UK Golf Day raises over £6k for WCKI

Having had to be cancelled last year due to torrential rain, this much anticipated UK Golf Day was finally held at Letchworth Golf Club on Wednesday 14 August 2024.

Organiser Richard (Rich) Moore was joined by WCKI founders Roz and Adrian and a team of volunteers to host this fundraiser in the beautiful Hertfordshire countryside.

Thankfully, the British weather was playing ball (pun intended) this summer, with pitch perfect conditions for the 110 players who joined for the day.

Players gathered on the terrace for bacon butties and coffee, while team captains registered their details with VPAR – the tech company that seamlessly tracks golf scores and stats then displays them on a live feed throughout the day.

Volunteer Sally put the wolves of Wall Street to shame with her raffle ticket hustling and charm offensive while Volunteer Grace distributed refreshment bags and smiles to all the players.

After browsing the impressive selection of auction prizes (that would be available to bid on later in the day), players headed to the Range and Academy course.

There, they were met by Trick Shot legend, Jeremy Dale. The PGA coach turned professional golfing showman, put on a dazzling display for the crowd. From standing on inflatable balls to Happy Gilmore runs, his impeccable skills almost made hitting balls perched on sticks seem easy (until guests were invited to give it a go). Hats off to Sean for stepping up (and finding out quite quickly, that when tee-ing off, balls really should stay firmly on the ground). 

Suitably impressed and inspired, teams then dispersed to their relevant holes for a shotgun start. Jeremy based himself at Hole One for the day, to give players a little one-to-one coaching as they made their way around the course.

Huge thanks to James Ellis of JM Display for providing the signage marking each hole and of course to all the businesses who sponsored them. These included: Shaun Perry Services, Combined Integrated Systems, Mercury, Prayon, Daines Kapp Insurance, Peter Wagon Fine Arts, Brilliantin Recruitment, UUConstruct, Total Solutions Technology, JM Displays, Michael and Colette MchMahon, G and A Plumbing and Heating, LF Premier Meats, IDG LGC Captain 2019, BELS Fire Services, BROMOCO Chemicals, and The Moore family.

Two hours in, and the Half-Way House was transformed into a welcoming refreshment stop – and another chance to fall prey to Sally’s charms (via raffle ticket sales!).

After another two hours of great golf in the sunshine, players headed back to the Clubhouse for a well-deserved beer. Raffle winners collected their prizes – which included an Arsenal shirt (signed by Mikel Arteta), a Kate Spade bag, tennis lessons at Letchworth Tennis Club, and PLENTY of booze.

Fuelled by a delicious BBQ, players headed back inside for speeches. Adrian and Roz gave some more insight into WCKI and shared some exciting news which will be made public in the coming months. Shower fresh, Jeremy Dale rejoined the group and put his excellent compere skills to use, leading the Auction.

Tensions ran high as guests attempted to out-bid each other for a range of brilliant prizes including a signed golf bag used by professional golfer Charley Hull, at the US Open.

There were some great tactics on display to drive-up bids in the name of charity, but the friendly competition got even friendlier when 3 different guests all chipped in to secure a prize for one of the younger players.

A huge thank you again to all the people and businesses that donated prizes – including Brocket Hall, Northwood, East Herts, Knebworth, Letchworth, and Hadley Wood golf clubs.

Winning teams were then announced, and prizes awarded.  Congratulations to Team Slater (Ryan Slater, Andrew Mesher, Luke Allan, Andrew Glowdansky) who won the event with 97 points, closely followed by Team Luton Town FC (Wayne Turner, Mike Cole, Ryan Westwood, Joshua White) with 95 points.

Andrew Mesher was the overall Individual winner - with 43 points.

An impressive £6305 was made throughout the day which will be put to good use over the coming year.

A huge thank you to Rich for his excellent organisation skills and determination to see this event through (and of course, to all the players, sponsors and suppliers for their generous support).

In addition to the fundraising, the bar has now been set for what we hope will be annual event (supported by a team of WCKI Volunteers who are all now a little more clued up about the world of golf!) 

For an overview of the day, check out our Instagram Highlights.

Professional photos from the talented Danny Loop Photography can be seen in this Facebook Album.