Help For Heroes 2017 Hankley Common 13th September

Well I can't think of many better ways to celebrate my birthday. As soon as the date was announced I was going to be there and I wasn't disappointed. The day seemed to run effortlessly, but I know that is because of the great deal of organisation beforehand. Thanks to Robin and Richard and to all who assisted you.

I've only played one heathland course before and I was expecting to lose several balls, but Jake from GM had a great eye for finding them in the heather. It was only on our 17th (the 4th) that I pulled tee shot which even Jake couldn't locate.

I found the long stuff on each of the first seven holes, but was still on 14 points after them with some good recoveries. Of course, I then failed to score after my first straight drive of the day and my attempts at hacking the ball out of deep heather by the 14th green was recorded for posterity by the GM cameraman. All of the holes were interesting and I was pleased to have recorded a respectable score on my first round on a Top 100 course.

Many thanks to Jake, BogeyBoy and Homer for their company and playing their part in making the day a special one.

The talk from Scott was moving and it really hit home what all of the fundraising means to these guys and I felt privileged that attending the day had helped in some small way.

Looking forward to next year...
 
What a week! Had a cheeky recce at Hankley Common last Saturday playing in Elizabeth Price Mixed Foursomes, which as it turns out was well worth the extra day in Surrey.

First & foremost a huge doff of the cap to Richard & Robin. I simply cannot imagine how you managed to get 90 odd golfers in one place at the right time on the same day & still managed to enjoy the day yourselves. The organisation ran like clockwork with the help of your many volunteers on the day. You even managed to get the storms out of the way the night before & get beautiful sunshine & clear skies on the day for us all to enjoy.

As for the course, it really is worth its ranking in Top 100 Courses in GM. Not only is it a true test of golf with variety of holes & challenges but it offers majestic views & vistas across Pine Forests & Heathland only mirrored at Sunningdale in my bias opinion.

ChrisD, Twinman & Twire were great company throughout & made the day so enjoyable. Wishing ChrisD a speedy recovery from his current affliction. I know it was very frustrating for him on the day. The same can be said for my fourball at Farnham on Tuesday hosted by my partner on the day, the very amenable host SwingsitlikeHogan alongside JamesR & Pokerjoke in the losing corner ;)

The food was superb & we were well looked after by the staff & members of Hankley Common all day long.

The speech by Scott from BattleBack really touched a nerve & I don't mind admitting choking back tears listening to him describe how he came about his life-changing injury with such self-deprecation & humour. It really did put in stark perspective the relative safe & secure life's we all lead in this volatile world which is due in no small measure to people such as Scott & his brave colleagues, past & present.

To have the honour of winning this amazing event & getting to have my name placed on the Vickers Go Kart Trophy ad infinitum fills me with deep sense of honour & belonging to this great community that is the GM Forum. As with many of you here I was brought on board by RickG & encouraged to take part in away days & finally H4H last year at Camberley. I would have loved to have said a few words on receipt of the wonderful Oak carved winners tablet & framed picture of Hankley Common in its full splendour but I fear the words would not have done me or the event justice as I was full of emotion at the time. A little prayer was given to our mate as I left the club on Wed & a wee dram was enjoyed later that evening after my soiree to Wembley to watch Tottenham finally pull off a victory at Wembley! :whoo:

Big congratulations to Kraxx and Khamelion for their award. Fully deserved & I know emotionally received by both of the northern Nomads :thup:

Finally, what an amazing sum of money raised for a truly inspiring cause. The Auction, as every commanded by Mark Head was amazing especially as he managed to extract £400 form me for a 4-ball at Centurion Club. Well played Mark! To have raised nearly £100,000 since its inception in 2012 is mind-blowing testament to the dedication & hard work of those involved.

See you all on a golf course somewhere in the near future...


Peace & love, Mark :cheers:
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What a week! Had a cheeky recce at Hankley Common last Saturday playing in Elizabeth Price Mixed Foursomes, which as it turns out was well worth the extra day in Surrey.

First & foremost a huge doff of the cap to Richard & Robin. I simply cannot imagine how you managed to get 90 odd golfers in one place at the right time on the same day & still managed to enjoy the day yourselves. The organisation ran like clockwork with the help of your many volunteers on the day. You even managed to get the storms out of the way the night before & get beautiful sunshine & clear skies on the day for us all to enjoy.

