Submitted by Graham Hegler, Head Golf Professional, River Road Golf Course
On Friday, June 20, Graham Hegler, Chris Snoeks, Justin Fairchild, and Darren Vandeloo met at the River Road Golf Course at 4:40 in the morning and teed off at 5:10am to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society’s “Longest Day of Golf.”
With “extra-large” coffees in hand, and a tiny bit of light, tee shots were struck. We had to play by “feel” for the first two holes, as you couldn’t see the ball after it left the clubface. The 3rd hole at River Road faces east, so the lighter sky helped in tracking the ball flight – we were off and running! We completed the first 18 holes in just over 2 hours.
We played every round from the black tee deck and kept the “gimmies” to a minimum. Stroke play was the name of the game for the first four rounds, followed by two 2-man scrambles to keep things fun. The scoring highlight of the day came when Chris and I posted a 13-under par 58 in the first scramble match (round # 5 on the day).
The Pro Shop staff notified all players that we were on the course, so when we came upon a group they quickly waved us through. Burrito Boyz were very kind in sponsoring us and supplying us with a VERY filling burrito lunch – many thanks to Mike Hammond and Dave Strano. The 15-minute lunch break was the only stoppage all day. The total number of holes played was 112, and the final putt dropped at 9:48pm … 16 ½ straight hours of golf!
Blistered hands, raw feet, sore legs/shoulders/arms were all experienced by the day’s end, but it was all worth it, as we raised over $1,250 for a most worthy and deserving cause. Many thanks to all those who pledged and donated. The day couldn’t have been a success without your generous support.
