The 2014 National Golf Club Challenge Final, sponsored by Your Golf Travel, took place on 20th and 21st October among some of the worse weather the Ailsa Course at the Trump Turnberry Resort has experienced, thanks to Hurricane Gonzalo.
The National Golf Club Challenge Finalists were buffeted by extraordinary high winds, but still completed their rounds with a smile – happy in the knowledge that they rose to the challenge the Ailsa and the weather had to throw at them.
The National Final was attended by sixty golfers from ten clubs. Each qualifying out of thousands of golfers who participated throughout the UK at their own golf club’s 2014 National Golf Club Challenge qualifier event. Each event acting as a fundraiser to raise valuable funds for Help for Heroes.
Congratulations go to Newcastle-Under-Lyme Golf Club for winning the Men’s Final to be crowned the 2014 National Golf Club Challenge Champions – and Henley Golf Club Ladies Team for being crowned the Ladies Champions.
After two days of the most challenging golf, the results were as follows:
MENS SECTION
n Newcastle-Under-Lyme Golf Club, Champions
n Chorlton-Cum-Hardy Golf Club, Runners up
n The Springs Golf Club, Third
n Royal Club du Hainaut Golf Club, Fourth
n High Legh Park Golf Club, Fifth
n The Players Club, Sixth
LADIES SECTION
n Henley Golf Club, Champions
n Brickendon Grange Golf Club, Runners up
n Royal Club du Hainaut Golf Club, Third
n Sandiway Golf Club, Fourth
n The Springs Golf Club, Fifth
n Chesfield Downs GCC, Sixth
The National Final was once again played in the best of spirits – and in respect of the cause that brought all the Finalists together. Evident by the successful fundraising carried out during the two day competition, raising an impressive £3,500 for Help for Heroes.
Marc Smith, member of the triumphant Newcastle-Under-Lyme Golf Club team said “We are delighted to have won the 2014 National Golf Club Challenge Final at Turnberry. It was an excellent event played in the best of spirits – and for a very worthy cause. The Turnberry course was stunning and very challenging at the same time, especially with the exceptionally high winds we encountered. The event, the venue and the friendly competition will live long in the memory as one of our golfing highlights.”
Looking forward to next year, Marc went on the say, “I would like to encourage golf clubs all over the UK to get involved in 2015, to enjoy a superb golfing competition as well as do their bit for a very important charity.”
The team of five each won a state of the art Motocaddy trolley as well as being presented the prestigious ‘Lee Westwood Cup’ – commissioned and donated by Wedgwood – to display in their trophy cabinet.
The Ladies Champions, Henley Golf Club as well as the Ladies Runners up, Brickendon Grange Golf Club both made the generous gesture of donating their prizes back to be used in the NGCC Auction to raise further funds for Help for Heroes.
Henley Golf Club Team Captain, Gill Mitchell commented, “The Henley team were so proud to be crowned 2014 National Golf Club Challenge Ladies Champions. The whole experience was utterly amazing and totally unforgettable from start to finish. Despite the best efforts of Hurricane Gonzalo, hurling every extreme adverse weather condition it could at us, this was an amazing event. Superbly managed, totally professional and definitely the most memorable golfing experience of my life.”
“I would urge every golf club to enter the National Golf Club Challenge competition”, Gill concluded, “to be given the opportunity to play on such an iconic course and to raise funds for a cause so dear to all our hearts. We have already put our entry in for 2015.”
There is no registration fee for golf clubs to take part in the 2015 National Golf Club Challenge; the only requirement is to raise as much money as possible for Help for Heroes while running a qualifier event.
Participating golf clubs can fundraise on the day of their 2015 event, throughout the event week, or even all year long. This makes it easy for every golf club in the UK to take part by simply nominating an existing event in their 2015 calendar as their Challenge qualifier event.
Golfers from each event have the chance to progress to the National Final at the fabulous Turnberry Resort.
Golf Clubs can register to take part in the 2015 National Golf Club Challenge at www.2015ngcc.com
The NGCC team also run a very popular online auction which also fundraises for Help for Heroes. The auction includes luxurious golfing holidays, highly collectable memorabilia, fourballs from all over the UK, golfing equipment from top golfing brands, enjoyable golf breaks and more. You can bid on the NGCC online auction supporting Help for Heroes at www.ngccauction.com