As for the course, it really is worth its ranking in Top 100 Courses in GM. Not only is it a true test of golf with variety of holes & challenges but it offers majestic views & vistas across Pine Forests & Heathland only mirrored at Sunningdale in my bias opinion.

ChrisD, Twinman & Twire were great company throughout & made the day so enjoyable. Wishing ChrisD a speedy recovery from his current affliction. I know it was very frustrating for him on the day. The same can be said for my fourball at Farnham on Tuesday hosted by my partner on the day, the very amenable host SwingsitlikeHogan alongside JamesR & Pokerjoke in the losing corner ;)

The food was superb & we were well looked after by the staff & members of Hankley Common all day long.

The speech by Scott from BattleBack really touched a nerve & I don't mind admitting choking back tears listening to him describe how he came about his life-changing injury with such self-deprecation & humour. It really did put in stark perspective the relative safe & secure life's we all lead in this volatile world which is due in no small measure to people such as Scott & his brave colleagues, past & present.

To have the honour of winning this amazing event & getting to have my name placed on the Vickers Go Kart Trophy ad infinitum fills me with deep sense of honour & belonging to this great community that is the GM Forum. As with many of you here I was brought on board by RickG & encouraged to take part in away days & finally H4H last year at Camberley. I would have loved to have said a few words on receipt of the wonderful Oak carved winners tablet & framed picture of Hankley Common in its full splendour but I fear the words would not have done me or the event justice as I was full of emotion at the time. A little prayer was given to our mate as I left the club on Wed & a wee dram was enjoyed later that evening after my soiree to Wembley to watch Tottenham finally pull off a victory at Wembley! :whoo:

Big congratulations to Kraxx and Khamelion for their award. Fully deserved & I know emotionally received by both of the northern Nomads :thup:

Finally, what an amazing sum of money raised for a truly inspiring cause. The Auction, as every commanded by Mark Head was amazing especially as he managed to extract £400 form me for a 4-ball at Centurion Club. Well played Mark! To have raised nearly £100,000 since its inception in 2012 is mind-blowing testament to the dedication & hard work of those involved.

See you all on a golf course somewhere in the near future...


Peace & love, Mark :cheers
Lovely words Mark & a fine tribute to an Event that has reached epic proportions thanks to all those that organise & add support to it as well as us attendees.
I think everyone was moved on hearing Scott's frank account of the situation that led to his injuries & his appreciation of the help given by H4H
will ensure that such support will be there for as long as it is needed for our frontline troop's commitment & bravery.
 
I would just like to say a big thanks from all the team for the kind words, and pleased to hear so many enjoyed the day. Cracking course, great food, and good company. What is not to like ?

Personal thanks from me to Robin, Vicky, Mike H, Laura, Guy, Sean, Phil and all the other helpers for all you hardwork and support. Also to everyone that played, donated auction items, entered into the handicap challenge, made donations, bought auction items and generally showed what a great forum this is.:thup:

The final figure raised will be over £13,000, still collecting last monies, and the grand running total is over £96,000. We will smash the £100,000 mark next year.:whoo: Rick would have been very proud that the event has come on so much since the first one at Luton Hoo in 2010. The team still all miss him something rotten.

My golf was very mixed on the day. 12 points on my first nine holes played, but amazingly 21 on the last nine. Two over gross was not bad for nine holes for a chomper. I think it took me 9 holes to recover from the shotgun going off in my ear as I hit my second shot to my first hole.:whistle: Now that was a proper shotgun start.:)

Scott Blaney the Battle Back guy was a real star, and his words on the day were very emotional. Every pound raised matters, and hopefully we will see him back next year. He may even join the forum.

Thanks again everyone.

Rich
 
I would just like to say a big thanks from all the team for the kind words, and pleased to hear so many enjoyed the day. Cracking course, great food, and good company. What is not to like ?

