Earlston golfers pass ton-up test at Lauder in aid of charity

Borders golfer Grant Robson has completed a mammoth sports challenge in aid of a charity close to his heart.
It's your round ... golfer Grant Robson, left, and his friend, Chris Frazer, toast the success of the day-long, 100-hole course challengeIt's your round ... golfer Grant Robson, left, and his friend, Chris Frazer, toast the success of the day-long, 100-hole course challenge
It's your round ... golfer Grant Robson, left, and his friend, Chris Frazer, toast the success of the day-long, 100-hole course challenge

The 29-year-old, of Earlston, completed 100 holes in a single day last week at Lauder Golf Club to raise funds for Parkinson’s UK.

That effort was part of the charity’s Par for Parkinson’s series and his participation was prompted by his grandfather Ian Douglas, a former club captain at the nine-hole course, having been diagnosed with the brain disorder ten years ago.

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Eight-handicapper Grant was joined by his friend Chris Frazer, who also has a relative living with the condition, and the pair started their marathon course trek at 4.50am last Thursday and finished at 9.30pm.

The sore legs and the difficulty getting to sleep afterwards were worth it, however, said Grant, as they knew they’d done something worthwhile, with backing from friends and family.

So far, Grant has amassed around £1600 through a JustGiving page, and he said: “We knew how much people had donated and the support they had given, so we had to finish it, through snow and rain – anything.

“We got there in the end. Family and friends came and visited us along the way and tracked our route – we covered more than 28 miles.

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“Parkinson’s is just a horrible disease and it’s affected the family so much we thought it would be good to give something back."

He added: “The first 50 holes were OK. It seemed to go all right but then we kind of hit a wall between the 50th to the 75th, then, on the last 25, it started raining and it was quite windy as well, so conditions were favourable for the majority of the 100 but, for the last 25, they were quite challenging. I think as the round went on, our golf game deteriorated.”

Afterwards, Grant said he felt “a mix of relief and a kind of pride in self-achievement,” adding: “I don’t know many people who have carried out 100 holes in a day, so it was definitely a challenge, something we might do again.

“Raising so much money for such a good cause made it worthwhile in the end.

“It's a cause close to my family’s heart and it would be worthwhile doing again, but there are so many great causes out there.”

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