The 'Daihatsu Home Of Golf Marathon' Tees Off

Student teacher Sean Adams is all set to tee-off in one of the biggest golfing challenges the world has ever seen – The Daihatsu Home of Golf Marathon.

On 3 May, 2002 at The Dalmahoy Hotel Golf and Country Club, nr Edinburgh, Sean Adams (36) will set out to play non-stop every 18-hole golf course in Scotland – ‘the home of golf’. He will play 386 courses in 138 days.

Experts estimate that Sean, who has a handicap of seven, will walk more than 1,500 miles and play 6,948 holes in around 30,000 shots.

In a gruelling schedule, he will play up to four courses per day in a challenge that will not only demand extreme levels of prolonged concentration, but real physical stamina and determination.

Dunblane-based Sean aims to raise around £100,000 for two charities – The Make A Wish Foundation, for children who have a life-threatening illness, and the Golf Foundation, which works to develop junior players of the game. The money raised will be split equally between each concern.

As the main sponsor for the project, Daihatsu has given Sean two brand new Terios 4x4s, one for his own personal transport throughout the marathon and one to give away as the top gift in a prize draw to help raise money.

Marketing Director of Daihatsu Vehicle Distributors Limited, Paul Tunnicliffe, said: "The moment we received Sean’s request for help, almost as one voice, the whole Daihatsu management team agreed we simply had to help. It’s such a worthy challenge for such good causes – we all wish Sean the best of luck."

Sean Adams – The Golfer

A former police officer, Sean is now a full-time student teacher at Stirling, due to graduate in 2004. He has been playing golf since he was a young boy and first thought of playing every golf course in Scotland around three years ago.

"At first it was just a mad idea," said Sean, "but after a while I decided that I would simply get on and do it as personal challenge," he explained.

"That was just over two years ago and since then it has snowballed to the point where I have real backers like Daihatsu and I will actually tee off for the first time on Friday 3 May, hopefully completing the challenge on 20 September, 2002."

The Ultimate Golf Widow?

Among those helping Sean are his fiancée, Jill Johnstone, and his brother, Scott. Both have helped with the planning and both will share the task of driving Sean from course to course over the coming months.

Furthermore, for more than four months, Jill, whom Sean intends to marry in December 2002, will become one of life’s ultimate golf widows. "I thought that if Sean were to go ahead with his plans it would be better if it was before we were married!" said Jill, adding: "I am, of course, fully behind him and I will be with him for much of the time in the car, if not on the golf courses."

Health and Fitness

Playing golf might not seem like the most arduous of sports, but if Sean is to complete the marathon, he will have swung a club around 30,000 times and walked about 1,500 miles to play nearly 7,000 holes.

Realising how physically demanding the task will be, Sean has sought the help of Edinburgh-based Kinesiologist Rita Sharkey. As well as setting Sean on the road to a proper level of fitness prior to the challenge, Rita will also help to monitor his progress throughout the gruelling programme, including his diet.

"To my complete surprise, Rita has highlighted a dietary issue I never knew I had, an intolerance to wheat," said Sean. "Since I found this out and changed my eating habits accordingly, I have been feeling better than ever and I am confident that I have the strength and stamina to make it to the end."

The Charities, Donations and Prize Draw Tickets

Most of the money raised is expected to come from the sale of prize draw tickets for the chance to win a brand new Terios 1.3 EL worth around £11,000, a second prize of £1,100 worth of golf clubs and a third prize of a golfing holiday worth up to £1,000. Tickets cost £1 each and are available by contacting Jill Johnstone on 01786 821178 or hogm2002@hotmail.com.

Tickets can also be bought online at www.golfmarathon.co.uk - a web page that will diary Sean’s progress and which also has direct links to his main sponsors’ own websites.

Donations can also be made direct to The Daihatsu Home of Golf Marathon in the form of cheques, made payable to Home of Golf Marathon, The Daihatsu Home of Golf Marathon, 2 Wavell House, Queen Victoria School, Dunblane FK15 OJB.

Meanwhile, further information about the charities benefiting from Sean’s efforts is available by contacting either Amanda Hillhouse at The Make A Wish Foundation on 0141 204 0107, or Mike Round at the Golf Foundation on 01920 876 200.

Volunteers

Sean and his team will doubtless reach points where their energy is low and enthusiasm even lower! The team is therefore hoping that throughout the four- month project, volunteers will come forward to assist them.

"This could mean anything," explained Sean, "from driving the car, or helping to carry my gear around the course, to actually playing a round with me or simply cheering me up with a flask of hot tea!"