Whisky Tasting Guests with Sandy Lyle & Hamish Malcolm (front).
More than a decade on from its inaugural charity golf day, the Kingsmills Hotel’s annual event for Highland Hospice reached a new high this year, raising £77,428 — with golfing legend Sandy Lyle OBE among the guest stars.
The two-day fundraiser kicked off with a whisky tasting at the hotel hosted by Hamish Malcolm, aka “The Dram Caddy.”
Non-golfing guests were treated to five curated drams and stories from Mr Lyle — generating over £2,300 for the Hospice before golfers even teed off.
The following day teams took to Moray Golf Club, Lossiemouth, for the main competition, which saw spirited playing despite the gusty weather.
Golfers had the chance to “Beat Sandy Lyle” at the 15th: the former major champion set a target drive for participants to beat, with prizes and bragging rights at stake.
Mr Lyle, a two-time major winner who claimed The Open Championship in 1985 and The Masters in 1988, dominated golf’s European scene during the 1980s and remains a revered figure in the game. He also spent well over 150 weeks in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking.
After the final putts were sunk, participants returned to Inverness for a gala evening: awards, a fundraising dinner, and a spirited auction.
Team Agilico (M. Maclennan / A. Murphy / R. Fraser / J. Maclennan) was the winner of the competition.
Team Agilico posted the best score to claim first place, while Kingsmills’ own team placed second and Caledonia Dallas took third prize.
The evening, hosted by Steven J Innes, drew a full house despite Storm Amy hitting the region with bidding on the auction going strong both in the room and online and pushing the final total to a record level.
Craig Ewan, operations director at Kingsmills, commented: “It was a fantastic day on course — some of the best conditions and competition we’ve seen. We are truly humbled by the generosity of everyone involved. This is a wonderful contribution to Highland Hospice and testament to the support of our local community.”
In total, the Kingsmills Hotel has raised over £605,000 for the Highland Hospice since choosing the charity as one of its key partners in 2014.
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