FOUR of Swan Hill’s avid golfers will tee off for a cancer-free future next Friday as they take part in the Longest Day of Golf to raise funds for the Cancer Council.
Craig Fletcher, James Mclean, Luke Merritt and Dale Jager will take on a mammoth challenge by taking on four rounds of Murray Downs’ 18-hole course.
This equates to a whopping 72 holes in just one day.
Collectively known as The Murray Downs Rams, the group will tee off at about 6am and make their way around the course four times, which equates to a 48km walk and more than 300 swings of the golf club.
Fletcher will tee off for his third campaign while Jager will make his debut.
For Merrit and McLean, it will second and third attempts respectively.
“It is a long day, but last year I did take on drink caddy duties as well so I rode a buggy for a part of it, but the other guys will walk the entire 72 rounds,” Fletcher said.
“The first round should take about 2.5 hours and then we are allowing 3.5 hours for the rest which should see us finish around 7pm.
“It does get tiring, even though you’re walking, you’re still having to stop and take swings and by the end of the day exhaustion starts to set in.
“We will each be swinging the club about 80 times each round.”
Murray Downs Rams raised $3000 in the first year they completed the event and followed that up with $3500 the second time.
This year the team has already raised more than $5000 before the event has even kicked off.
Those funds will go directly to the Cancer Council and dedicated solely to cancer research, a cause close to Fletcher’s heart.
“I lost my dad to bladder cancer in 2005 and golf was something we had always enjoyed playing together,” he said.
“Taking on this challenge is a way to feel connected to him while also raising money towards beating cancer, a disease that has had a big effect on my family.”
The Longest Golf Day is a national campaign that allows players to play 36, 54 or 72 rounds of golf.
The entire campaign has 5038 golfers registered and has already raised more than $1.6m.
To support the team and help the Cancer Council in their research for a cure, visit www.longestday.org.au/fundraisers/murraydownsrams to donate.
