GOLFERS called “fore” as they swung a hefty cheque to a charity which tackles depression and substance abuse.

Staff at Frilford Health Golf Club near Abingdon rewarded The Abingdon Bridge with £13,448 after a year of fundraising.

One fundraising event saw a club member play 108 holes of golf in a 15-hour slog across the greens, raising £2,000 last June.

James Bowler, who works at the club’s bar, teed off at 4.20am to play all three championship courses at the club – twice over.

His pedometer revealed he notched up 57 kilometres in 102,000 steps, burning 3,500 calories which were replenished with a glass of bubbly when he putted his last ball at about 7.40pm.

Abingdon Bridge chairman of trustees Chris Bryan, said the charity was “thrilled” with the club’s donation.

He went on: “It is going to make a huge difference to the amount of work we can do. The idea is that we use the money to supplement our work with young people suffering from stress, anxiety and depression.

“That money will fund our ability to see over 50 more young people this year. It’s going to make a massive impact on us supporting young people.

“We totally rely on donations and grants to keep going. We wouldn’t exist it if wasn’t for the generosity of local people.”

The golf club’s outgoing captain Trevor Wood joined ladies’ outgoing captain Carol Chapman to hand the money to the charity, which offers free advice and counselling for people aged 13 to 25.

Mr Wood, 63, said: “In the past the club captain and the ladies’ captain have chosen their own charities, but I was delighted when Carol agreed on the same one. It was an easy decision.

“The Abingdon Bridge came to the top is because people they help almost a forgotten age group, they’re not quite into adulthood. They have a very limited budget and do so much to stop people from becoming repeat offenders.”

He thanked the club’s 1,150 members for their generosity, and said that, having finished his stint as club captain, he is considering becoming a trustee of The Abingdon Bridge.

It has been a fantastic start to the year for The Abingdon Bridge, which secured an extra £2,500 grant from the town council last month. This year Frilford Heath Golf Club, in Oxford Road, will raise money for Heart Research UK and Oxfordshire charity Flexicare, which offers babysitting for children with severe disabilities.