Josh Furniss, Golf Operations Manager at Akarana Golf Club, recently took on the challenge of the Longest Day in aid of Cancer Society. Knocking off 72 holes in one day is no mean feat, but Josh and his three playing partners took the challenge head on, and smashed it.
Here’s Josh’s view on the day.
“A fantastic effort from a few of our members who took up a challenge to raise funds for Cancer Society of NZ Central Districts.
Myself, Scott, Josh, and Mike (Member guest) set off at 6:00AM Monday on the dot.
We managed to set a good pace for the first round with a finishing time of 2H:45.
My main concern for the day was having enough time to complete four rounds before dark. Our second round would be really important for us to knock out as fast as possible.
I want to say a massive thank you to all the members that were playing on Monday morning (Majority Akarana club Women) for being so accommodating and waving us through. With each group offering words of encouragement and support. It made me proud to be an Akarana club member and a part of this fantastic community. We managed to complete this round in 2H:50.
I had been looking forward to settling into a 30-minute lunch to rest our feet before the second half. I also had a towel and a change of clothes with me. The group made the executive decision to push straight into round 3. We could do this, because Andy from Foodsters was waiting for the team with hot coffee and sandwiches on the first tee. This gave us the fuel and enabled us to keep rolling.
Round 3 was our slowest at 3H:30 – fatigue started to set it. The sun also came out to play and threw the temperature up.
We started our fourth and final round just after 3PM. This was a real slog for the team. Thankfully, we had an excellent group, and we kept one another going with support and bad jokes. We managed to complete our final round in just under 3 hours. Putting our 72 holes time at just over 12 hours and 36km walked.
My rounds were: 91, 88, 91, 89. – 359 shots for the day.
Thank you to everyone who supported the cause, whether on the day with words of encouragement or through donating. I expect my page to get to $2,500 after I have completed a few donation follow-ups from friends and family. Between the four of us on our tee time, we raised around $6,000 for the Cancer Society, and we are incredibly proud to be able to contribute to an incredible cause while representing the best golf club in New Zealand.
There is still time to donate if you missed out. Follow the link below, or chat with Scott in the Pro shop.
Thank you to Josh, Scott, Allan, Carter, and the Pro Shop team for the support. Thank you also to George Flynn and the rest of the Greenskeeping team for allowing us to get out early. Thank you to the office team, Raj and Tina, for getting behind the team as well.”
Congrats Josh, great effort!
