Following the sinking of the IRRV raft in my first attempt to raise money for my chosen charity, the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance in July we raised over £1,400.

A successful IRRV Association golf day at Worksop Golf Club raised over £1000 and the raffling of an England signed cricket shirt (won by Mike Shaw) and a bottle of champagne (won by Judith Johnson), raised over £600.

IRRV /EQUITA CHARITY GOLF CHALLENGE

The final leg of my charity fundraising will see me team up with one of the IRRV leading sponsors, Equita who are again supporting the President of the day in their aim to raise money for two charities, mine and the "Big C", in memory of Brian Dale.

Friday 29 August 2008  – Monday 1 September 2008

Played over 4 days and curteousy of the the very kind support of sponsors, Equita, Paul Sharpe and I led our rival teams which changed each day around the country  playing past and forthcoming Ryder Cup venues over 4 days in 3 different countries starting on Friday 29th August 2008 at the Belfry situated in Bob's own North Warwickshire area, on Saturday 30th August 2008 at the Celtic Manor near Newport, on Sunday 31st August 2008, at West Lancashire on the North West coast and concluding on Monday 1st September 2008 on the Kings Course at Gleneagles.

Although not part of the event, I also played on Tuesday 2nd September at the Crieff Golf Club at the Institute’s Scottish Conference Golf Event which takes place on the day before its 2 day Scottish conference.

The Friday as is always the case in North Warwickshire was balmy and warm, and the Mayor and management of the Belfry came to see us off at 9.30am resplendent in our team colours for the day of white and green. See the pictures. The course played very long and tough being set up for a forthcoming professional tournament which made the going tough for some and impossible for most. In some parts the rough was so high we weren’t just searching for balls but also Paul’s and my playing partners, Barry Powell and David Magor !. The other four ball of Steve Glaze and last years President Allan Traynor for Team IRRV and Rob Andrews and Paul Ellicott faired little better looking at the result of the game

In true Ryder Cup style we were playing for the honour of winning a point (and a drink) across two games and after a hard fought first day, honours were even at 1 point each with the results as follows with Mr Sharpe taking the bottle of champagne for the best stableford score of the day

Day One - The Belfry   IRRV Equita
      
Sharpe/Powell(B) v Trahern/Magor Lost 3 & 1   1
Andrews/Ellicott v Glaze/Traynor  Won 7&6 1 
 
Day Two, saw us descend on the Celtic Manor, just outside Newport on a gloriously hot day where IRRV donned the green and Equita, the Red to celebrate being in the principality. David Magor was stood down for the day (at his age, 4 days golf is beyond him) and Alaln Traynor and myself were joined by Andy Cummings who bid the highest pledge of £200 for the place at the annual association golf day in Worksop and Paul Ellicott, playing for the IRRV this time who had won his place by donating money via the website. Paul was joined by his colleague Paul Walker, and Roy Jones, who won his place via the raffle at the Equita golf day and John Hewitson, Chairman of the Association reps and a fellow West Midlander who won his place in the raffle at Worskop.
As is always the case, no two days are the same in golf and I gained revenge for the previous days defeat by partnering Allan to victory over Paul and John. The other game with my big hitters (who had tucked into two monumental fry ups before the start) Andy and Paul failed to turn weight and carbohydrate advantage into success

Day Two - The Celtic Manor    IRRV  Equita
      
Sharpe/Hewitson v Trahern/Traynor Won 3&2 1 
Walker/Jones v Cummings/Ellicott Lost 2&1   1
  
I found the fresh air of Wales to my liking and walked off with the best score of the day and with the game poised at 2 points each, it was all to play for a the mid point stage. Back home by 9pm, a long soak in the bath and it was up early to pack up the car for the last two courses and everything needed for the Scottish conference

Day Three and Sunday brought rain and a lot of it although skies cleared a little as we drove up the M6 to Liverpool and West Lancs golf club which we had been threatened would be a challenge as the winds blew in off the Irish sea. Call it luck of the Irish but half an hour before our lunchtime tee off time the skies cleared, the rain stopped and the winds were bought a mild breeze, as benign as you could hope for.

