Sunday 12 October 2014

Harey Cup 2014 - Day 3

A relatively subdued Saturday night out in one of Marbella's finest tapas restaurants (best patatas bravas in Spain, allegedly) was, quite literally, the calm before the storm. I must have written a million times that superlatives are very easily overused, but 'biblical' wouldn't really do justice to the volume of water dumped on the Costa del Sol in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Harey Cup 2014 - day 2

The morning after the night before. The previous evening was a distant memory for (most of) the touring party when the sun crept over the mountains to signal the second day of the Harey Cup.

Saturday 11 October 2014

Harey Cup 2014 - day 1

It's here. After many weeks of anticipation, build-up and excitement, 10 intrepid golfers were ready to take on whatever challenges La Quinta could throw at them. The 2014 Harey Cup was underway.

Monday 6 October 2014

2013 Harey Cup memories

I had a bit of a play with a new video app and I put together a little collection of snapshots from the 2013 Harey Cup at La Cala Resort, Spain. Enjoy...




Friday 3 October 2014

Harey Cup 2014 - preview

One week. Just seven short days until the Harey Cup starts for the seventh time of asking so I thought I would do a little preview of what's to come.

Wednesday 10 September 2014

It's very quiet...too quiet

I've offered more than one of these half-arsed apologies about lack of blog-tivity in the past, so it's high time for another.

I've been pretty busy - work, family, work, holidays. And some work.

A bit of golf has been played since the culmination of the golfathon in mid-June, including an extremely enjoyable three days in the garden of England, taking in the two courses at Dale Hill as well as Chart Hills.

Whilst I certainly didn't threaten any record books at Dale Hill, I did manage to break 80 for the first time in more than a year at Chart Hills - it was a thoroughly enjoyable round and would have been even more impressive had I not kicked off with a fugly triple, not to mention the two doubles for good measure

What's coming up? Well, as documented in great depth last year, I am just four weeks away from the next instalment of the Harey Cup - Spain is, again, the country of choice; La Quinta, near Puerto Banus (that bastion of taste & elegance) the venue for four days of white-hot Ryder Cup-style golf...plus some beers.

More to follow on this extravaganza in due course.



I am the Part-Time Golfer

Thursday 19 June 2014

They think it's all over...

After many months of planning, changes to format, personnel and even location, the great charity golfathon of 2014 is finished. Having had a few days to recover and reflect on what happened, it's now time to share a summary of events.

Thursday 5 June 2014

Golfathon 2014 - The Final Countdown

The clock is ticking. The wait is almost over. We are into the final week before the start of what is probably the greatest golfing challenge in the history of the world, EVER.

OK, maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but it's certainly fair to say that what we are taking on is no mean feat, especially as we have got closer to the kick off and the reality of what we are attempting becomes apparent.

The major piece of news follows on from the last entry, and concerns the discovery of a clash at one of the venues. After some careful consideration & discussion, we took the decision to abandon the plan of having a Team Bedfordshire and bring that team together with the other two groups at Mid Sussex GC, so we will be all in one location.  This was not an easy decision to make and I will always be grateful for the support, interest and involvement of Julie at Colmworth GC but, in the circumstances, it was absolutely the right call to make. Habing experienced the Macmillan Longest Day challenge in 2011, I certainly wouldn't have enjoyed that if we had been 'sharing the billing' with another group, regardless of their goals and fundraising activities - with that in mind, we thought it best that we secure the collaboration & camerarderie of having all three teams together by clearing the path for the folks at Colmworth.

Equipment needs have largely been met, the final shopping list discussed this morning and the logistics of getting us all together are basically there. I will be trying to source some last-minute additions to the stash whilst in New York this week but I think we are pretty much sorted.

We are also pleased to receive confirmation from On Course Foundation that one of their members, Mark Walters, will be joining us from 10am on Thursday. It will be a humbling experience to play golf with this man and hear some first-hand details about the work that the charity do for these folks.

Finally, the regular sponsorship beg - we continue to make solid progress towards our target but there is, as ever, a long way to go and we need every penny we can get. Please, if you can spare anything at all we would be eternally grateful - www.bmycharity.com/golfathon is the link. Thank you.

If anything else crops up between now and Thursday, I'll be sure to let you know. Wish us luck.

