“Well, we made it” is the way one of a team of four sums up a 24-hour golf mission to raise money for the Nelson Tasman Cancer Society.
Roger Hunapo along with Craig Spargo, Abigail Mann and Stuart Albon teed off at their Totaradale Golf Club on 9 January to take the Longest Day fundraiser to its limit.
Longest Day is a national fundraiser for cancer societies across the country which challenges participants to play 72 holes of golf while raising funds. Stoke resident Roger thought they could go one better.
His ‘Par Fore a Purpose’ team undertook a mission to play golf for 24 hours non-stop. The change in weather from “really hot”, around 28 degrees on Friday afternoon, to “freezing” during the night was the biggest challenge, according to Roger. That, and finding the ball during darkness.
“From about 11pm is when the cold really kicked in and we had to soldier through till about 4am.”
While Roger has played golf in the dark before, the other three had not.
“With the glow balls, we had to use a torch to heat them up, and then it goes straight up, but once it got 50 yards into its flight we kind of lost it, so we had to have all four eyes on the ball so we had some sort of notion of where the ball was going.”
The balls stay illuminated for around 10 minutes, but navigating the course in the dark was another challenge on its own.
"We literally had to turn every light off to look for the glow.” This included turning off all the fairy lights that covered golf carts.
The team started off scoring individually but then switched to Ambrose – or two on two – before switching again to alternate shots as darkness descended so all four could keep an eye on the ball.
They managed to raise more than $5000 for their efforts – all of which goes to the local cancer society.
The team have been personally visiting all of their local donors to thank them and “shake their hand”, Roger says.
Plans were already underway for next year before they teed off for the first hole this year.
Following completion of the 24 hour stint, the players hosted a brunch for members and donors that ended with Roger going to sleep in the camping area next to the club at the start of club day while the other three “attempted” to participate in club day.
“All the golfers were trying to throw things at me,” he laughs. The tetrad had a bunch of supporters following them round the course, including Abi’s mum. There was plenty of mocking too, especially if easy putts went slightly of course.
“It was great, it kept us moving along.” Roger isn’t quite done with the fundraising – he’s planning to play 72 holes on 30 January to “get a couple more bucks” for the team and the cancer society.
And he’s already working on plans with other local pros for an event for men’s mental health.
Roger was in his early twenties when he was introduced to golf. “Back home, in Hamilton, it was all rugby or league, all we did was that. Then my mum passed and my uncle came to pick me up and asked if I wanted to come for a game of golf. I fell in love with it straight away,” he recalls.
“A couple of years later I got to meet Tiger when he came to town and everything stemmed from there.”
He got his teaching pro certificate in 2008 but lost the love for the game after some inter-club junior politics.
Ten years later Roger moved to Nelson and tried his hand at fishing – “a debacle” he says.
“I couldn’t catch a fish to fit on a bread plate,” he quips. So, off it was to get a rough set of golf clubs, and after checking out every club between Nelson and Motueka, Totaradale had him hooked.
"I sat on one hole for about 15 minutes and didn’t hear a word – just birds – and the view on the third hole – wow.”
His involvement teaching juniors has helped bring back his love for the game.
Roger and the team congratulate everyone around the country who completed the Longest Day, collectively raising more than $315,000.
He also has a special thanks for Barb Kotua from Nelson Tasman Cancer Society for her help and all those who contributed.
