Words & pics by Liam Smith
Preparations are being made by the Bagot Arms Golf Society ahead of their charity golf day on 21 July 2023, where organisers hope to raise over £5000 for a men’s mental health charity.
The event, which is taking place at Bromsgrove Golf Centre in Worcestershire, is in support of ‘It Takes Balls to Talk’ – a nationwide campaign ‘which uses sporting themes to encourage people, particularly men, to talk about how they feel.’
According to the charity’s website, 5% of men in the UK are suffering from one of the common mental health disorders, for example anxiety or depression. The website further states suicide is the second leading cause of death amongst males aged 15 to 29, and that three out of four of all suicides are men.
The Bagot Arms Golf Society, now operating out of Hollyfields Conference & Sports Centre in Pype Hayes, formed in 2009 out of the old Bagot Arms pub less than a mile away from Pype Hayes Golf Club.
The society have a history of organising and being a part of fundraising events and charity days, including a ’72 holes in one day’ challenge in aid of MacMillan which saw four members raise over £5,000 for the cancer charity.
They have also raised money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation and the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund.
Tony Roche, founding member of the Bagot Arms Golf Society told Erdington Local: “Mental health issues can affect anyone and can be caused by several factors. Suicide continues to be three times more common in men than in women.”
Steven Smith, also a founding member and Pype Hayes resident, told: “Since our inception in 2009, we have always felt it important that we try to raise money for charities. It is an important part of our society.
“We have a day upcoming in July, which is fully booked, with 60 golfers in attendance and all 18 holes of the course generously sponsored by local businesses.”
The society are still actively raising as much as they can as the event nears.
Steven added: “We have recently set up a JustGiving page. We set an initial target of £1,000 and we have already hit £735 and it would be great if any of your readers could help.”
The Pype Hayes golf group hope to raise over £5,000 with all the money raised from the event along with online donations. A JustGiving page can be found here: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/bagotarms-golfsociety
For more on the Bagot Arms Golf Society visit: www.bagotarmsgs.com
For more on the ‘It Takes Balls to Talk’ campaign visit: www.ittakesballstotalk.com