I am the Part-Time Golfer

Saturday 31 May 2014

Weekly golfathon update - <2 weeks to go

I did give you fair warning that there was a good chance the regularity of updates would fade as time went on - it's been nearly two weeks since the last entry and, with the event creeping ever closer, it's time for some more info.

Main news has been the astonishing progress made on sponsorship, particularly in the last 48 hours. Having ambled along our 'Road to £10k' since kicking off the requests for cash, there was a genuine concern that we might fall embarrassingly short. Thankfully, those fears are proving to be unfounded, due to the generosity and willingness of so many people to dip into theit pockets and support this fabulous cause.

A flurry of individual donations took us through the £1000 barrier early on Thursday, followed by the first of the matched funding pledges from team member's employers. I must say a massive thank you to the folks at Santander and Legal & General for their extraordinary donations which, along with further individual support has pushed us very close to the £4000 mark. We are all so grateful for everyone who has donated although we still have a long way to go to hit the target! The fundraising page is www.bmycharity.com/golfathon and anything you can spare goes a long way.

The other news is publicity - I would also like to thank EM Acoustics, the excellent loudspeaker manufacturer, who very kindly provided us with somewhere in the region of 1000 professional flyers to hand out & post through letterboxes. The folks who run EM have been great supporters of my absurd charity golfing ventures and their generosity on this occasion is fantastic - thanks!

Now on to the topic of practice - since our 27 hole get-together at Farnham Park a couple of weeks ago, little has happened from a personal perspective until right now, where I am midway through a two day, two round trip to Royal Birkdale. With (yet another) trip to the US due next week, this represents the last chance for any semblance of practice before the off.

Ah.

Anyhoo, the Sussex folks took it upon themselves, having had a second 27 hole day immediately after ours, to get some night golf practice in on Thursday. The feedback was that it was an 'interesting' experience, made all the more challenging with the lack of glow sticks on the flags and, additionally, glowing & flashing balls that didn't - or at least, not for very long. Some equipment challenges to test us to the very last minute then.

The final thought for this entry is a bit of a dilemma (a rhetorical one really - please don't write in) - I discovered late yesterday that, on the same day as the golfathon, there will be another group completing the Macmillan Longest Day challenge (72 holes in the one day) at Colmworth GC. I don't believe there will be a logistical problem in terms of getting in each other's way, but I am concerned about the impact on the attention & awareness that having two golfing marathons running simultaneously will have. I have put this situation to the while team and, interestingly, there is a groundswell of opinion towards bringing all three teams together in the one venue in Sussex.

Clearly there is a logistical hurdle or three to overcome (not least the publicity associated with Colmworth and not wanting this potential change to come across as a dummy-spit) but it's an unexpected topic to mull over and, even after sleeping on it last night, I am no clearer in my mind or nearer to a decision about what to do.

I am the Part-Time Golfer

Monday 19 May 2014

Weekly golfathon countdown - 3.5 weeks to go

Yet again I have failed in my self-flagellatory task of maintaining a weekly update for the blog, so this is a bumper two-and-a-half week edition!! 

OK, fine, so it'll be pretty much the same as all the others, just more than a fortnight since the last one. Stop whining, for feck's sake.

Nutshell update: 

Sponsorship has a bloody long way to go, corporate matched funding notwithstanding - there have been some conflicts for the various members of Team Never Up Never In, with rival charity events vying for the hard-earned funds in people's pockets, but this week is the time to really push on and make some progress, particularly towards the key thresholds at which matches funding from corporates will kick in.

36 hole practice day was planned for Sunday at Farnham Park GC, nr Slough; two-thirds of the team (eventually) met up yesterday afternoon for a hit in the blazing Berkshire heat. Sincere thanks are to be extended to On Course Foundation for their kind provision of the banner and the orange golf shirts, which certainly help us to stand out from the crowd. Additionally, our friends at Pernod Ricard have very kindly donated a set of Ballantine's Championship IJP Design shirts & jackets - both these equipment donations are incredibly generous and make a big difference to the success of the event. In the picture below, Dave & I are sporting the orange OCF shirts, whilst Gary, Simon, Pete and Graham are modelling the Ballantine's gear

Media coverage is starting to pick up - we had articles published on the Golfmagic & Golfing for Charity websites plus we have James Corrigan from The Telegraph & Golfshake also preparing to write about our venture. Our expectation is that this additional coverage will help to drive attention, support & sponsorship so please look out for these articles and help us reach out target.

