Footy media identities help raise $15,000 for Cancer Council in gruelling 72-hole golf day in searing heat
Several AFL media identities — including some of News Corp’s own — braved an absolute scorcher for a marathon charity golf day. And there were plenty of talking points to come from the challenging event.
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It is difficult enough playing 72 holes of golf in a day.
Try doing it when the mercury reaches 40 degrees.
That’s what some brave – or perhaps stupid – media identities did on Monday as part of Portarlington Golf Club’s ‘The Longest Day’ on the Bellarine Peninsula, raising funds for the Cancer Council.
‘The bl—dy media’ team featured North Melbourne great and Fox Footy analyst David King, former Carlton player and AFLW coach Daniel Harford, News Corp newsbreaker Jon Ralph, former News Corp journalist and Portarlington Golf Club business development manager Mark Hayes, SEN broadcasters Andy Maher and Adam White, and ex-Geelong Advertiser sports reporter Ryan Reynolds.
“One of my strong suits is stupidity, so there was lots of that on Monday,” Ralph said.
“I’m good at stupidity and Adam White, he has a strong suit in stubbornness. So we got through pretty well.”
There were around 30 competitors who completed the full 72 holes in the searing sun and a dozen others that went for 18, 36 or 54 holes.
It was a challenging day for even the most enthusiastic golfer, and it wasn’t just the heat getting in their way.
Harford had to tee off into the sprinklers when they kicked off before six o’clock in the morning, but he certainly looked the part.
“Daniel Harford has the best practice thing I’ve ever seen, he never quite replicates that into his actual swing, but he looked beautiful,” Ralph remarked.
“He was put together, he had the ‘Clutch and Co’, he was tucked in all the way around, that beautiful goatee of his. So he looked the best.”
White’s stubbornness, Voltaren and Powerade proved to be an effective cocktail for him throughout the day, while Ralph downed at least 15 Gatorades himself.
Hayes got some assistance on the massage table, while the features of King’s game were noticeable.
“David King, he’s a sweaty man,” Ralph said.
“Kingy is quick, he’s hugely erratic and usually long as well. He spent the most time out of our group looking for the golf ball.”
One concern was front of mind both in the lead-up and during the gruelling event, and it was something Ralph and King had in common.
“There was a lot of talk about blisters, there was a lot of talk about chafe. Myself, Mark Hayes, Adam White, David King, not so much Harf,” Ralph said.
“A lot of blokes that have a lot of combinations, a lot of factors that would really promote chafe. There was a lot of talk about chafe leading into it and I think we all had compressions shorts.
“A lot of talk about investment in that, a lot of talk about chafe relief or all the different creams.
“Who would have thought that us blokes would be into creams and ointments and all those sorts of solutions to get over the chafe.”
Ralph considered aiming for the water a couple of times for some temporary relief from the sun but that may have created more problems.
“The only thing is if we dived in and cooled, I’m not sure any of us would have been able to get out,” Ralph quipped.
The media team wrapped up their marathon round at around 4:30pm when the heat was at its peak, with the temperature gauge hitting 40 degrees at 4pm.
Ralph was one of the big winners shooting 74 and 73 in tough conditions to finish the day, Hayes was Mr Consistent on his home course, while Portarlington member and golf professional Andrius Belkus was two over par across the 72 holes.
Off the course, Portarlington Golf Club’s impressive fundraising tally of close to $15,000 was well above par.
”We’re extremely proud of having raised nearly $15,000. It is an unbelievable cause, it helps put the club on the map a little bit too. But it just shows you what we do in the community for all involved, in this case the Cancer Council,” Hayes said.
The event has grown year on year thanks to Portarlington’s The Longest Day guru Trung Truong.
Ralph said it was a great yet challenging day and implored others to get involved in their own.
“It tests your patience, it tests your endurance, it tests your mental strength, or lack thereof. It is such a beautiful track there at Portarlington and they did such an amazing job to keep it green and mean and all the things that it should be on a really tough day of golf,” Ralph said.
“I couldn’t recommend it any more for a group of mates for just a great day out, but also more to the point, raising money for the Cancer Council which does such amazing work.”
However, Ralph still hasn’t fully recovered.
“Three days on I have just about got over the chafe, but ‘just about’ is the right expression for it. I am still not out of the woods,” Ralph said.
Originally published as Footy media identities help raise $15,000 for Cancer Council in gruelling 72-hole golf day in searing heat
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