MEMBERS of the South Wales Golf Classic have raised over £120,000 for Wales Air Ambulance over the past twenty-two years.
Secretary Clive Evans is ‘hugely proud’ of the support that participants have given over the last 22 years and says the Charity holds a special place in their hearts.
He said: “Our link with Wales Air Ambulance goes way back to the very start of the South Wales Golf Classic.
“Back in the nineties and early 2000s there was a National Seniors Classic, and the further you went in the competition the further you had to travel to the matches.
“The original secretary, Howel Craven, decided to ask a few friends if they liked the idea of having just a South Wales competition. They held their first meeting on 5th November 2003 at Maesteg Golf Club.”
In its first year thirty-two clubs entered, and the South Wales Golf Classic was born.
Clive continued: “It was originally a Matchplay event consisting of three pairs per side. In 2005 the committee decided to introduce a Pairs Format Competition called The Claret Jug.
“Between both competitions 1146 players registered this year in both competitions and the number taking part is increasing every year.
“There are three different qualifying venues for the Claret Jug every year, West, Central and East at different clubs, we try to spread it around each year, so everyone has a chance to host.”
The Howel Craven cup as it is known now is played on a home and away basis according to the draw and the Quarter Finals and Semi Finals are played on neutral Courses.
Clive added: “All of these clubs give their course for free because they know where the money is going and what a great job the Charity does.”
During the first season of 2003 ‘two golfer’s lives were saved by the air ambulance’ and Clive says it was the start of a long-lasting bond.
The former GPO engineer, who also worked for Dyfed Powys Police for nineteen years said: “The following year a few more golfers were saved again, the committee decided there and then that however long the South Wales Classic lasted, everything raised would go to the Charity.”
The Wales Air Ambulance is consultant-led, taking hospital-standard treatments to the patient and, if required, transferring them directly to the most appropriate hospital for their illness or injury.
It is delivered via a unique third sector and public sector partnership. The Wales Air Ambulance Charity relies on public donations to raise the £11.2 million required every year to keep the helicopters in the air and rapid response vehicles on the road.
The Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS) supplies highly skilled NHS consultants and critical care practitioners who work on board the Charity’s vehicles.
This advanced critical care includes the ability to administer anaesthesia, deliver blood transfusions and conduct minor operations, all at the scene of an incident.
As a pan-Wales service, its dedicated crews, regardless of where they are based, will travel the length and breadth of the country to deliver emergency critical care.
Clive who has been a member of the South Wales Golf Classic committee for six years said: ‘It’s an honour to organise golf events knowing that all the money raised is going towards helping save someone’s life.”
He added: “I am immensely proud to get to do what I do. It is a lot of work, but people are so generous and kind.
“Not many people know how much time and effort it takes to organise these events, they obviously just show up and play golf. But they do come up to me, to say thank you and do appreciate it.”
Clive admits he was a ‘late starter’ to golf; he was about thirty-five when he picked up his first golf club.
He said: “I’ve always been a team player and played a bit of soccer and rugby, but my main sport was badminton.
“But my knees started to wear out and I had to give that up. A friend of mine in work, said why don’t you play golf? I had never thought of it until then. I thought it was an elitist sport at the time.
“It’s changed a lot since then and I went out for a few lessons and wished that I had started playing sooner.”
Clive has been married to his wife Margaret for forty-six years and they have two children, Carwyn and Elinor and a grandson, Owain who is 8 years old. Now retired, he spends any spare time organising golf events in aid of Wales Air Ambulance and he admits ‘it’s a 12-month job.’
He said: “Once you’ve got the clubs to register for the classic, you move into the qualifiers.
The semi-finals are at Machynys Golf Club on the 6th of August with the final and evening dinner at the Grove Golf Club on the 4th of September.”
But it doesn’t stop there, the Claret Jug’s underway too and Clive said: “We had one-hundred-and-four people in Cardiff, eighty-eight in Cardigan and eighty-two at the Mond.
“The final is being held on the 20th of August at St Pierre, and I’ve got to say a big thank you to them for hosting us with no cost. We couldn’t do it without these people.”
Clive is already planning for the 2026 season and says, ‘you cannot help but be inspired to want to do more and raise as much as you can’.
He said: “When you meet past patients it is so deeply moving. Last year Alan Owen from Carmarthen, came and gave a talk at our club.
“He suffered a heart attack whilst playing five-a-side football in 2022 and the air ambulance saved his life.
“His story really hit home and brought to everyone’s attention the incredible service that the service brings to the patient. It really is outstanding.”
Christian Sullivan, Regional Fundraising Manager for South West Wales said: “The South Wales Golf Classic have been incredible supporters of the Wales Air Ambulance for over twenty-two years.
“Its members have raised an incredible £122,000 during that time, which will have helped save many lives.
“I know from speaking with its members what it means to be able to fundraise for us as our team has attended several golfers who have suffered health episodes whilst on the course during that time.
“We are grateful once again for their generous support this season and wish all those competing in the South Wales Golf Classic and the Claret Jug, every success.”
