News from The McMillan Hotels

Champagne finale for Bernard’s 377 course golf odyssey

Fund-raising marathon golfer Bernard Wood received a royal welcome when he played the last of 377 golf courses at the end of a £100,000 sponsorship drive - friends and supporters turned out in force to join him in action at the Cally Palace Hotel in Galloway.

His round at Gatehouse of Fleet completed an astonishing 10-months odyssey during which he played all Scotland’s18-hole mainland courses.

Bernard, 57, from Rossendale in Lancashire, was aiming to raise £100,000 towards the Kirsty Appeal, a campaign to raise £5 million to secure the future of the Francis House Children's Hospice in Manchester.

He began his marathon at Powfoot at Annan in South West Scotland on 3 January and had gone almost full circle when he reached the 56-bedroom Cally Palace. The hotel’s parkland course is reserved exclusively for guests of McMillan Hotels, Scottish Hotel Group of 2005.

Bernard, who has a handicap of 17, did not have far to travel for the start of his final round - the course’s first tee is just 20 metres from the hotel’s entrance. A mini-army of more than 40 supporters played with him, with television and radio crews completing the line-up.

"The finale at the Cally Palace was absolutely fantastic. The hotel staff were brilliant and made everything go with a swing," Bernard commented.

"They were genuinely interested in our cause and could not have done anything better. It was the perfect ending to a splendid but exhausting tour."

Hotel manager Douglas McDavid commented:

"We’re delighted that Bernard rounded off his epic golfing tour here. He deserved the full VIP treatment."

For the record, his final round was a one-over-par net 72 with 35 Stableford points.

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