To coincide with the Masters Tournament taking place at Augusta this week, On Course Foundation has announced that the On Course Foundations’ Spring Auction is live online now, providing the opportunity for golfers to bid for vouchers that give access to play at over 1,000 golf courses around the world.
The auction is live online throughout April and can be viewed on the On Course Foundation website by clicking here.
The auction will be administered on a ‘silent auction’ basis, with golfers invited to email their ‘best offer’ bids directly to Stacey Jeffries, who heads up Special Projects at OCF.
Rounds of golf at some outstanding courses have been generously donated and include rounds with well-known celebrities, including Dougray Scott, Naga Munchetty, David Platt, Vernon Kay, Alan Smith, Geoff Shreeves, Les Ferdinand, Lee Dixon, Danny Mills and Matt Le Tissier to name just a few.
The most impressive element of the auction is undoubtedly the sheer number of four-ball tee times on offer, with over 1,000 golf clubs from across the world donating free rounds to help raise funds so that On Course Foundation can continue with its vital work to support injured UK service personnel. To help swell the list, all venues currently owned by Crown Golf, Macdonald Hotels, Q Hotels, BGL Golf & Marriott Hotels added their names to the extensive list.
Golfing experiences not to be forgotten; from the exhilarating links at Trump Turnberry, the delightful Royal Dornoch, Western Gailes, Trump International Links and Archerfield in Scotland, together with the breathtakingly beautiful links of Royal Birkdale, Royal Lytham, St Annes Old Links, Caldy, Wallasey and Hillside Golf Club on England’s Golf Coast.
Closer to home, Inland golf experiences include Centurion Club in Hertfordshire, JCB Golf & Country Club in Staffordshire, The Belfry, Celtic Manor, Moor Park in Hertfordshire, the Wisley Golf Club, New Zealand and St George’s Hill Golf Club in Surrey, London Club and Princes in Kent and Army Golf Club, Stoneham Golf Club, Liphook Golf Club, North Hants Golf Club, Blackmoor Golf Club and Old Thorns in Hampshire.
Outstanding worldwide golfing experiences include a large selection of some of the finest golf that South Africa has to offer, some wonderful golf in Florida, the brilliant golf facilities in Dubai and a truly outstanding ‘all day’ opportunity at the ultra-exclusive Vidauban Golf Club in France.
Stacey Jeffries commented: “Global golf has now created a magnificent collective statement to UK Wounded, Injured or Sick Armed Forces Personnel. Over 1,000 donations have been received to feature in our On Course Foundation Spring Auction. The funds raised from the auction will help give our wounded veterans a full 2024 golf specific recovery program and the sheer number of donations sends both our wounded veterans and the wider armed forces community within the UK an incredible collective ‘thank you’ from golf all over the world; this I do know to be extremely important to them.”
He added: “Massive kudos to each club who have responded to my requests and united with us. Every single 4-ball that is donated makes a massive difference. Each club is inundated with requests every week by very worthy causes, but instead of saying no, they have grasped what was trying to be achieved and come together in this amazing way to create this wonderful story for golf.”
Alistair McKay Forbes, Managing Director of On Course Foundation, commented: “We are delighted in the way the golf community has come together to support us and thank everyone for the contributions they have made. Despite the cessation of military operations, the injuries and illnesses have not gone away, and we continue to receive regular new referrals to us. The funds raised in this auction will help us to rebuild lives through golf, using the sport to get wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans physically, mentally and socially active again and help some of them find new careers in the golf industry”.
John Simpson, founder of On Course Foundation, added: “We are truly indebted to each and every golf club and all the individuals who have supported this initiative. The positive difference that this will make to the lives of our veteran community using golf to aid their often long and complex individual journeys to recovery cannot be understated.”
The live auction can be viewed at https://tinyurl.com/teu2t4v.