Golf Professional Gareth Bennett and Cottrell Park Golf Resort have been raising funds for Velindre Hospital in Whitchurch since August 2014.
The fundraising was initiated through the Golf Development Wales ‘New2Golf’ scheme encouraging beginners and lapsed golfers to take up the game of golf.
Gareth Bennett qualified as a PGA Professional in 2007 and became one of Cottrell Park’s professionals in October 2013. He offered his coaching services free of charge for the Golf4Life named sessions and all participants paid £5 per week or £25 for six weeks.
The hour long sessions covered all aspects of the game and finished with an on-course fun competition. All proceeds were collected and £720 was raised.
In addition the club arranged for pink golf shirts with a logo to be produced and sold with a contribution of £10 per shirt to be donated to the charity. In total 27 shirts were sold raising a further £270.
More recently, Gareth has been coaching a group from ‘Spindogs’, a local leading web design and developments agency. They donated £300 for lessons for their employees and clients which again was donated to the charity. Three members of their team are continuing with lessons to improve their game.
Finally a Golf4Life competition was held on May 4. The entry fee was £10 per person with £5 going to Velindre Hospital. A field of 18 entrants entered with some playing a five hole competition and the rest a nine hole competition.
Entrants included four Cottrell Park employees, two Spindog employees and ladies currently having lessons with Gareth. The winner of the five hole comp was Lindsay Guthrie with 36 shots and Emily Pullham won the nine hole comp with 71 shots. Both winners received a 30 minute golf lesson with Gareth.
In total £1,500 was raised for Velindre Hospital, including a donation of £120 from Cottrell Park Golf Resort.
Velindre Cancer Centre provides specialist cancer services to more than 1.5 million people in South East Wales and beyond and they are one of the largest cancer centres in the UK.
Gareth said: “The New2Golf scheme at Cottrell Park has been hugely successful. On a personal note, it feels great to be able to give back to the game of golf by providing free lessons and giving opportunities to people to take up this great game and structured pathways to membership. At the same time raise money for a fantastic charity.”
Photo caption:
Players in the Golf4Lifef competition (from left) Lindsay Guthrie, Jane Williams, Emily Pullham, Louise Dixon, Shirley Hamill, Helen Archer, Gaynor Openshaw-Smith, Esther Storey, Hayley Hughes, Kat Ambroziak, Lizzie Evans, Andrea Kitzinger, Cheryl Hopkins and Olivia Sherrin.
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About Cottrell Park Golf Resort
Opened in 1996 and based in St Nicholas, Cottrell Park Golf Resort boasts two exceptionally-maintained golf courses, event and conferencing facilities, restaurant with award winning caterer Spiros, plus indoor and outdoor activities including two state-of-the-art golf simulators. The club was also recently awarded runner up in the 2014 GUW Welsh Golf Club of the Year Awards.
For more information please contact Gaynor Openshaw-Smith, sales and marketing manager, on Tel: 01446 782015
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