Organiser Greg Brown of Dowling Property says the event’s success comes down to the town’s community spirit.

“I can’t take credit for it,” he says. “I’m quite lucky that the town is quite special. Medowie really gets behind what needs doing when someone needs help.” 

The inaugural Pink Golf Day was held in support of one of Greg’s staff members who had been affected by cancer.

“We wanted to show our support by raising awareness,” he explains. “We thought the McGrath Foundation was a charity that was relevant to some of the people around us who had breast cancer. We wanted to find a way for everybody to be supported when they needed it".

Since 2020, the event, which is held at Pacific Dunes Golf Club, has raised over $60,000 to help fund McGrath Cancer Care Nurses. “The first year we raised $4,555, the following year we got to $11,500 and the last two years we’ve been able to crack $20,0000 – in one day!”

Greg says having two major sponsors – Dillon & Elbourne Chartered Accountants in Raymond Terrace and the Commonwealth Bank – was a huge part of the day’s success.“They each donated $5000 each, so we started the day strong and then we raised an additional $10,000 to $11,000 from there.” Other local businesses also support the event by donating raffle prizes or enrolling teams to play.

Greg also likes to up the ante each year. Former cricketer Mike Whitney ran the auction one year, while golfers have also had the opportunity to win special prizes, including a car if they got a hole in one on the fifth hole.“We look for different things to try and make it more special on the day, especially because we have so many people comes year in and year out,” he says. “The Golf Day gets bigger each year. Without the support of my wife, staff and friends, we couldn’t pull it off. Everyone jumps in to give us a hand. 

“More than half the sponsors we started with in the first year still put their hand up to sponsor and play every year.”

Greg says that anyone can start a successful fundraising event. 

His advice: “Start small. Anything is better than nothing”.

“You learn along the way what you can do and change each year as you go along to make it better. That’s been the key for us.

“I do feel it’s been something that’s grown from day dot to where we are today. Without the sponsors and the community getting behind us, it wouldn’t matter what you throw at it. You want to rally your community to get behind it.”