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HFH 2016 Venue and date announcement

I really hope you all enjoyed the day, and judging by the comments above and those I heard on the day I think you did. Yes there was a lot of sadness, but I think everyone that attended the day, contributed auction items, bid for items, and generally got involved, all made the H4H 2016 day a success. This success would have made Rick so proud.

Must admit I have been thinking that this might be the last year. I knew Rick would want us to complete the day at Camberley, and I was happy and sad to do so. By the end of the day I can honestly say I have never felt so emotionally wrecked. I have been told that the lights were on, but no one was at home, and I think that is probably true. When I finished my round I walked back to the car parked out by the 11th by myself. My partners had walked out to our tee. It was a lovely walk, and apart from bumping into a few friends walking back to the clubhose, it was just beautifully quiet, and I said a few words to Rick, and shed a tear to my friend.

The day then became a bit of a blur, and just wanted to get through to the end. I had made the decision about my future involvement, and then I heard Robin's and Mike's words and then finally Sandy's. Some lovely words about Rick, but I expected that. What I hadn't expected was their words of support for the day as a whole, their promise to support the day as long as it was held. If they were prepared to support the day, then hopefully others will continue to as well. Assuming that is the case I had better pull myself together, and start the search for the next venue.

Thanks for the memories Rick, we had a blast my friend.
 
Thank you for all the kind words that have been said openly on here, directly to my phone and through other social media networks towards me, it really is appreciated as it's truly a huge amount of work, time & effort that goes into organising the day and it wouldn't be possible without the commitment of Richard, his good lady wife Vicky and all the other supporting team members that don't take a breathe from the minute they arrive to leaving the hosting golf club not to mention all the preparation each year for months that goes into getting it off the ground in the first place.

My day started the afternoon before (Sunday) when I arrived in Farnborough, well in advance and in time to watch the match at a local pub, my intention, unlike previous years, was to pace myself and enjoy a few quiet beers leading up to the curry night and keeping a clear head for a very important and what I knew would be an emotional day. So as I walked into The Alexandra and ordered a pint of their best ale, I was then given a raffle ticket, "what's the prize I asked"?, "nothing was the reply!, for an hour before, during the match and an hour afterwards the ticket is for a free pint", it was buy 1 get 1 free :eek: well, that was my plan pretty scuppered from the start and a gallon of their finest was consumed over the next 4 hours before heading back to the hotel bar to meet some other forumites staying at The Village Hotel, where I sneaked another pint in :cheers:

We all then met in the Wetherspoons where of course another quickie had to be consumed before heading to the Zaffron Restaurant for our annual pre-day curry and merriment with forum members that had travelled from all 4 corners of the country and beyond. This year a good few extra numbers attended and I have to say, even though my Lamb Tik Tak was a little hotter than I could cope with, the taste of the food and their service was outstanding and my 2 large house red wines was top notch :thup:

So it was back to Wetherspoons where Herr Leader got a round in (thanks Mike) and we collectively chewed the fat for a while before all slipping away back to our hotels, where yes, well it was still open so it would have been rude not, a large port concluded my day/night :cheers:

I woke up in good time and went down for breakfast and then arrived at the club to find some of the prep had been taken care of (thanks to Tony & Guy) and due to the tables and layout of the room, we left the setting up of prizes and auction items to the ladies. so I just milled about welcoming people, passing on any messages whilst taking a few (80+) photo's, this was all a bit too well organised methinks :smirk:

I had an excellent fourball and I'd like to thank Ian (Imurg), Sean (Sawtooth) and Jimmy (Battleback) for their company, we all flittered in and out of playing some good stuff and some 5hite stuff but the crack was 90 and Jimmy is great fun to be around and is very dangerous off 24, I'd heard he was a bit of a bandit and knew he had been shot 7 times in the legs so I brought some extra large magnets so when he was in his back swing I'd point them towards his legs, the banter was top draw and I'd share a course with him anywhere any time.

With the round finished it was time to get ready for the main event, everyone picked up their raffle prizes (I've still never won anything) and sat down for dinner which was excellent, cards were being checked and verified (thanks Sean) there were a few minor delays due to team scores being hard to calculate as it was a struggle to match real names to the forum named start sheet, a minor oversight but nothing too drastic even though we were told the natives were getting restless, it's something that will be looked into and changed for next year.

