Hills Golfers Raise $250,000 in Marathon Event

Golfers are known to travel far and wide to play their beloved sport. What’s more surprising was that 52 local golfers even gave up their sleep to hit the fairways for charity, playing a 24-hour golfing marathon at Castle Hill Country Club.

With special lighting to turn night into day, these golfers raised a whopping $250,000 for their One Day event. All donations went to Love Your Sister, a charity started by Gold Logie winner Sam Johnson and his sister, Connie.

The fundraiser easily beat last year’s total of $100,000 with organisers already planning a big event in 2025 to raise $500,000. Love Your Sister is dedicated to ensuring precision cancer treatment for all cancer patients.

Thirteen groups teed off at 7:30am on Thursday, October 22, completing their mammoth round the next morning. All dedicated golfers raised money through their networks with one player even raising $25,000.

Event organiser and Glenorie local Rod Frost organised the challenge following personal tragedies. “In 2023, my family lost three loved ones to cancer, including my sister-in-law,” Frost said. “A close mate had also recently died of cancer, so friends and I decided to launch a fund-raising event in all their memories.”

Special guest Sam Johnson promised the players that every dollar raised would be spent on cancer patients. “As it ought,” said Johnson. “I promised my sister, I promise you, we do not touch a dollar of the funds raised – it goes through Love Your Sister to key programs supporting precision medicine.

“The genomic revolution is upon us, and genomic sequencing allows doctors to put cancer patients on the most appropriate treatment the first time, every time.

Castle Hill Country Club general Manager Brendan Ellam said: “While golf is usually an individual sport, seeing players and volunteers band together for a greater good is the epitome of our club’s camaraderie. It makes me proud to be part of Castle Hill Country Club and our local community.”

One of the players, Simon Lane, said it was a special experience to be on the course at 3am. “Lots of wildlife to be heard, including bats and a cockatoo that sounded like it was defending its nest from an intruder,” he said.

Windsor Golf Club also staged its own One Day event on October 21 and similar events have been planned by other golf clubs around the country.

Local sponsors included Nova Pharmaceuticals, Windsor RSL, Minchinbury Fruit Market, Tilly Bell Lane, Deep Edge Studios and Dexion.