The 8th annual charity golf day held at Celtic Manor Resort on 18 July 2019, welcomed 124 event industry golfers competing for individual and team prizes on the famous 2010 course.
Raising money for charitable causes, this year, In The Rough's chosen charities were Macmillan Cancer Support, Sparks Children's Medical Research Charity and The British Heart Foundation. This last charity was chosen in memory of Paul Wicks, the chairman of Showlite who tragically died aged 55, from undiagnosed heart disease in 2017. ESSA will announce the amount raised for the charities once all the pledges and donations have been counted.
After registration, coffee, and bacon rolls, competitors were given a brief induction before teeing off for a 10:30 shotgun start. For the next four-and-a-half hours, the teams played their way around the course, stopping at almost every tee to take part in the many competitions and activities put on by the 15 tee sponsors.
With the golfing done, golfers and their guests assembled for networking drinks in the clubhouse. There, they enjoyed a performance from the Cardiff Arms Park Male Choir, followed by their gala dinner beginning shortly after 8pm in the Augusta suite. Another performance from the choir followed, with the whole room joining in for a rendition of “Hey Jude”, before the much anticipated prize-giving and charity pledges.
Simon Turley of Freeman was presented with the Individual Trophy Award, and the Electra Dubai team won the team competition. The Divisional Awards, a new prize for 2019, were given to Jonno Gordon, Nathan Holby of Concept Furniture, and Simon Turley. The ESSA stakeholder salver was won by "The Suppliers".
Amidst the non-golfing prizes up for grabs, "Best Dressed Golfer" was won by Mark Clayton of InEvexco, "Best Selfie" won by the Exhibition News Team, and "Best Tee Sponsor" won by Freeman and its Hula Hula Tiki Bar.
Speaking after the event, Andrew Harrison, ESSA director, reflected on another year of In The Rough, saying, "We've been holding In The Rough for eight years now, and it has definitely earned its place in the event industry's social calendar as a great day of sport, and a chance to make a difference to the charities we support every year.
"Without the assistance of our headline sponsor, beMatrix UK, our event partners, beMatrix UK, InEvexco, Jungheinrich, Mash Media, and Perton signs, and our fifteen tee sponsors, this event simply wouldn't be possible, so I'm immensely grateful to them all for making this year's In The Rough such a success."
ESSA is already planning In The Rough 2020, which will see the event returning to the magnificent Forest of Arden Golf Club in Warwickshire.
Results from this year's event are now available online:
View the photos of the day
In the Rough 2019 Photo Gallery
