Around 100 golfers teed off in the Australian Property Finance (APF) and RE/MAX Australia charity golf day in perfect weather at the North Lakes Resort Golf Club yesterday.
With the support of the players and generosity of sponsors, RE/MAX Australia’s Tanya Bull expects the final fund-raising tally to exceed $3000 for Make-A-Wish® Australia.
“Our RE/MAX Australia and APF partners have been wonderful in the support they have given us through donations, prizes, auction items, registering as players and providing helpers on the day,” she said.
Domain was the event’s major sponsor, with CoreLogic RP Data, News Corp, Direct Connect, REA, Rockend, Australasian Property Partners (APP), Macquarie Leasing, Suncorp, St George, Pepper Money and Auswide also contributing to the fund-raiser’s success.
A ‘Beat the Pro’ competition on the Par 3 Seventh saw players try and match their club skill with Club professional Nigel Lane whose tee shot onto the green at least meant an easy second, a simple putt, for golfers in the four-person Ambrose event. Some made par!
Taking the CoreLogic RP Data major prize of the day was the winning team of Robert Castorina, Brendan O’Farrell, Adam Reynolds and Wayne Johnson.
Other winners included Darren Lewis for the Pepper Money Hole 13 ‘Longest Drive’; John Pattamore for REA Hole 14 ‘Nearest To Pin’ (Men), Anne Harris (Ladies), Corey Workman (Encouragement Award); Mark Shorrock for the Direct Connect Hole 16 ‘Chipping Competition’; Adrian Sechtog for the Suncorp Hole 15 ‘Straightest Drive’; Col Ferriman for the Auswide Hole 17 ‘Nearest To Pin’; Matt Rowan for the Rockend Hole 18 ‘Longest Drive’; and Darren Rix for the Domain Hole 10 ‘Happy Gilmore Longest Drive’.
The competition on the Tenth provided some of the day’s most memorable moments, recorded on film by the Domain team.
In a tribute to the 1996 sports comedy film starring Adam Sandler as the unsuccessful ice hockey player who discovers a talent for golf, players were asked to tee off in their best ‘Happy Gilmore’ style. Their antics produced much mirth and merriment when replayed on the big screen at the end-of-day awards presentation.
One RE/MAX broker owner, Hayley Van de Ven, showed her unique style incorporating a cartwheel into her approach to the drive.
Described by one player wishing to remain anonymous as ‘an endless series of miracles obscured by the occasional tragedy’ the charity golf day was truly a spectacle of fun, networking and fund-raising, with some more-than-occasional good golf thrown in the mix.
The annual event will be held on the Gold Coast next year in conjunction with the 2017 RE/MAX Asia Pacific Convention hosted by RE/MAX Australia and RE/MAX New Zealand. Justin Dee was the lucky golfer who won registration to the Convention simply by signing up for this year’s golf day.