Charity golf day in Burgess Hill raises thousands for air ambulance

Mid Sussex golfers have raised £2,300 for Air Ambulance Charity Kent, Surrey, Sussex (KSS)

The ‘Hole in One’ Charity Golf Day 2022 took place at Burgess Hill Golf Centre on Saturday, October 22.

Adults, parents and children all tried making the £10,000 hole-in-one shot on the first hole with Callum Ayers hitting the 150 yard attempt to within just six feet of it.

Golf Centre proprietor Chris Collins said: “It’s good to see the local community supporting our annual Charity Golf Day. Air Ambulance KSS is a charity organization that I know well and I am pleased to be able to support the cause. Many thanks to the Greenkeeping staff and proshop staff at the Golf Centre who put in the ‘behind the scenes’ work and effort to make the day run smoothly.”

Nine-year-old competitor Aidan Ingber from Burgess Hill said: “Not only was this an exciting opportunity to play a special nine-hole competition with my dad but also I learnt about the Air Ambulance KSS charity and how they help people in need.”

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The competitors had three more opportunities to win hole-in-one prizes on the fourth, sixth and seventh holes. Callaway Golf, Cobra Golf, Srixon Golf, Titleist and Wilson Golf donated ‘nearest the pin’ prizes.

The ‘nearest the pin’ winners were: Callum Ayers (first hole), Simon Lockyer (second hole), Chris Allen (third), Ashley Yeo (fourth), Ashley Yeo (fifth), Alex Marks (sixth), Chris Allen (seventh), Ryan Lang (eighth), and Callum Ayers (ninth).

Burgess Hill Golf Centre manager Bruce Whalley, who helped organise the day for the fifth year, said: “It gives me great satisfaction to be part of the fundraising towards what I now know to be a vital service to the community.”

He said: “A good portion of the golfers knew about Air Ambulance KSS and were not put off by the threat of rain. Fortunately the weather held out for us and we raised £2,300.”

It costs about £15.2m a year to operate Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex, which has been called to 38,000 incidents over the past 30 years. The KSS team is made up of doctors, paramedics, dispatchers, fundraisers and support staff. KSS can deliver live-saving critical care, performing open heart surgery, delivering anaesthetic, and administering blood transfusions.