Yamba Golf Club Celebrates 10 Years of ‘Coast to Course’
Chris Durrington is the Golf and Operations Manager at Yamba Golf Club in the state’s Northern Rivers region. He is also the father to three kids who were diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis as babies.
Upon receiving the diagnosis, Chris and his wife were told their children would only live until 25 years of age.
However, 13 years — and a lot of new research and multiple drug evolutions — later, the kids now have a regular life expectancy and a much healthier quality of life, in part thanks to fundraisers like Coast to Course which was held at the Club on Sunday, 30 July.
Now in its tenth year, Coast to Course saw 110 locals walk 23 kilometres down the beach from Brooms Head to Yamba Golf Club, while 72 golfers teed off at the course at the same time, to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis research.
“It was a good vibe; everyone just feels so proud to donate.”
Chris Durrington, Golf and Operations Manager at Yamba Golf Club
“It’s amazing, I am very proud,” Chris said, adding that this year’s event raised $13,500 for Cystic Fibrosis research, taking the total tally for the 10 years up to $90,000.
“We all finish at the same time, and all turn up at the same time to the Club where we have lunch and there's a band and heaps of raffles and auctions,” Chris said.
“It was a good vibe; everyone just feels so proud to donate.”
The charity day took an involuntary three-year hiatus after bushfires burned down the bridges which connect the walk over the lake and with COVID putting a halt to group events, so Chris hopes this year’s event will begin the momentum again to build the event to be bigger and better each year.
“For the first couple of years the kids would put their hands out thinking all this money for them, but I had to explain that it's not all for you,” Chris joked, adding that its incredible being a part of the day, as a father who sees the impact of what the money can do for his own kids. Thanks to the new medication, the lung capacity of his children has drastically improved.
As for how long the 23-kilometre walk takes, well that depends on your style.
“Some people did it in about two and a half, and then some people did it in about six because they stopped on the beach and had a bottle of red wine,” Chris said.
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