On Monday, 20th June, we held the 13th M S Golf Day at Handsworth Golf Club, which raised a fantastic £6,125 (there are still some donations to be collected). The event came about due to the effects of MS on Annette Austin.
“In 2008, we raised over £10,000 to provide my sister (Annette) with a wheelchair as she was told she would not walk again due to the effects of MS. This created the drive to continue to raise money for MS and subsequently, we started the M S Golf Day in 2009. Over the last 13 years, we have held the event. With your help, we have now raised over £85,989 for MS. Unfortunately, Annette passed away due to the effects of MS in August 2010. To celebrate her life, we now play for the Annette Austin Memorial Trophy.” Ivan Hutchings (Organiser).”
We managed to get 20 teams to participate in the event, which was an alliance with two players to count on each hole.In addition to the main competition, there was a yellow ball competition, longest drive for all, longest drive for the ladies, nearest the pin on all of the par 3s, and a silent auction and raffle. The total value of the prize pool was again over £5,000.After the golf, it was then into the clubhouse for an indoor barbecue and prize giving. It was all looking tight at the top until new boys Christie & Co had a run of good scores and ran away with the event. The top 5 teams winning scores were as follows;
| Position | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Place | Christie & Co | 101 points |
| 2nd Place | Panking on Winning | 96 points |
| 3rd Place | Fat Gatt and the Stars | 92 points |
| 4th Place | Adler Financial Planning | 91 points |
| 5th Place | S F P Wealth | 91 points |
Christie & Co collecting the Trophy and their winners’ voucher. The team were Chris Vowles, Jonathan Board, Gary Boyce, and David Ward, with our host Ivan (Fat Gatt) Hutchings.
The results of the Yellow Ball Competition were as follows:
| Position | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Place | The Mrs and her Professionals | 44 points |
| 2nd Place | Two bob Golfers | 36 points |
| 3rd Place | Pegasus | 36 points |
| 4th Place | Total Fluke | 29 points |
| 5th Place | Netties Marvels | 29 points |
Some great yellow ball scores this year! Ivan made a short speech thanking everyone for attending and their generosity. “Thank yous” were also made to our sponsors, which included:
- All the clubs who donated 4 balls for their support. (Please go back to your clubs and thank them or forward them this report)
- Lee Bashford for sponsoring the yellow ball competition
- Ping for donating a putter again this year (which was won by Handsworth’s very own Pank Patel with 15 putts.)
- All other sponsors who had contributed prizes for the day
Without these donations, the event would not have been so successful. Finally, he thanked Mel and the bar staff for keeping us well-watered, Len and his team for providing the food, Lee Bashford for the difficult job of marking the cards and finally, Gareth and his greens staff for the great presentation of the course. Chris Vowles of Christie & Co made an excellent winners speech thanking Ivan & Jayne for all their efforts and explaining that he had recently been diagnosed with M S and how the money will go to help research and fellow sufferers. Next year’s event is already booked for Monday 19th June 2023, so please put it in the diary. Please contact Ivan at ivanjayne@talktalk.net if you are interested in entering a team.