Truants Charity Golf Day – 2014

Firstly we should thank you all for your support and tell you that a fantastic £42,000 was raised for our Truants Charities – Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy, Teenage Cancer Trust and ChildLine/NSPCC, a big increase on last year’s £30,000, taking the total raised to date by the Truants for these essential Children’s Charities to £1,168,340. It is worth noting that due to the generosity of many not a penny was spent on any awards, prizes, photos, movie or any of the auction or raffle items, silent or otherwise, thus maximising the proceeds to the Charities.

A very bold move by our Golf Truant in Chief, who shall remain anonymous at his own request (but we all know who he is!!), to take over the whole of the wonderful place that is the Royal Mid Surrey Golf Club was fully justified when 36 teams and 144 golfers (to use the term loosely in some cases) signed up in support! The weather provided an absolutely perfect backdrop to a terrific day of golf, drinking and, as the evening progressed, general mayhem, enhanced by our MC Aaron James who certainly got the evening off with suitable sporting hilarity. We hope you will all agree that it was as good a day of golf as you get. To rekindle those fond memories and even despair at your swing, check out the photos and the movie. (Kindly note that the censors stopped the filming after the Awards… in order to retain a PG certification!)

We have many people to thank as below, but first we especially thank the terrific team at RMS led by Moira Stafford-Neck and Lee Third who handled the serious scale of the event effortlessly and graciously, Chairman Bob Armitage and Captain Nigel Hopkinson for their tremendous support and Marcin, Margaret, Claudia and all the RMS catering and bar staff for a magnificent effort at taking care of us all, our appetites and our thirsts, until the early hours.

For the record then… The TROOPER Awards 2014 went to the following – (see past winners here)

Team Winner – Baigrie Davies – Tom Baigrie (Noooooo!), Tim Cooke, James Staite, Sean Marsh with 99 points
Runner Up – Centtrip – Freddy Greenish, Daniel Butcher, Simon Liddell, Ian Flanagan with 98 points

Individual Winner – Paul Hughes (Team: Meat & Veg) – 44 points (won on a 22/22 points count back)
2nd place – David Bowman (Team: The Royal & Archaic) – 44 points
Lady Winner– Clare Campbell (Team: TWM Players) – 31 points

Longest Drive – JH Taylor course – Luke Burdess (again!! Even further he says!)
Longest Drive – Pam Barton course – Freddie Greenish
Nearest the Pin – JH Taylor course – Gerry Bradley
Nearest the Pin – Pam Barton course – Barry Drinkwater (how??!!)

If the rest of you “losers” wish to be depressed, check out your score here!! and thanks to VPar for so kindly providing the know-how, technology and kit to enable us to score without pencils and have a ready record of our crimes on/against the course.

Special thanks also go to Rachel Luckhurst for taking all the photos and Ryan Titley for the many hours spent filming and editing the movie – we are pleased to say that both have been conned into joining the Truants Mexico Ride next year as Rookies! And to Tom Baigrie for gleaning as much cash from the assembled throng as possible with his auction, a major factor in the financial success of our venture, and to Calloway for providing your balls and caps and the prizes for Nearest the Pin and Longest Drive

The Truants would also like to extend their thanks to the following sponsors/donors/helpers: Aaron James, Alan Bennie, Alison Hole, Callaway Golf, Carol Tindley, Chris Aldersley, Dairy Crest plc, Dave Shack, Eric Newham, Gerry Bradley, Gordon Greenidge, Graeme Arnott, Helen Curl, Howard Johnson, Ian Warbrick, Joe McGeough, Jumeirah Hotel (Knightsbridge), Kevin Witheford, Lee Third, Matthew Paget, Mark Allen, Mark Trow, Min Patel, Neil Warbrick, Nick Easter, Nicki Chapman, Paul Curran, Paul Tindley, Philip Keates, Robin Moore, Robinsons Brewery, Rod Smallwood, Sam Peters, Sara Bennie, The Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Club, Tom Baigrie, V Par, Waitrose plc

And finally thanks to Rod and Shacky and the great premium British Beer that is Trooper for providing the Awards and the magnificent Trooper Tent. It is fair to say that Trooper provided much of the “oil” to make the parts work so smoothly as the evening wore on!!

We will return next year on May 29 2015, we are already taking applications and demand is high (hint, hint!) after the great success of this vintage year.

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