BGIA raises £18,000 for grass-roots golf

The British Golf Industry Association (BGIA) has raised £18,000 for the Golf Foundation at a charity golf day held at Woburn GC in Bedfordshire.

The event, now in its fifth year, was started to encourage more youngsters to get involved in the sport.

BGIA chairman David Wells was proud of the event's success. ?The work of the Golf Foundation is close to the hearts of all our members, who care about the future of the game.

?I?d like to thank members of every team who came along and made this such a special event, held in a wonderful atmosphere?.

The evening prior to the main golfing event, all 21 teams were invited to a dinner and charity auction, which in itself raised £4,800.

When the golf got underway, the corporate teams found many incentives to play well during the Stableford team competition.

Acushnet ? the parent company of brands such as Titleist and Cobra ? awarded bottles of premium champagne to anyone who hit the tricky 170-yard 6th green in one shot; it ended up giving away 26.

The winning team was market research company Datatech, pictured with Golf Foundation chief executive Mike Round, while MacGregor and Setanta Golf finished second and third respectively.

?The funds will be used to give children from different backgrounds and abilities the opportunity to both try golf and continue to play the game,? said Round.

?This is something all present on the day saw as highly important for the future of the sport.?