I went and got my dinner and looked across at Fragger on my table after being kicked off Mikes table to make way for Rick & Peter's fourball, the sacrifices I had to make :whistle: anyway, I asked him "what he was doing with my new company logo'd cap in front of him"?, "I won it in the raffle he said"! I had left my personal cap on the wooden cutlery table I had all my notes on and the girls found it and stuck it in the raffle :eek: Luckily we had some spare caps and it was suitable swapped, that was pretty funny at the time :rofl:

Mark the auctioneer then got stuck into everyone (thanks mate) squeezing those extra bits of hard earned out of you all and then the fantastic carved memory of Rick was awarded to Sandy, thanks go to Paul for organising and Khamelion for bringing it down, speeches then ensued and the prizes were announced, there were some great scores in as always and everyone on the team hopes you all had a great day on & off the course.

We will post a full review of who has won what but we are still balancing everything currently but we're confident that we'll surpass the £12k announced :thup: Richart goes away for 2-weeks on Friday for a well deserved break so point any queries at me and hopefully I'll answer then for you.

Although, and I'm glad I did in the circumstances, consumed a fair amount of alcohol the day/night before, which was probably why I hooked my first tee shot off the 1st onto the driving range OOB (but I still finished with the same ball I started with), I had 1 solitary pint of beer on the day and that was bought for me by Twire (cheers mate), throughout the whole meal, auction, speeches etc I was drinking water like it was out of fashion, you may have noticed large amounts of it pouring down my face whilst doing my speech :o

Anyway, its very nice to be appreciated for the work that goes into the H4H's day and all the hard work leading up to it from all the team and thanks have to go to all our sponsors like Mike Harris who personally supports us along with Golf Monthly, Sandy, Mark, Peter & Rick and all the manufacturers and suppliers, BUT, it could never happen without all YOUR support, so, thank you for attending, thank you for all your donations and purchases and thank you for all the fantastic tributes posted for Rick our founder, he would have been so proud that we all got back on our bike's and saw it through and even more proud that we will endeavour to keep his legacy of the Help for Heroes Day going for a charity he believed in so much.

If I have missed mentioning anyone I am truly sorry, it's late (early).

See you all next year :thup:

Robin
 
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Richard :

Not sure how you managed to keep it together during your speech, everyone in the room really felt for you and were sending positive vibes to you.
An emotional day for everyone, but especially for you and add on the responsibility for the event, then it's huge.

So glad you have decided to continue with the H4H event, it's pretty well the highlight of the forum calendar, and raises funds for a brilliant cause. It also wouldn't be the same without you and Vicky

There are loads of people here who are willing to help, feel free to delegate,

Proud to call you a friend :clap:

Robin.

Think you surprised a lot of people over the last couple of months.
Total respect for the way you stepped in and helped Richard since Ricks passing.
Great speech, spot on and a cause that is personally close to your heart,

Again not sure how you retained your composure, having seen you in bits at the funeral and knowing how close you were to Rick.

Looking forward to next year guys, onwards and upwards
 
"Quote" Must admit I have been thinking that this might be the last year. I knew Rick would want us to complete the day at Camberley, and I was happy and sad to do so. By the end of the day I can honestly say I have never felt so emotionally wrecked. I have been told that the lights were on, but no one was at home, and I think that is probably true. When I finished my round I walked back to the car parked out by the 11th by myself. My partners had walked out to our tee. It was a lovely walk, and apart from bumping into a few friends walking back to the clubhose, it was just beautifully quiet, and I said a few words to Rick, and shed a tear to my friend.
Read more at http://forums.golf-monthly.co.uk/sh...-date-announcement/page22#sWcVRLZaR3jlFaSs.99 "Quote"


There was me thinking it was only me doing that walking back to the car at the end of the round, shedding some tears as i packed up the clubs into the car. Then i heard this little voice say "how do you get these ties off". yes exactly the works Rik used at Luton ho 1st tee back at the first one.
made me blubber again this morning.
Thanks to everyone for a brill day.
 
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Some marvellous words, far more eloquent and heart felt than anything I could muster (but want to still add my own). I felt for Rich as he made his speech and I have to be honest, as he stood there and struggled for a brief moment a tear came to my eye as well sitting there, and seeing him so full of emotion for his mate. I thought of Rick laughing at his good friend and was so pleased he found the strength to deliver the words, and the feelings, of the man, the event and everything it meant to him. I for one am so happy that it seems he'll carry the baton forward (and not alone) and would like to add my own thanks to him and his lovely wife for their tireless work and efforts both before, on the day, and long afterwards.

