Around 150 golfers from the Grand Bay-Westfield area raised nearly $6,000 on July 9 during its Golf Fore The Cure event in support of breast cancer research.
The Westfield Golf & Country Club came second in the top 10 for raising the most money across Canada during the event, sponsored by Golf Canada and the Canadian Cancer Society.
Heather Shuve, president of the Westfield Golf & Country Club, said during a Friday phone interview the ladies’ golf association at the club decided it would be a good idea to extend and involve the entire club.
“So many people are touched by cancer, and in particular breast cancer, that we thought that it was an opportunity to raise awareness and to raise some more funds if we broadened it to all members,” said Shuve.
Shuve said one small touch of inspiration involved Brandon Bradley and Dave McCormick, a pair of golfers so dedicated to the cause that they held a separate event on July 30, where they golfed for almost 18 hours and raised around $2,500.
“They set out at 4:30 a.m. and probably with lots of coffee on board, and they just played golf continuously,” said Shuve.
“They played 10 full rounds — or 180 holes — finishing up just before 10 p.m. that night, and they raised a lot of money in support of the cause, so that was a sort of motivation to get everybody going for the big event on July 9.”
Shuve said there was plenty of fun to be had by all and noted it was a wonderful day for the golf course and its members, both of which are enjoying a return to social events in a post-pandemic world.
“Golf has been a wonderful thing through COVID,” she said. “It was a sport that people could continue to participate in [and] a lot of people picked up golf for the first time through COVID because it was one of the things that was easy to do and a lot of fun.”
Members closed out the day on a high note, Shuve said.
The 18th pole had a hole-in-one contest that day, which would see anybody who got a hole-in-one walk away with a $10,000 prize, donated by John Walker Insurance Limited.
As part of a group of four men, member Ryan Levine approached the tee and knocked a 180-yard shot directly in the hole, naming the winner of the $10,000 prize.
“We presented the check to him at the course on the 18th hole on Thursday, and it was just one of those things that don’t happen very often,” said Shuve.
“This was the first time for [John Walker Insurance] that they had the opportunity to deliver a check for $10,000 to a winner, so they were thrilled as well. It just capped off a really perfect day.”
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