I’m sure by now you will all know what a great year 2022 was for Variety Golf.

Not only did we hold a record number of events with record attendances, we also raised enough to put forty Sunshine Coaches on the road, equivalent to more that £2m!

All of this is down to you, our members, and the generosity of our corporate partners and sponsors – many of whom are individual members as well.  Variety Golf is in very good shape.

The biggest challenge we face this year is undoubtedly the increased cost of our Sunshine Coaches.  As you will realise, the whole of the motor industry has been hit hard by current market conditions, not least the seemingly never-ending shortage of electronic components upon which modern vehicles depend.  Added to this is inflation, which appears to be a problem across the world, increased energy costs and the war in Ukraine.  These factors combined mean that the cost of a Sunshine Coach is up by over 25%, meaning that we are now looking to raise between £30-£35,000 per coach.

So, having faced (and successfully overcome) the Covid crisis, we are now faced with yet another challenge, namely to match let alone exceed our performance last year.  To achieve this we have to set our sights on raising a further £250k.  With your help that shouldn’t be beyond us.

One way is to encourage more people and companies to hold their own golf days in aid of Variety Golf. We refer to these as “Proceeds to” events.  Last year we benefitted from six of these, some organised by Variety Golf members at their own clubs, but mostly from non-members who chose us as their charity of choice.  If you can encourage anyone you know to help in this way, I would be very grateful.  I am fully aware that we cannot keep on going back to you, our members, asking for more and more, plus there is a limit to how many events we can organise ourselves.  “Proceeds to” events neatly solves both problems.

Meanwhile, the current season has got off to a flying start with our new Captain, John Conteh, MBE, in fine form and three successful golfing events already behind us.

I wish you all a most enjoyable Spring and Summer and look forward to seeing many of you on the fairways again soon.