As for Fish, a forum legend of stature far bigger than him diminutive height or voracious capacity to down beers. Another that had a tear in my eye with his own words, again delivered straight from the heart but which pulled no punches about the enormity of the gap trying to be filled. A seemingly impossible task indeed but one done, and done with style humour determination and dedication. Your own work, often behind the scenes is one rarely thought about by most on here, but one that's integral to the continuing success of the event. For that we thank you

I can only speak on my own behalf, but Rick would be so proud of how Rich and Robin came together and produce a gloriously well organised and fun day that everyone enjoyed immensely. While I'm disappointed they haven't got round to announcing the 2017 details yet (just kidding :rofl::cheers:) I'm pleased both have decided to keep going.

As a forum, let's continue to get behind these Kings of the Forum and give them even more help and support in 2017, see what we can all do to lighten their load, and drive this forward into a bigger and better (some ask after this year) event next year and every year as we rattle towards the 10th anniversary H4H day in a few years.

Thanks once again to EVERYONE who gave time, prizes or anything else to make the day so good and such a fitting tribute to the great Rick Garg. Time may well be a healer and he's gone but never forgotten on the forum and the road to H4H 2017 starts here.
 
Great posts Richard and Robin, it was a difficult day in many ways but so rewarding at the same time.

I'm sure you both have the respect of the whole forum and if you do decide to go on next year (I think everybody hopes that you will!) then I'm again sure that you'll get support wherever and whenever it's needed.

Heartfelt thanks again.
 
Had a great few days away.

Thanks to Paul for hosting us at Bearwood on Sunday, really is a spectacular place to play golf. Just a shame he actually had a game with him for once winning a good, close match on the last. :whistle:

Curry night was good and enjoyed a few beers and catching up with everyone as per usual.

Monday at Camberley really was a great day and well organised. Lovely course, great company, the carvery was superb and raised a ton of cash for a very worthy cause, what's not to like?

Other than my golf that had gone from sublime on Sunday to ridiculous on Monday :rofl: Had a good laugh with Stu, Paul and Ben and was a pleasure to watch Paul put a really good score together to win the gross prize, very impressive :thup:

Obviously very emotional for those very close to Rick and some very moving words spoken, I wouldn't have been able to hold myself together in such circumstances so well done all :clap:

Me, Junior and Karl played Beau Desert on the way back up yesterday which was even better than I remembered it from a couple of years ago, and the greens even more extreme :eek:

Thanks to everyone that puts in an enormous amount of work to organise this event and run things so effectively on the day, appreciated by all of us that pretty much just rock up and play golf with no idea how much time and effort you've spent on our behalf I'm sure! :cheers:
 
Played at my home course on Saturday, Bearwood lakes Sunday, Camberley Heath Sunday, Beau Desert yesterday and now have the rest of the week off work. Handful of birdies, quite a few pars, probably a few less bogies and a handful of dross. Loved every second of it.

Thanks to Nasher for inviting us to Bearwood, the 2 putt from 60ft on the last for you and our kid to take the spoils against myself and Jocko was a superb moment......

As others have mentioned, thanks also to Rich and Robin for organising another superb event. Great to catch up over beers and a curry with everybody!!!

Finally and most importantly, thanks also to RickG, he'd have been smiling down on us laughing his balls off at Nasher 5 putting the 16th. It's a special thing that his legacy lives on through this event and we should all be thankful to be part of it.
 
The winners on the day were :

Nearest the pin : Kraxx (not Khamelion who has been fined !!)

Nearest the pin in 2 on 18: Rick Shiels (actually it was Henry Carter from Blackmoor, but we lost the sheet:o

Longest Drive : Philly169

Team prize : Mackamslice, 4Woody4, RW1986 Tim Richie (guest)

Guest prize : Nick Bonfield 42 points ! (Mike would not let him win the forum prize)

Best front nine : NJRose51 21 points

Best back nine : Richard Broderick (guest) 22 points

Help For Heroes Committee Cup (1st Gross) : PaulW4701

3rd Stableford : Richart :eek: 39 points

2nd Stableford : Dasit 39 points on count back

Drum roll,and the winner of the H4H Golf Monthly Trophy was

Bogie Boy with 40 points.:whoo::clap::clap::clap::whoo:

We only allow someone to win one prize, so PaulW4701 would have come second overall with 40 points, losing to Bogie Boy on count back (Bogie Boys back nine was 25 points!!) Guests are not eligible to win the H4H Trophy.

