The golf community across the UK & Ireland has come together to support The Golf Trust as they completed their epic fundraising challenge. As well as helping them to raise 50 thousand pounds towards purchasing 3 Paragolfers, they also raised the spirits of the team who enjoyed incredible hospitality and inspiring company along the route. These special encounters have all been captured on film and will be turned into a documentary, which launches in the autumn.
“My faith in golf has been restored by the people we have met in the last week. When we make golf accessible to everyone, amazing things happen,” comments Cae Menai-Davis. “Golf is not about playing the best fairways or putting on perfect greens, it’s about community. The hospitality we’ve been shown and the stories we’ve heard have turned a fundraising challenge into a transformative experience for us all. I can’t wait for people to see this for themselves when the documentary launches later this year.”
The Golf Trust team met and played with people with a range of disabilities including; Golf Trust beneficiaries, The Northern Ireland Blind Golf Association members and their guides, competitors on the EDGA tour, The Wobbly Golfer Trevor Crombie and Steven Cafferty a 2 handicapper who is Captain of Team GB Golf at the Deaflympics this November.
The last day was spent in and around St Andrews where the team lost their match with the Ladies’ St Andrew’s Putting Club on Himalayas before delivering the Paragolfer they had brought on the trip to St Andrew’s Links Trust. Two more Paragolfers are already on order thanks to the generous donations made so far and will be delivered in the coming weeks.
“At St Andrews Links Trust we are committed to offering a pathway into golf for all those who wish to play the game, including underrepresented groups and those with disabilities, commented Christine Randall-Klee, Community Engagement Lead at St Andrew’s Links Trust. “We have just launched our disability golf programme and are grateful to the Golf Trust for providing use of the paragolfer for a trial period, helping us in our mission to be as accessible as possible.”
Donations can be made through a dedicated JustGiving web page: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/goingtheextramile25