A number of equipment supplies are still required, with many a begging letter going unanswered. We have a desperate need for night golf gear, with a couple of promising leads not yet coming to fruition. If anyone is involved with, or knows of contacts for, suppliers of energy bars/drinks and night golf equipment, please reach out to us!

So all in all, lots still to achieve before we can get cracking with this event and not very much time left in which to achieve it



I am The Part-Time Golfer

Thursday 1 May 2014

Weekly golfathon countdown - 6 weeks to go

One could describe the passing of the T-6 weeks barrier as entering the final lap; the home stretch before completion. In reality, the sense we have as a group is that we're only just getting started. We had a 'committee' call last night where some final details were planned out and agreed.

We have our sponsorship emails written and ready to hit inboxes around the world. This means that if your email address is known by anyone in the group, you'll get a beg for some of your money. We shan't apologise for it. The financial target we have set ourselves is punchy, to say the the least, and, whilst we do have some matched funding avenues from various employers, extracting the maximum benefit from these schemes is only possible with the generosity & support of our friends, family & colleagues. Our sponsorship page is www.bmycharity.com/golfathon and anything you can spare would be gratefully received.

Publicity is the next hot topic - I mentioned previously about our contact at The Telegraph and Dave was able to confirm that their initial coverage will kick off following our practice day on 18 May (venue tbc). We are hopeful that this will accelerate the interest in what we are attempting, plus boost the support in terms of equipment, supplies and even cold, hard cash. There are a couple of other avenues to explore and these will be followed up over the next week.

Practice - you may remember, way back in the depths of winter, we had some grand ideas about an iterative and escalating practice/training schedule, building us up nicely to the main event. The harsh reality of a myriad conflicting events & commitments has led us to a new position of 'Ah, feck it - we'll be ok' - we are going to get together to play some golf on the 18 May, but it won't be 72 holes and, in all probability, it won't be 54 holes either. I am expecting to do 36 holes at a 'fresh' pace - to have a slight element of practice, we should be aiming for 2.5-3 hours per group. Time will tell if that is feasible.

Finally, the topic of equipment was raised, particularly what we would need for the two (or more) rounds we'll be playing in the dark. We are still hopeful of having an enthusiastic & generous sponsor to assist with night golf gear but, in the eventuality of that avenue not coming to fruition, we've drawn up a list of items to beg, steal* & borrow to get us through those holes.

And so what lies ahead? Well, I am back off to the US next weekend (with at least one round of golf to enjoy - did I mention it will hopefully be at Pebble Beach!) &, on my return, we have the practice day. The big kick-off creeps ever closer....

I am the Part-Time Golfer

*this is a figure of speech, clearly

Thursday 24 April 2014

Weekly Golfathon countdown - 7 weeks to go

Ok, so I did admit right at the start that declaring the intention of providing a weekly update had the potential to be a petard from which I could hoist myself - I'm nothing if not prophetic

It turns out that my ten day trip to the US was more time and thought-consuming than first expected, meaning I had little opportunity to remember to update the blog - sorry about that. So, what has gone on in the three weeks since the last update?

Well, I had an absolute blast golfing with Herb, Courtney & Matt at Broad Run GC a couple of weeks ago. I even played some respectable golf too, which was a bonus (I did eight hours travelling that day, so at least it was worthwhile).

I didn't get out to play over the long Easter weekend but I have a round scheduled for Saturday so we'll see if I can repeat some of the better things from Broad Run (the three doubles & triple not being high on that list). Oh yes, I'm also planning to play Pebble Beach on the 11 May, which isn't a bad place to have a hit.

We have made some baby steps on the sponsorship front, with the first snivelling emails and social posts going up in my (new) workplace - I waited a polite couple of months before getting out the begging bowl - and I am extremely grateful to those folks, in the UK and abroad, who have dipped into their pockets to support our absurd adventure. As I've said (many times) before, our fundraising page is www.bmycharity.com/golfathon - if you are in a position to assist us towards our financial goal, anything you can provide would be gratefully accepted.