The decision of the comittee is final, so no arguing.:ears:
 
"Quote" Must admit I have been thinking that this might be the last year. I knew Rick would want us to complete the day at Camberley, and I was happy and sad to do so. By the end of the day I can honestly say I have never felt so emotionally wrecked. I have been told that the lights were on, but no one was at home, and I think that is probably true. When I finished my round I walked back to the car parked out by the 11th by myself. My partners had walked out to our tee. It was a lovely walk, and apart from bumping into a few friends walking back to the clubhose, it was just beautifully quiet, and I said a few words to Rick, and shed a tear to my friend.
Read more at http://forums.golf-monthly.co.uk/sh...-date-announcement/page22#sWcVRLZaR3jlFaSs.99 "Quote"


There was me thinking it was only me doing that walking back to the car at the end of the round, shedding some tears as i packed up the clubs into the car. Then i heard this little voice say "how do you get these ties off". yes exactly the works Rik used at Luton ho 1st tee back at the first one.
made me blubber again this morning.
Thanks to everyone for a brill day.
Now you have got me going again. ;)
 
Well after yesterday reflecting on a superb weekend and catching up at work.

Just want to say a massive thanks to Vicky and the two other ladies whose name I didn't get for helping out as they always do, without you all helping behind the scenes it wouldn't have run like clockwork.

To Robin for stepping in to help with only a short time to go and getting on with it by getting some very good items for the auction from the manufacturers :thup:. I am sure next year Richard will be getting you to do a hell of a lot more :D

Richard, you are a true forum legend, for what you and Rick have achieved with this monster is incredible, to have now raised over £75,000 is something else :thup:

Rick would have been so proud of how you all run it without him.

The 1st Rick G award to Sandy was truly fitting.

The bids were incredible and its so glad to see that most auction items make well and truly more than the actual value, the football tickets went for a fantastic price, I wont name him but paying £150 for a galvin green shirt just shows to me how much the charity means to everyone in the room :thup:

Thanks for the invitation to Blackmoor, it really is a beautiful course and I couldn't believe how dry it was, its the 2nd time I have walked it and it gets better each time.

With a bigger restaurant been built will it be next years venue :whistle:

Massive thanks to Camberley Heath as well, what a fabulous course and set up, 20th best in Surrey :confused:, that would be no 2 in Lincolnshire. What a beautiful lay out, the greens were superb for the time of year, all they needed was some sand in the bunkers. I could be a member there just for that carvery :D

Thanks to everyone and look forward to the 2017 event.
 
What an amazing trip.....

I would like to echo all that has been said before. To all the organisers; you have to Rick , yourselves and HFH proud!

Myself, Junior and Jocko flew dawrn south on the Sunday and Paul kindly hosted us at the amazing Bearwood Lakes. Was great to catch up with Dave, khamelion and krax and Phil.
Bearwood is a special course with stunning views and some spectacular holes. I am not surprised that it has been approached by the Euro pros to host an event and is frequented by some of the big names in golf.
On to the golf.... we had a cracking game! Jocko was his imperious self and even had an ACE!! First one I have ever seen. Our kid was steady as, But the 2 single figure giants were no match for me and slasher!! To be fair it was a really close game and we were all square going up the last and we all par it, but we had a shot and snuck it on the last, Paul nailing at least a 90ft putt to 2ft!

Back to the travelodge at frimley to meet everybody else For a beer and then he curry....

The HFH day at camberley was amazing. The organisation, the golf, the food, the speeches and prizes were a credit to all those organising it. A big thanks to my playing partners on the day. Zeno a battle back golfer, who was arrow straight all day! Tony who's shortgame was something to be admired and Rupert who we all thought was in with a shout until Tony mentioned it to him ... lol ;) The course was superb. Stood on the first watch in baby deer leap across the fairway on our first hole, just set the tone. Seeing a fox swipe Odvans ball just short of the first green was hilarious.

Back to the travelodge for a few beers with Dave, Krax and khamelion and an early start off to Beau Desert.... I was tired but again, the course is the best hidden gem I have ever come across. Just a stunning course. Me and our kid played ok, but couldn't keep up with Jocko! The greens are the best and hardest I have ever played on. They are just so quick and hard, it's untrue. A great way to finish 3 days!
 
Well done to everyone who was involved in the day - from all the reports it would have been exactly how Rick would have wanted it......although I am sure he would have wanted to win one of the trophies of course!!

Sorry that I wasn't there. Very much hope to be next year.
 
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