On the 6^th September, Just a Drop held what would prove to be the most successful Just a Drop Golf Day on record. The event marked the 20^th anniversary of our Golf Day, having run every year since 2003 without fail. Before the 2023 edition, the Just a Drop Golf Day had contributed an astounding £383,000 to helping provide safe water, sanitation, and hygiene to people who need it. The Golf Day is without fail one of our favourite events of the year.

 

Early on Wednesday 6^th September, 144 benevolent golfers arrived for tee off on a sweltering day at the Dale Hill Hotel and Golf Club, East Sussex. Fears about the heat were soon allayed as golfers stepped out on to the first tee box of Dale Hill’s Ian Woosnam course, overlooking a magnificent view of the Sussex hillside.

 

Alongside some fierce, though always friendly, competition among the teams and companies represented, golfers also took part in a variety of fundraising challenges, including a Beat the Pro competition on the 16^th hole, ‘Guess the Golf Balls’ where entrants guessed how many Golf Balls were in our wheelbarrow, and, as though we hadn’t put our golfers through enough, they then took on a putting challenge after they had finished up on the 18^th.

 

After the golf was wrapped up, we moved to dinner where our linksmen refuelled after a long day while taking part in our raffle and bidding for a whole host of prizes kindly donated by our sponsors. The prizes displayed the kindness and inherent potential for good of the travel industry, as companies donated everything from seven nights 5-star with flights in the Maldives (owing to the generosity of LUX South Ari Atoll, British Airways, and Blacklane) to five nights all inclusive in Cartagena, Colombia at a golf-spa resort (kindly donated by Dreams Karibana Cartagena). The auction, as a result of the amazing prizes donated by companies from across the industry, raised a record breaking £40,000. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to each and every company who donated a prize, and every individual who participated in the auction. The human compassion and charitable spirit which was displayed on the evening cannot be overstated. 

 

Every year, the Golf Day helps Just a Drop enormously in reaching its fundraising targets, and everybody at the organisation is immensely grateful for every one of these years. The day finished totalling £95,000 for Just a Drop, but this could never have happened without the efforts of two truly outstanding individuals. The first is Giles Harper, who has organised the Golf Day every year and did so once again this year, again showcasing his talent as an auctioneer and compere par excellence. The £383,000 which the Golf Day raised before 2023 would be nowhere near this amount without Giles’ tireless efforts to meticulously organise every part of the Golf Day, and for that we cannot thank him enough. Another genuinely exceptional individual, without whom we could not run the Golf Day, is John Bond of Jetset Holidays. Every year without fail, John and Jetset sponsor our Golf Day and provide vital funds which allow it to operate. Though this year, even by John’s standards, he and Jetset went above and beyond to contribute to Just a Drop. In the year of Jetset’s 55^th anniversary, John made a staggering donation of £55,000 on the Golf Day, more than doubling the amount already raised. To both these phenomenal people, we offer our most sincere thanks for their contributions to Just a Drop. We also extend our thanks once again to everybody who took part and made the day the success it was.

Would you like to take part in the Just a Drop Golf Day? The 2024 edition of the tournament will once again be held at Dale Hill, on Wednesday 4^th September 2024. Entries will open 1^st March 2024 and we look forward to seeing you there for another spectacular day.