Gibraltar Barracks Soldiers Complete 24 Hour Fundraiser At Hartley Wintney Golf Club

When three members of Hartley Wintney Golf Club (Martin Hassall, Chris Rosie & James Stafford) offered to raise money for charity by playing golf nonstop for 24 hours, the Club Committee thought they were delusional. Not only because of the physical exertion involved, but also the logistical challenges and safety concerns of playing golf on a course that would be empty from 10 pm to 8 am, whilst dark.

All three are serving members of the Royal Engineers and based at Gibraltar Barracks. As such, they developed robust plans to mitigate any of the logistical and safety concerns raised. Playing during the dark was solved by illuminating the greens and flags with cylumes (military term for glow sticks), and using LED illuminating golf balls that would light up when hit. They put in place a strong medical plan, with support from other serving soldiers should they have required it, and they are all battlefield trained in first aid!

At 6pm on 5th August the intrepid trio teed off and 24 hours later, a little sore but in great spirits, they had completed an incredible 7 1/2 rounds (135 holes), covering over 42 miles, sitting for less than 30 minutes and raising over £1,500 for Guide Dogs and Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care.

On behalf of the three golfers, Captain Hassall thanked the members of Hartley Wintney Golf Club for their enthusiasm & support, but did concede that they would not be repeating the task anytime soon!

When thanking and congratulating the trio on their achievement, Angus Walker (2019 Men’s Captain) noted ‘how grateful we are for their efforts and how fortunate we are to have these exceptional men as members of Hartley Wintney Golf Club. A sense of pride that is no doubt shared by the British Army!’

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