Personal thanks from me to Robin, Vicky, Mike H, Laura, Guy, Sean, Phil and all the other helpers for all you hardwork and support. Also to everyone that played, donated auction items, entered into the handicap challenge, made donations, bought auction items and generally showed what a great forum this is.:thup:

The final figure raised will be over £13,000, still collecting last monies, and the grand running total is over £96,000. We will smash the £100,000 mark next year.:whoo: Rick would have been very proud that the event has come on so much since the first one at Luton Hoo in 2010. The team still all miss him something rotten.

My golf was very mixed on the day. 12 points on my first nine holes played, but amazingly 21 on the last nine. Two over gross was not bad for nine holes for a chomper. I think it took me 9 holes to recover from the shotgun going off in my ear as I hit my second shot to my first hole.:whistle: Now that was a proper shotgun start.:)

Scott Blaney the Battle Back guy was a real star, and his words on the day were very emotional. Every pound raised matters, and hopefully we will see him back next year. He may even join the forum.

Thanks again everyone.

Rich



Rich
I had the pleasure of playing with Scott, he is quite the raconteur and regailed us with quite a few hair raising stories on the way round, I hope he takes the plunge and joins the Forum.
 
I would just like to also say thank you to everyone who played and contributed to the day and to those that didn't join us on the day but still contributed in their own way.

It would seem that everyone enjoyed the day, the course was excellent and pretty testing at times I thought, excellent food, and my fourball was very good company.

Thanks have to go to the team [Vicky & Laura] who put everything together when were all out enjoying ourselves and also to the helpers at the start of the day, Guy, Sean & Phil and all the other helpers like Steve on the forum and others that simply chip in on the day, thank you, you all make it that much easier for us (Richard & I) so that we can hopefully enjoy the day also.

Thank you to everyone that donated auction items and entered into the many money raising challenges we had on the forum and of course to all those that bought auction items through the forum and on the day.

The final figure is still to be announced, but as you know, we declared £13,000 on the day and we expect to better that slightly which will put us close enough to smash through the £100,000 mark next year.

I'm not sure that when Rick started this in 2010 he could have ever imagined the journey this event has took us all on and the friendships that have been formed from attending this annual event over the years, I truly hope it will carry on for many years to come so his legacy lives on.

I had some great conversations before & after with Scott Blaney the Battle Back guest and I had the pleasure of playing with Stacey the other BB guest sharing stories and talking shop in our own squaddie language and dark humour, much to the confusion of our other playing partners.

Thanks to Rich who kept me on after I stepped in last year and entrusted me more this year in a different role, which I think worked well.

It's a lot of work and takes a substantial amount of time putting this event together, but you all make it worthwhile when we hit the kind of targets we do and witness the generosity of those that donate prizes and items freely and also those who buy them, and for that I thank you all sincerely.

Robin
 
H4H up in GM issue that just hit the doorstep.

Some great pictues and nice words/write up.

The group photo is a lovely photo with the course in the background and the rest of us at the front, richart managed to make it to the group photo printed.;):D
 
H4H up in GM issue that just hit the doorstep.

Some great pictues and nice words/write up.

The group photo is a lovely photo with the course in the background and the rest of us at the front, richart managed to make it to the group photo printed.;):D
I didn't in the first copy.:eek:

If you don't get the magazine details of the day are now in the main part of the Golf Monthly website.:thup:
 
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Just to confirm the final total raised from this years Golf Monthly Forum Help For Heroes charity day was £13890.00:whoo: I will shortly be closing of this years justgiving page.

A big thank you to everyone, and there were a lot of you, that contributed and made the event such a success. Perhaps we should do another one next year.:mmm:
 
Just to confirm the final total raised from this years Golf Monthly Forum Help For Heroes charity day was £13890.00:whoo: I will shortly be closing of this years justgiving page.

A big thank you to everyone, and there were a lot of you, that contributed and made the event such a success. Perhaps we should do another one next year.:mmm:

Yes well done everyone and thank you.

Now start saving for next year 😉
 
Just to confirm the final total raised from this years Golf Monthly Forum Help For Heroes charity day was £13890.00:whoo: I will shortly be closing of this years justgiving page.

A big thank you to everyone, and there were a lot of you, that contributed and made the event such a success. Perhaps we should do another one next year.:mmm:


That is absolute brilliant, well done to everyone who contributed.
 
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