The competition for this was held in June with the best five stableford scores qualifying for the final. As two of the Ladies who qualified were unable to go, the Ladies’ team eventually consisted of Sarah Faircliff, Jean Ray, Kathy Dale, Diane Chapman and Brenda Harrington.
Our prize was two nights’ bed & breakfast at the Trump Turnberry and two rounds of golf.
The intrepid golfers excitedly set off on Sunday 18th October. We needed the extra day to prepare ourselves for “some exhilarating golf” as described in the information sheet. Having seen the bunkers, we could have done with an extra week!!
As the hotel was undergoing extensive refurbishment, the hotel building and the famous Ailsa Course were closed. We played the Kintyre- “links golf at its exhilarating best, undulating greens, glorious fairways, magnificent ocean holes and stunning views of Kintyre, Arran and the famous Turnberry Lighthouse.” It certainly was! We were blessed with fine weather for both days, unlike last year when the players had to endure gale force winds and horizontal rain. They did however play the Ailsa Corse but probably didn’t see much of it.
The final took place on Tuesday. The format, as before, was an individual Stableford competition with the best four scores from each team added together to find the winner. Had it been a Medal competition we might still be there trying to get out of the bunkers!
We were delighted to finish in third place, our prize being a Glenbrae sweater for each team member. We will wear them with pride, once they arrive.
The men’s team of Craig Crowhurst, Matt Smith, Dave McGuigan, Peter Harris and Graham Lloyd were fourth overall and won Bolle sunglasses. A good day for Chesfield!
I would like to thank the Men’s Section, particularly Craig Crowhurst, Phil Chester and their fund raising committee, for giving us the opportunity to take part in the National Golf Club Challenge. Over the last six years they have raised over £54,000 for Help For Heroes. That is an unbelievable amount and they are to be congratulated on their achievement.
It was an amazing experience to play golf at Turnberry and we were thoroughly spoiled by all the help and attention we received from the organisers Matt Leighton and Stacey Jeffries and from the staff at Turnberry. We were honoured to meet two of the soldiers who had been helped by the funds raised for Help For Heroes. They were inspiring and I hope we can continue to give them our support.
Jean Ray
Ladies’ Captain
