a long day.”

Emma said: “We are absolutely over the moon with the fantastic fundraising efforts of the whole team and we are so grateful for their support. We know that there have been lots of local businesses that have contributed to the cause and we will make sure that we thank them all individually over the next week or two.

“The team have been great to work with and, although they were really aching, they still managed to finish their rounds with a smile on their faces! Thank you all so much, you are all true Health Tree Heroes!”

The 14 golfers made sure they socially distanced due to the coronavirus rules. Dominic is going to present the cheque to the ICU in the near future.

To donate and see a full list of businesses who have supported the challenge, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/pgandfriends