On Friday Ballymena Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual Charity Golf Day at Galgorm Castle Golf Club in aid of the NI Hospice and The Children’s Hospice. Over 90 golfers enjoyed playing the Galgorm course which was in excellent condition. Following the golf the players then ate in the Castle Kitchen Bar where Georgie and the staff made them very welcome.

The Chamber’s key partner for the event was Country Garage BMW and in his speech at the close of the event Tom Wiggins Chamber’s Business Development Manager thanked all the sponsors and also thanked James Walker not only for supporting the event but helping to raise much needed funds for the Hospice.

Thankfully the day stayed dry however the wind did prove to be a challenge especially on the 18th. Although this did not prevent Ross King from hitting an exceptional shot to win the longest drive. Martin Cole had already placed his tee shot within a foot of the pin at the 7th hole to win ‘Nearest to the Pin’ With some great golf being played scores team scores were counted and the winning four ball was actually James Walker from Country Garage BMW accompanied by Neil McVeigh, Brian Telford and Harry Cook.  Braid Mechanical and Electricals’ team led by Camillius Fitzpatrick were a close second, with Neil McVeigh on 43 points winning the individual prize beating Willy Crawford by one point.

However fund raising was the main aim of the day and Tom Wiggins was delighted to announce that they had surpassed their target and had raised almost £22,000 for the Hospice. Taken together with last year’s event Chamber have now raised some £47,000 in the past two years for the charity. Toni Bailles, the Chair of the Ballymena Hospice Support Group thanked James Walker and Chamber for all their efforts. Toni said ‘I know how much work has gone into making this a great day for everyone and as a group we want to thank you for your generosity and your support for the Hospice – it is really appreciated’.

Tom was delighted with the event and said that the Chamber’s Charity Golf Day will now be an annual event with Galgorm Golf Club already being confirmed as the venue for next year’s event.

The Chamber would like to thank all their sponsors who have thrown their support behind the event – the sponsors include The Country Garage BMW, Galgorm Resort, Cranswick Country Foods, Moy Park, Power NI, Coulter Weir Wealth Management, The Tullyglass House Hotel, The Fairhill Centre, Beechview Developments and Isherwood and Ellis.