THE years roll on but so does the charity fund-raising phenomenon that is The Links Golfing Society.
Last Wednesday at Dublin's Burlington Hotel the annual distribution of cheques for the Society's efforts during 2006 underlined once again the wonderful work achieved through the medium of golf.
Cheques totalling €568,250 were handed over on the night, and this amount, plus the 20 ambulances provided by the Links GS and Ryder Cup limited, brings the overall total for '06 to €1.3m.
The overall total raised by the Society in the last 11 years is €7.3 million — which is roughly €12,500 per week for charity.
Among the organisations which received donations were the Irish Youth Foundation (E177,000) and the Special Olympics (€64,500).
Most of this money is raised by high class pro-celebrity events including the Des Smyth Pro-Am at The K Club and the Pádraig Harrington Audi Golf Classic.
The combination of top class golfers, influential people from the world of business, and high-profile entertainers and celebrities is irresistible.
Auctions for memorabilia at the banquets for these events illustrates the generosity of spirit which the Society has engendered over the decades.
Central to the success of The Links has been the role of secretary Cecil Whelan, whose energy and focus on maintaining the highest standards of the Society belies his 71 years.
He is unique. It is impossible for anybody, be they Tour stars, hard-bitten corporate executives or celebrities to say "No" to Cecil.
He has a special relationship going back to the early Seventies with the European Tour when it was in its infancy.
When The Links seeks approval for a date for its key Pro-Ams, the Tour is ready, willing and able to accommodate Cecil and ease the way for its players to compete
Cecil is the first to acknowledge that the Society is not a one-man band. It was founded in 1966 — 41 years ago, and once it began to grow, dedicated members of the committee served the cause with great distinction.
However, anybody who knows anything about the Society appreciates that without Cecil's special brand of gentle persuasion, it could not have achieved the success which is its hallmark.
The Society's growth meant Cecil taking a back seat regarding playing. A three-handicap member of Hermitage at his peak, he was a competitive and very good golfer but on Links days out, he is to be found behind a desk organising the events.
Hard to believe then, that the Links GS origins were so innocuous.
Back in 1966 Cecil and a group of friends arrived at County Louth golf club for a game. Among them were Christy O'Connor Senior, then one of the foremost golfers in Europe, Jimmy Kinsella, the professional at Skerries, Royal Dublin's Noel Fogarty, Grange professional Watty Sullivan and his friend Paddy Finnegan.
The round over, the lads were relaxing at the 19th when the thoughts turned to forming a society in which Ireland's leading pros and amateurs could keep their game in shape during the winter.
In those days, Tour events only got going in April, and the Amateur game was the same, so time was not as big a problem as nowadays.
Then, the talk turned to making some use of the society to help charity — and within a few years charity fund-raising became the raison d'etre for the Society.
An International Pro-Am Classic was created which brought top players and celebrities including Bing Crosby, Val Doonican, Henry Cooper, Chris De Burgh and Jimmy Tarbuck to play in the event.
Doug Sanders, Christy Senior, Ian Woosnam, Bernard Gallacher, Eduardo Romero and our own Pádraig Harrington, Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley are among the elite professionals who have graced the fairways with the Links.
By Liam Kelly
Reproduced by kind permission of the Irish Independent
