Each year I try to play in two or three charity tournaments because I believe that it is a great way to combine two important parts of my life. I love playing golf and I think that I should ‘pay it forward’ by supporting charities throughout the year.
Recently while visiting Halifax, Nova Scotia, my darling wife and I took a walk on the Halifax harbour front. It is a walk we thoroughly enjoy and make a point of trekking along the water every time we visit Halifax. During this jaunt, I spied some sort of golf pavilion and was drawn to it like a bug to light!
IWK Charity Golf Event. Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
As I made a b-line towards the pavilion, two nice young ladies asked if I was interested in supporting a worthy cause for a chance to win a golf trip to the 2016 Canadian Open! Without hesitation, I started reaching for my wallet.
The H2O Golf fundraiser directly supports the IWK in Halifax. The IWK Health Centre is the Maritime region’s leading health care and research centre dedicated to the well-being of women, children, youth and families. Last year, there were 292,365 patient visits made to the IWK, which included 243,424 ambulatory (outpatient) clinic visits, 27,055 emergency room visits, 6,051 day surgery visits and 15,835 inpatient visits. The IWK is global leader in research and knowledge sharing, and a partner in educating the next generation of health professionals. (See more)
In 1996 the Izaak Walton Killam Hospital for Children and the adjacent Grace Maternity Hospital merged to become the IWK Grace Hospital for Women, Children and Families. At that time a new “Link” building was constructed to join the separate buildings. Having lived in Nova Scotia for 4 years, I understand the importance of this facility and happy to give!
Hitting to a floating green is harder than it looks.
The rules were pretty simple and the cost to play was $10. After handing over my donation, I was given one entry into the draw for the golf trip. Additionally, I was given three golf balls to hit on to a floating green. For every ball that stayed on the green, I was give an extra entry into the draw.
The centre of the green was 50 yards away the hitting mat. The only two club options were a 60 and 64 degree wedge. 50 yards is a stretch for me with a 60 degree wedge, but what heck it was for charity!
Taking my time to set up, I ended up laughing at myself as I smoothly sculled my first shot over the back of the green. It was not pretty, but it did give me an idea of the hardness of the mats and where to set up for my next two shots. Feeling confident, I effortlessly came up short with the next two shots! Both landed about 10 yards short, which is a normal shot for me with a 60 degree wedge. So as a result, no extra entries for the golf trip draw.
Supporting charities are very important. I believe that those of us who are fortunate should lead the way with random acts of kindness, positive intentions, and, if possible, financial donations. In this case, the H2O golf challenge for the IWK was a perfect opportunity to for me to make a donation to a worth cause and to have some fun playing golf!
On a side note, I want to thank the partners for the H2O Golf challenge. I am not affiliated with this charity or the partners in any way, but I think they deserve a mention. Without civic-minded community business leaders, many of the services we take for granted would not be as accessible. Thank you to:
Golf is a great way to support charities. I seek opportunities every year to give something back to the community and charity tournaments or events is a great way to give!
I am a grateful golfer!
