The inaugural ‘Emplas Open’, held at Hanbury Manor in Hertfordshire on June 8 was declared a success by the fabricator, after more than 80 customers and suppliers enjoyed wall-to-wall sunshine, 18 holes of golf, and a three-course meal with football manager and former professional footballer Dean Saunders providing the entertaining after-dinner speech.
“We wanted to get our customers together for a celebratory day to say ‘thank you’ for their continuing business,” Emplas Group MD Ryan Johnson explained. “And because we knew they liked a game of golf, and a beer or two in the evening, we thought a golf day would be the perfect solution!
“We also took the opportunity to support GM Fundraising, which we’ve done for a long time now. Fortunately, the day was perfect and the course was beautiful, which meant a great day was had by all.”
The golf got underway with a shotgun start at 11am, and 19 teams of four set out to compete for several prizes. In addition to the team and individual prizes, there were trophies for Longest Drive, Nearest the Pin, and Beat the Pro (Chris Foster on the 16th).
The course was dry and well kept, but challenging approaches to greens, including trees, bunkers and narrow fairways, meant that even the best golfers had their work cut out to achieve a good score.
After a three-course meal in Poles Hall in Hanbury Manor, prizes were awarded to the following:
- Best Dressed – Padiham Glass
- Longest Drive – Richard Manser (5 Star Windows)
- Nearest to the Pin – Gary Morton (Central Windows)
- Beat the Pro – Matt Stephens (Install Direct)
- 1st Place Team – Paul Cahill, Jamie Cahill, Anthony Cahill, Robert Evans (Glazeview) – 102 points
- 2nd Place Team – Lee Stephens, Matt Stephens (from Install Direct), Aaron Tuner, John Tuner (from Window Projects) – 99 points
- 3rd Place Team – John Spiby, Jeremy Kemp, Ben Sorrell, Wayne Wright (Padiham Glass – 98 points
- 1st Place Individual – John Turner (Window Projects) – 46 points
- 2nd Place Individual – Paul Cahill (Glazeview) – 45 points
- 3rd Place Individual – Anthony Cahill (Glazeview) – 44 points
Emplas’s chosen charity for the day was GM Fundraising. Eighteen suppliers had sponsored the individual holes, raising £4,500 in the process, and the Beat the Pro competition on the 16th (Chris Foster) raised £780. A charity auction in the evening raised a further £3,450, with guests digging deep for lots including an electric golf trolley, Test Match tickets, and VIP tickets to see Arsenal play.
“There were definitely some challenging conditions on the course, but some of the golfers posted excellent results,” Ryan said. “It was definitely the day to get your driver out. If you could keep to the fairway, then the balls were travelling a fair distance.
“Thank you to everyone who helped make it such a memorable day, especially for helping us to raise a grand total of £10,000 for an excellent cause. And we can’t wait to see everyone at the next event!”
