Four! Pete rounds off gruelling golf challenge for charity.

Picture this. You wake, bleary eyed and irritated by your alarm at 4am. While mentally preparing yourself for the challenge ahead you hear it – torrential rain. The kind of rain that only falls once a year. The sort that keeps you locked up in doors all day. The worst weather we’ve seen in 2021.

That was the day that greeted Peter Baker and his team of avid golfers as they embarked on their charity challenge – 100 rounds of golf in a single day.

At 5am, they practically swam into Northenden Gold Club with the goal of raising money for Alzheimer’s Research and Stroke UK. Teeing off early might have felt like a head start but they soon discovered this was no easy feat.

Why put yourself through it?

Pete has been a member of the club for 12 years, and every year the Captain raises money for a charity that is close to him. Due to COVID-19, no one had been allowed into the club.This meant the usually fundraising events hadn’t taken place, so there had been precious little chance to collect money for the charity.

Enter what the club called their Fantastic Four – Pete, Lexi, George, and James.Pete and Lexi cooked up a plan they believed would get their fellow golfers reaching for their cheque books as it were. A mammoth day of golfing.

What was the challenge?

For those who are less familiar with the world of golf, an average round is 18 holes and would usually take around 3.5 hours. This challenge was NOT for the faint hearted. A popular golf challenge is 72 holes (or 4 rounds) in a single day. Pete’s competitive nature meant they signed up to do 90 instead, a whole round longer.

They completed the first round in less than 2 hours. And somehow maintaining a rate of knots, completed the first four rounds in under 8 hours! Incredible stuff!

But as they edged closer to the 90th hole, Pete pushed for more. He wanted 100.

So 100 is what they did.

How did they turn playing golf into a fundraiser?

As well as going for the traditional JustGiving page, Pete and Co hatched a unique plan to raise more funds. They asked members of the club to predict the time it would take to complete the first 72 holes.There was a decent sized entry fee and a financial prize for the winner. Funnily enough, the closest anyone got was a guess of 10 hours! I guess they underestimated you, eh lads?!

So, how did it go?

Admittedly, holes 72 to 100 were at a more relaxed pace, now the competition winner had been determined. Spectators joined them on foot or in buggies at a social distance, including the President of the club, as well as both the Men’s and Ladies team Captains. We strongly suspect a few beers were consumed en route too!

For those golf buffs reading, here are the sporting highlights: