The captains, members and families of Puckrup Hall Golf Club in Tewkesbury have rounded off 12 months of incredible fundraising by presenting Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice with a cheque for £19,423.55.

The 2017 club captains – Phil Schiaffino and Ros Fenney – took the unusual decision of both supporting the local hospice as their charity of the year, after visiting and hearing first-hand about the specialist care given.

Men’s captain Schiaffino said: “Sue Ryder have supported many of the past and present captains, members, families and friends of the club, both directly and indirectly.

“Neil Annis, a member of the hospice at home team at Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice, is a close friend and member of Puckrup so we knew first-hand the amazing work Sue Ryder do.”

Teeing off their fundraising activities with a captain’s drive-in and drive-out in January last year, held at the stunning course on the outskirts of Tewkesbury, Schiaffino and Fenney have supported the hospice by organising a year-long programme of fundraising events and activities at the club.

Charity quiz nights, raffles, auctions, a captains’ day and a charity dinner in November, coupled with match funding from employers and a very generous anonymous donation have seen the club raise over £19,000 for the local hospice.

Phil added: “My wife Sam, with my sister Jo Colman and Andrew Pearson, have also manned the Halfway House, a shed between the 8th and 14th holes, serving tea, coffee, cakes and savouries 28 times throughout the year raising funds for the hospice.

“Allegedly they serve the best bacon rolls in the county, and a quarter of a tonne of bacon was cooked on two camping stoves over the year!”

Sam said: “We couldn’t have done all the baking ourselves so we asked the members and their partners to support us, which they all did in abundance. We were overwhelmed to have had this support, and felt that it made our fundraising year inclusive to members and non-members alike.”

Phil added: “The highlight of the year was captains’ day which was a day for all the members, their families and friends.

“The halfway house was open and there were competitions on various holes around the course to support fundraising, and we roped in our families and friends to help out on the day. Once the golf was finished, members’ families and friends met up for a fun afternoon to enjoy a pig roast, bouncy castle, and a vintage ice-cream van which attracted as many grown-ups as children!

“The party was followed by a presentation of the winners of the day, a raffle and auction which all together raised £9,420 for Sue Ryder. Everyone involved in organising the day was thrilled with how generous everyone was.

“Sam’s employer, Npower, matched £500 of funding and we also received match funding of £2,900 from Zurich who is Jo’s employer.

“We are all so proud to have been involved with the fundraising, which would not have been as successful as it was without the support from our baking community and the extra pairs of hands we roped in – both members and non-members. Our final total was very close to £20,000 and well ahead of the £15,000 target we had set ourselves.”

Kelly Rumble, community fundraising manager at Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice, said: “We are absolutely blown away by the kindness and generosity of the captains and members of Puckrup hall Golf Club raising this incredible amount for our hospice.

“This will help our team of expert nurses, doctors, physiotherapists, family support workers and volunteers deliver over 1,080 hours of care for local people living with life limiting conditions.

“It will make a huge difference to local families, and for this everyone at the hospice shares their heartfelt thanks to all those who have supported the club in their fundraising over the past year.”