Our practice day, diarised for 18 May, has the small spanner in the works that Ash can't actually make that date. Not an ideal situation but, as time is ticking on towards kick-off, I think we have little choice but to press on with the 18th. I look forward to taking plenty of pics and posting them here and on Twitter.

So there we are - a bit of progress but, with a catch up call scheduled for next week, I am confident of bringing more definitive developments to the next update.

I am the Part-Time Golfer

Friday 4 April 2014

Weekly Golfathon countdown - 10 weeks to go

Whilst (yet again) my sticks have remained enclosed in the shed, destined not to see the sunshine, we do now seem to have taken a step forward as a group.

Something that has been debated since this ridiculous idea was first mooted, was a practice day - a chance to get together as a whole group, play 36 or 54 holes (actually, the original idea was to have a 72 hole practice day - ha!) and get a feel for how we might be able to get through the full 24hr challenge.

It now looks very much like we have a consensus about a suitable date - 18th May - and we are currently debating whether, feasibly or financially, we play 36 or 54 holes that day. In terms of a venue, it looks like Richings Park, nr Slough is going to come out on top. This is almost exactly halfway between the two golfathon venues, plus Ash is a member so we've got a route in to discuss our 'unique' requirements. Good news.

So, what about preparation on a more personal level? Well, I mentioned last week of the plan to play Broad Run GC, in deepest Pennsylvania, next weekend - I am glad to report, the tee time has been secured, my travel has been meticulously planned out and I am very much looking forward to meeting Herb, Courtney & Matt and having some fun around what looks to be an extremely interesting golf course.

What comes after that? What is next on the agenda? Well, there is a (very) tentative idea to get out at some point over the Easter weekend - I then have the pleasure of another trip to the US to lool forward to and, naturally, the weapons are coming with me.

The mid-May trip is taking me to San Francisco, via LA, so it seemed rude not to take the opportunity to make my way up the Pacific coast via Monterey, with the aim of getting on to Pebble Beach. Granted, the green fee is biblically expensive, and I can only call for a tee time the day before, but the chance is too good not to try.

After that trip, we have the practice day and then I'm going to make the annual pilgrimage to Southport, that bastion of cultural excellence, to play Royal Birkdale - I absolutely love that course, despite the usual lack of reciprocity, and really look forward to the trip.

Once the Birkdale jaunt is done, it's only a fortnight until we're on for the golfathon - time sure does fly when you are having fun

I am the Part-Time Golfer

Friday 28 March 2014

Weekly Golfathon countdown - 11 weeks to go

Another week zooms by and on what do I have to report about our challenge since the last update?

Well, the big news is that I finally played some golf - I shoehorned 9 holes in last Saturday at Mount Pleasant GC, nr Hitchin with a couple of mates. I'd not played the course before although, having previously followed a chap on Twitter, @novice2scratch, who played his golf there, I was familiar with the place.

Considering I hadn't touched the clubs for the requisite 5-6 weeks, and I was taking the whim-bought driver out for the first time, I was somewhat uncertain about what would transpire. Any lingering doubts were soon banished when my opening 9-iron floated majestically - well, found its way - towards the flag, coming to rest pin-high about ten feet away. Game on.

In a display of ball-striking which will surely generate overconfidence for my next round, with Herb, Courtney & Matt at Broad Run GC, Pennsylvania, I managed to get round +3, the sinking of a 20ft fast downhill putt on #6 (admittedly to salvage a double) a particular high.

I also took some new golf shoes out for the day - having been loyal to Nike for as long as I can remember (having had the same two pairs for nigh on 8 years), I felt this golfathon was an ideal reason to invest in some new footwear. Puma are the brand of choice and the black Spark Sports performed very well - extremely comfortable and gave a good, solid foundation for a swing. I also have a white pair of Super Cell Fusions which, I think, will be the ones to use for our challenge. Yes, I know - fascinating.

Next job for the team as a whole is agreeing a date for us to get together and practice our 'speed golf' - we're thinking it would be worth playing 36, or even 54, holes over the day to go someway towards understanding what we've agreed to take on. Hopefully this date & venue will be confirmed before the next update.

Sponsorship is also high on the agenda. We've made a (small) start - thank you very much to those people who have donated - but we've a long way to go. If anyone (who is still) reading this is moved to support us financially, please visit www.bmycharity.com/golfathon to pledge your donation - anything you can spare towards our target is gratefully received!

