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“Driving” Through Dreich Weather for Maggie’s 700 Holes Golf Marathon

Seven keen Aberdeen golfers have raised over £6,000 for charity after completing a gruelling 700 hole golf marathon on the longest day of the year.

Not even the wet weather could dampen the spirits of the team from Thorpe Molloy Recruitment who took 18 hours to play 100 holes of golf each. Every golfer walked an average of 78,000 steps – about 30 miles; hitting scores which ranged from birdies to double figures and losing enough balls to stock a small driving range.

Cameron Keith, Alan Clark, Drew Alexander, Marcus Ross, Ian Orme and John Stewart, along with team captain Chris Clark completed the endurance challenge despite the miserable weather conditions. All funds raised will go towards building a new Maggie’s Cancer Care Centre in Aberdeen.

Chris explains, “We chose the 21st June for our challenge so we could take advantage of the daylight. We couldn’t believe it when the day considered to be the start of British summer turned out to be cold and wet. However, the adverse conditions really did spur us on and we completed the first round at Kemnay in a cracking time of just over 2 hours.”

“Play had slowed considerably by the time we came to the end of our fourth round at Murcar and it wasn’t just the golf shots that were a bit wild, the weather just wasn’t letting up.”

The Thorpe Molloy Recruitment golfers’ marathon began at 4am at Kemnay Golf Club, before moving onwards to play both courses at Newmachar then Murcar, finishing the final 28 holes at Royal Aberdeen before midnight.

Chris continues, “We’ve received tremendous support and would like to sincerely thank everyone who has sent messages of encouragement and donations, they really did keep us going through the dreich weather. Murcar was a real energy sapper as fatigue was heightened by the challenging and very undulating layout of the course, but by the time we reached Royal Aberdeen we received news that we had exceeded £6,000 and that gave us a tremendous boost.”

Maggie’s Cancer Care Centres is an independent charity providing free practical, emotional and psychological support to anyone affected by cancer. There are currently five Centres across Scotland with three more planned including Aberdeen, the only city in Scotland without a Maggie’s Centre.

The Elizabeth Montgomerie Foundation (established by Colin Montgomerie in memory of his late mother) has teamed up with Maggie’s to raise £3,000,000 towards building a new centre on Aberdeen Royal Infirmary’s Foresterhill site.

Golfer Colin Montgomerie, who lost his mother to lung cancer, is spearheading the drive to build the new centre on Aberdeen Royal Infirmary’s Foresterhill site.

Colin said “I am so grateful to Chris and his team for doing this to raise money for Monty’s Maggie’s Appeal. When I first visited a Maggie Centre I knew that this was the sort of place that would have been so useful to my mother and my family. I am delighted to be working with them to increase their network of support. No one affected by cancer should have to suffer alone and by making this campaign a success, we can ensure those in the North East of Scotland affected by this disease can have the best life possible with, through and beyond cancer.”

If you’ve been inspired by Thorpe Molloy Recruitment’s golfing team it’s not too late to donate at www.thorpemolloy.com/maggiesgolf or contact Chris Clark on 01224 327 014.

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