Hong Kong Golf Club aims to raise millions more with charity rounds for Operation Santa Claus and other good causes
- Hitting the fairways more enjoyable with grander purpose in mind of helping those in need, says charity committee chairman
There are few experiences for the avid golfer quite like teeing off in the sunshine surrounded by some of the finest countryside Hong Kong has to offer.
And those feelings are heightened when the course is rounded for a good cause.
In that spirit, Hong Kong Golf Club charity committee chairman, Martin Hadaway, hopes players will step up for charity events being hosted by the club to help raise money for those in need.
He said the club had a long history of supporting charities. Over the course of 2016 and 2017, events held at the club have raised more than HK$25 million (US$3.2 million) for charities in Hong Kong, according to its website.
“The members here are all generous and very supportive of our work,” Hadaway said, adding the club looked forward to providing more financial support.
Beneficiaries of its charitable programmes include Home of Loving Faithfulness, a residential care home in Sheung Shui for children and adults with mental and physical disabilities.
200 golfers in full swing for charity at Hong Kong Golf Club
Operation Santa Claus, the annual fundraiser jointly organised by the South China Morning Post and public broadcaster RTHK, also benefits from the club’s charitable initiative.
“We do want the club to be recognised for its efforts in this area,” the charity committee chairman said.
He said the club, which is home to three 18-hole courses, was also keen to engage with the community through providing golf training facilities, and running educational guided tours on specially designed trails over its Old Course, which was opened in 1911 and features an array of heritage trees, such as eucalyptus.
Groups including children from schools in the neighbourhood have been welcomed on regularly scheduled trail walks aimed at helping them to learn and understand more about Hong Kong’s natural environment.
Charity golf day raises HK$640,000 for good causes across Hong Kong
Many species classified as “old and valuable trees” by the government could be found on the Old Course, Hadaway said.
In addition to education, the charity committee chairman said he hoped the club could help children overburdened with their studies to discover the pleasure of playing sports.
“Hong Kong kids need to get outdoors more and get more interested in sport,” he said, adding he believed children and their parents could all have fun at golf events.