Sunday saw me partnered by fellow Council Member, Dave Chapman who was a rock on the day and Paul by Graham Sayers, from the Lancs and Cheshire association.     The second fourball saw the dreamteam of Magor and Traynor take on Richard Mason, from the Lancs and Cheshire association and Dave Powell, Barry’s brother, who won the opportunity to play at the Worksop raffle.

In what was a nip and tuck game,  Team Equita in Blue got the better of Team IRRV in red, by winning the day one and a half to a half with there never being more than one hole either way between Paul and Graham and Dave and myself and after 18 holes we shared the spoils. Richard Mason produced the form in the second game bringing Team Equita home 3&2 meaning that Monday still meant the trophy could go either way.  Graham Sayers walked off with the bottle of champagne for good measure.

Day Three - West Lancs      
      
Sharpe/Sayers v Trahern/Chapman All Square 0.5 0.5
Mason/Powell (D) Lost 3&2   1

Leaving the club at 8pm, and having completed the 5 hour drive up to Crieff via Burgerking and Edinburgh airport to drop Allan off to pick up his car, I’m afraid the early mist didn’t give way to the sunshine the course deserved and we teed it off in torrential rain, with IRRV wearing the blue of Scotland and Equita, the white of the St Andrews cross.

The Kings Course at Gleneagles of all the courses we played exceeded even our highest expectations and I was joined in my team by David McLaughlan, partner of Scott and Co who kindly donated the two tee off times and went into battle against Paul who was joined by Richard Mather from Birmingham CC who won the opportunity to play by winning the raffle at the Equita golf day.

The second fourball that went off half an hour before we did had the rain for the first 7 holes which saw Allan Traynor joined by Colin Naylor who won the opportunity in Worksop and Mike Corless form Equita by Richards wife, Denise 

By hole 4, the sun had peeped through giving way to some unbelievable scenery making the halfway house refreshments taste all the better. In another unbelievably tight game, the game between Paul and Richard and David and I was halved on the last in a game that once gain never saw more than a couple of holes between the two teams and a well fought for half point meaning it was down to Team IRRV to bring the spoils home in the other game to square the match.

However, it proved a step to far and Mike and Denise proved too good on the day (and there is no truth in the rumor that Mike Corless insisted in playing off the reds to keep his partner company).   We did have the consolation of David McLaughlan winning the individual prize on a countback from Richard Mather.

Day Four – Gleneagles     
      
Sharpe/Mather.R. v Trahern/McLoughlan All Square 0.5 0.5
Corless/Mather.D. v Traynor/Naylor Lost 4&2   1
 
Final Score

Team IRRV  3 points
Team Equita  5 points

What an experience and we shared many tales over a glass or wine or two long into the night.

My thanks to Equita for their sponsorship of what was a great event (Paul can we do it again next year please eventhough I am not President!) and it is still not too late to get involved. You can still donate money and may win yourself the opportunity to win a fabulous stay at the Forest of Arden Golf Club

How can you donate money ? We would ask that you donate a minimum of £3 (more if you can spare it) by pledging the amount via the website www.justgiving.com/bobtrahern.

Alternatively, if you do not like to enter debit card details online, you can send me a cheque payable to R Trahern at 7 Walnut Drive, Mancetter, Atherstone and I will raise one cheque at the end of my presidential year to my chosen charity, the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance which is a fantastic course (oops I mean cause !).

By supporting me and the air ambulance, as a special bonus you could win yourself a night for two at the luxurious Forest of Arden hotel in the heart of North Warwickshire by guessing the total number of stableford points that will be scored by the 2 teams over the 4 days (i.e.) 32 players will on average score anything between 15 and 36 points each, therefore achieving a minimum of 320 points and a maximum of 1152 points. Just make a guess at a number between these two figures and who knows, you could be lucky!

For a £5 pledge, you can have 2 guesses and for £10, five guesses. Whoever guesses the nearest or is spot on (in the event of a tie we will select one person out of a hat) will win. Guesses should be sent to me at bobtrahern@northwarks.gov.uk and will be announced at the IRRV conference on 2 October.

I know the credit crunch is biting but please sponsor us whatever you can afford

Many thanks in anticipation of any support you can give

Bob Trahern, IRRV National President