North Wales golfers pull together for charity drive
May 20, 2020
As golf restarts in Wales, one player has been ensuring some of the charity benefits from the game have not been lost during lockdown.
While the St Melyd club have also been doing their bit in the Prestatyn community, with a service delivering meals for the vulnerable.
Pam Valentine, captain of Welsh Ladies Team champions Wrexham, took part in her own 2.6 Challenge by hitting golf balls in her garden – and has issued a challenge to anyone else who can beat her time and raise more money for charity.
“They had the 2.6 Challenge around the time of the London Marathon, where people could take on any challenge involving two and six,” explained Valentine, who has been a member at Wrexham for more than 50 years.
“There was no chance I was going to run a marathon, so I wondered if I could do something with a golf theme.
“We settled on the idea of hitting 260 balls in under an hour to raise money for the Nightingale House Hospice in Wrexham, which is particularly close to my family’s heart having been one of the founder trustees.
“We were going to have a fund raiser golf day in July at the golf club in Wrexham which would probably have raised five or six thousand pounds.
“That’s unlikely now so I thought if I did the challenge then maybe we could raise some of that money.
“My sister is a fundraiser at the hospice and she acted as invigilator, so I hit 260 balls in 44 minutes and 8 seconds.
“We have raised about £3,000 with some more coming in, so we are pleased we are on the way to covering the amount of money we would have made in the fund raiser.
“The demands on the services of the hospice are no less now than they would have been, but most fundraising has gone out the window, so we are pleased to be able to do a little to help.
“I would love other people to have a go and try to beat my time and maybe raise some more money for the Nightingale House Hospice or another good cause.”
Another golf club in North Wales has also been making efforts to improve the situation in their community, with St Melyd near Prestatyn offering takeaway meals for members and local residents.
The club have also been delivering to more vulnerable residents as a service to the community.
These are just two examples of how the North Wales golfing community have been pulling together in these difficult times.