Onwards & upwards, then - 9 days until I'm off to the US on business, concluding with my day of golf next Saturday. Fingers crossed Virgin Atlantic look after my clubs!

I am the Part-Time Golfer

Friday 21 March 2014

Weekly Golfathon countdown - 12 weeks to go

A very short update to deliver this week.

Still no practice completed yet, although I am road-testing the new driver & shoes tomorrow for a few holes.

The team were due to have a catch up call yesterday but, due to work commitments, we had to put it back - hopefully more to report next week.

Fitness levels, personally speaking, remain dreadful.

Ho hum

I am the Part-Time Golfer

Friday 14 March 2014

Weekly Golfathon countdown - 13 weeks to go

Another week slips by & still no practice completed. This is not an ideal situation. What I haven't yet determined is whether ny concern about the lack of practice is based purely on my desire to be physically able to play for a full 24hrs, or my competitive desire to play well.

Since the last update, a few bits & pieces have progressed, upon which shall now elaborate.

The welcome addition of the second Sussex team has brought both the prospect of additional corporate sponsorship and the provision of Ballantine's branded goodies (jacket, golf shirt & umbrella - well, it will be June!) - thank you very much to everyone involved at Pernod Ricard for their generosity

The Guinness World Record process has also been kicked off, with acknowledgement received of our application for a new, uncharted category of stupidity...sorry, world record setting. This application can take a few weeks to process and I hope that a) it gets accepted, b) it's a processed before we complete the challenge and c) there can be someone there to witness & verify our success.

The next task (aside from agreeing on practice dates) is to ramp up the sponsorship effort - suitably begging letters & emails are being drafted to send to family, friends, work colleagues, casual acquaintances and even complete strangers, as we push towards our fundraising target

As I've mentioned before (and will keep on mentioning), if you feel moved to support our crazy venture and would like to sponsor us to help raise money for the On Course Foundation, please visit www.bmycharity.com/golfathon - anything you can spare is gratefully received & makes a big difference!


I am the Part-Time Golfer

Thursday 6 March 2014

Weekly Golfathon countdown - 14 weeks to go

Another week gone; no practice completed. Gulp.

To be honest, I'm genuinely concerned about this and, having discussed this very matter with Pete last night, feel that completing this challenge might end up being driven by willpower alone.

So, what's been happening this week (apart from no practice or training of note)?

Well, the biggest development to report is that Never Up Never In will now be a team of 9, playing in three 3-balls. Dave has a group of friends from Sussex who are very keen to get involved & help us raise lots of money for the On Course Foundation. At the time of 'going to press', I don't have even the basic info to report on who these fine people are but they are a welcome addition to the cause.

This now shifts my attention nicely over to the world record aspect of this challenge - we had a nice goal in mind and a framework in which to present it to the folks at Guinness, which is now all to cock thanks to these Johnny-come-latelys...ok, I'm kidding. I've done absolutely sod all about liaising with Guinness, so the addition of extra bodies makes no difference whatsoever. The key decision would appear to be whether to work towards a cumulative total across the three teams (450 holes, maybe?) or look at each player as an individual and add up the total number of times a ball has hit the bottom of the cup (1400 holes? 1500 holes?) - something to be worked out pretty quickly methinks.

Next item to be given some serious attention is the fundraising drive - we are off the mark, thanks to the generosity of my father-in-law (thanks v much, Noel) but we've a long way to go. A significant benefit of bringing an extra group into the team is the corporate matched funding that they can bring to the table - without wanting to declare a new target (and potentially make a rod for our own backs) it would be disappointing not to pass our financial goal by some considerable margin. At the risk of sounding repetitive, if you are (still reading this & feel) moved enough to support us, please visit www.bmycharity.com/golfathon - anything you can spare towards our total would be incredibly valuable.

I mentioned at the start the alarming lack of practice - clearly the weather in January & February didn't do anyone any favours and, since then, the weekends have been full up with kids birthday parties and recharging the batteries after the working week. My new job is taking me to New York at the start of April & I'll have a free weekend of which to take advantage so, weather permitting, I'm planning to pay a return visit to Bethpage and play a round or two (it might just be the opening weekend for the Black course and it would be rude not to, wouldn't it?!)

