When local golfers Andrew Taylor and Nathan Lowe walked and played 72 holes in one day, flanked by Taylor’s sister Lauren Griffin, they had Beaudesert’s support behind them.
See more photos at end of story, below.
Through national event The Longest Day, dubbed the ‘ultimate golfing challenge’, they raised a combined $4592 for Cancer Council’s research, prevention and support services, largely through donations from generous locals.
A cause close to home
Andrew Taylor became passionate about fighting cancer after watching his dad pass away from a cancer related illness in 2019.
The late Kent Taylor was well known and loved in the Beaudesert community for his involvement with local tennis, cricket and bowls and worked at the old AMH meatworks for 27 years before managing one of the Lahey and Walker service stations for about a decade.
Every year since his father passed away Taylor, 42, has taken on The Longest Day ultimate golfing challenge to raise funds for the Cancer Council.
In the latest annual challenge on 20 December, he walked and played 72 holes at Beaudesert Golf Club with fellow club member and colleague Nathan Lowe. Taylor’s sister Lauren Griffin also walked the full distance alongside them for moral support.
Carrying all their gear, the trio walked four full rounds of Beaudesert Golf Course in about 14 hours, clocking up about 26km – nearly 50,000 steps.
They walked from dawn til dusk, from 4.40am until 6.30pm, stopping only to hit the ball, change their socks and have a bite to eat.
They raised a combined $4592 for the Cancer Council through the generous donations of locals, contributing to a national total of $2.4 million raised through The Longest Day.
Taylor, who has been a Beaudesert Golf Club member for 27 years, said it was a big day on the green.
“You’re swinging a golf club as well, and we’ve got a couple of testing hills up the back, especially after the second time, third time, fourth time,” he said.
“I didn’t actually play my best, but I did nearly have a hole in one.”
He thanked everyone who donated for their generous contributions.
“I just sent out a couple of sentences of what it means to me to the people I know – colleagues, friends and family – mostly from Beaudesert,” he said.
“It’s really rewarding once you’ve finished – you know you’ve sacrificed something and raised some money to fight cancer, since it’s going to touch most of us at some stage of our lives whether it’s ourselves or people we know.”
