On the 4th June 2011 the Shape
Golf Association (SGA) showed again their gratitude and respect for those service personnel who are paying so dearly to provide
a more secure world. This was the second year where over 200 golf clubs across the United Kingdom take part in the National
Golf Club Challenge in support of Help for Heroes. SHAPE did remarkably well in 2010 raising the 4th most amount
of money out of all the clubs with a total €5460.94 but sadly our golf did not compare so well, this year we aimed to
do better.
The SGA is one of only two
clubs outside of the UK to be accepted into the Challenge, the other being The British Army Golf Club Sennelager in Germany.
The aim of the Challenge is to find the Help for Heroes National Golf Club Champions for 2011 and at the same time raise much
needed funds for the services charity, Help for Heroes. Due to the efforts of Jamie Stewart, Paradigm provided the sponsorship
ensuring the event was a viable going concern with great prizes. We had 81 people competitors on the day, even better than
last year, with each one donating €15 to the worthy cause – we were on our way.
Rick Stocks, complete with transatlantic jet lag,
arrived at 0730 to set up his stall of Help for Heroes goodies. As the sun rose and temperatures reached
32º the car sunscreens became increasingly popular but not as much as the British Bacon and Sausage rolls.
Case in point; as people waited to Tee Off a loud FOUR!!!!! rang out and in true golfing style everyone ducked expecting
a ball to wing past their heads but it was only Rob Webster ordering his breakfast. The competition was soon underway but
conditions were tough with hard dry fairways, fast greens and blistering sun but people were determined to do better this
year. Everyone managed to finish although some were redder in the face than others. The prize giving commenced at 1930 with
the Club President Giles and Club Captain Dominic in linguistic support saving the crowd from further sabotage of the French
Language. The winners were; Ladies 1 - Amandine Brouwez,
Ladies 2 - Elzetter De Meire, Mens 1 - Pierre Boulanger, Mens 2 - Alexander Nguyen and
Mens 3 - Adrien Huygens. This event is developing into
a real community effort with golfers from SGA and the RGCH combining well to perform much better than last year but we will
have to wait until the results are processed to see exactly how good - fingers crossed but well done the golfers!
The fund raising formula worked
well last year so we were extremely happy when Jim Pirrie agreed to travel back over from the UK to entertain us again. We
started with a Barbeque but by 2050 people were beginning to lose hope of ever being fed; the restaurant owner, also the Head
Chef had been forced to prioritize his efforts and concluded that there was less risk, given the nature of the customers,
to delay the food rather than run out of beer, so he dashed out to seek replenishment. Eventually appetites were brought under
control allowing Rob Webster to begin the auction. The generosity of individuals ensured that there were lots of fantastic
items for sale, a Scotty Cameron putter and holiday accommodation in Florida to name but two. Rob managed to strike exactly
the right balance between tenacious fund raiser and entertaining raconteur – well done Rob! Due to
a rare piece of forward planning last October we managed to secure a Ryder Cup 2010 flag and get all of the winning European
team to sign it for auctioning as the main event and the plan worked. Noise levels dropped and the auction took on a more
serious manner as bidding crept into 4 figure territory, a simple raise of an eyebrow or a nod of the head replaced the previous
raucous bidding. The stakes got higher and higher until finally it sold for a massive total of €1500. The same generosity
of spirit demonstrated by the donation of the items was being equally matched by the willingness of a relatively small group
of people to dig deep into their pockets - well done everyone!
Exhausted from golf and fund raising we gravitated towards the bar (fortunately now re-stocked with beer) ready for
Jim Pirrie to regale us with melodies of daring do. Given he was golfing at 0740 he showed little sign of flagging, he sang
well into the wee hours of the morning ably accompanied throughout by Bruce Baker on guitar.
I think I counted at least seven ‘this is definitely
the last songs’, what a night but sadly that’s as much detail as you get. As they say in the USA, ‘what
goes on in Vegas stays in Vegas’ or if you are British, ‘Chatham House rules apply’ either way I am prevented
from revealing anymore. On the other hand I am leaving this summer so I can risk a little indiscretion; picture a wee pasty
Scotsman offered €50 Euros if a devout Englishman of noble baring would sing Flower of Scotland – he did and sang
it so bad (deliberately?) it will now never be the same for Jamie Stewart. Money crossed hands to keep Megan Henson of the
dance floor; dyslexia is a common challenge but it was my first exposure to the tragedy that is dyslexic dancing. At evenings
end we all rallied to sing collectively to the famous Proclaimers tune ‘I could walk final 1.9 miles’ (fortunately
that was the estimated distance home and not 500) and we headed out the door.
The vital statistic you should know is that in the process of having
all this fun we raised an amazing €7420 for Help for Heroes. Better golf and more money raised than last year, so a really
big thank you to everyone who supported the event. I hope to see you next year, if I get asked to return (hint hint!!) and
I promise not to sing.
Paul
Stanley