So, I absolutely must find some time to play in the next 3-4 weeks before the US trip - I bought myself a new driver last week (yes, it was off eBay; never hit it; don't know if I'll like it - don't judge me) and I am now facing up to the very real prospect that the first swing in anger with the new dog could be at 7am on the first tee Bethpage Black. Shitty knickers.

Ah well, onwards and upwards - we have our next catch up call in a fortnight and, hopefully, some progress (or even some practice) will be made upon which to report in next week's thrilling instalment.

I am The Part-Time Golfer

Thursday 27 February 2014

Weekly Golfathon countdown - 15 weeks to go

Granted, I might be slinging a considerable millstone around my neck but, as 2014 rushes by, with March nearly upon us, I thought it would be a good idea to post weekly updates on our progress towards completing our mammoth golfing challenge - to play golf for 24hrs & raise money for the On Course Foundation

So, here we are with 15 weeks to go until tee off. On the surface, it sounds like a very long time to get prepared but, in reality, it's not very long at all, considering all the elements that need to come together. That said, I do feel like the basics are all in place.

We have an enthusiastic and committed team of intrepid golfers who are willing to test their physical & mental strength over 24hrs.

We have two fantastically supportive golf clubs, who are willing to let us take over their venues for a full day and run roughshod over their tee sheets as we plough through the holes at great* speed.

We have ourselves a financial target for fundraising - right now, when looking at our page (www.bmycharity.com/golfathon), £10,000 seems like a lofty ambition but I firmly believe we will achieve this.

We are also supporting a young & exciting charity, who have achieved so many great results in their short history but, with the support of everyone who donates to the cause, have so much more to give. We are really looking forward to meeting some of the members who have benefited from the charity's work, as well as playing a few holes with them on the day.

So, with all this great planning in place and plenty of time left until we get going, what's the concern? What else is pending?

The world record - we believe that our approach to tackling this challenge (six golfers; two courses; medal play; 24hrs; walking) has not been attempted before or, at least, not in the context of setting a record with the Guinness folks. Now that we have confirmed the format that we're going to play - we toyed with Stableford or Scramble as options before deciding on Medal play - we can now put the case forward to the powers that be to enable us to put a marker in the sand for future groups of equally idiotic golfers to surpass.

Publicity - if you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen your timeline clogged up with my endless requests for retweets from well-known, high profile & influential people around the world of golf & beyond. This generated some satisfying results, such as a couple of the Sky Sports golf team and Sir Nick Faldo himself. To come, we understand that The Telegraph are going to do some coverage in the lead up to the event, as well as various local newspapers. Hopefully this will inspire people to put their hand in their pocket and help support this cause.

Fitness - hmm, yes. This challenge will present a completely new set of physical & mental tests for us all, the likes of which we've not really experienced before. Some of the group did a Land's End-John o'Groats bike ride a couple of years ago which at least spread the physical pain out over a longer period of time. I recall the 72-hole Macmillan Longest Day challenge I did in 2011, and the physical wreck I was for a few days afterwards - on that basis, completing more than double that amount of golf could produce some interesting results.

Practice - setting aside the abysmal weather that has recently been bestowed upon this fair isle, there is a concern about having sufficient opportunity to put in a decent stretch of training. Playing 18 holes once a month isn't going to cut the mustard, so we all need to be sure we are preparing properly. We have a 36-hole day pencilled in for mid-April and then a 72-hole practice about a month after that. I really don't know if that will do the job - I guess we'll find out at some point during the night of the 12 June.

So that's the first of these weekly updates complete - not much more to add really except that if you've stuck with it and read all of my rambling, and feel sufficiently moved to support us, please visit www.bmycharity.com/golfathon - anything you can give will be hugely influential.

I am the Part-Time Golfer

*this speed may well diminish as the day progresses

Monday 27 January 2014

2014 - a golfing year ahead

So here we are into 2014 already. Doesn't time fly when you're having fun? Or, in my case, trying to have fun despite the circumstances. It's been a testing time since the middle of December, upheaval on the work front casting a shadow over longer term plans but, thankfully, the light at the end of the tunnel is not an oncoming train and I am now able to look forward to what 2014 has in store as a golfing year.