On the 25th of September 2024, we were joined by colleagues from all over the country at the wonderful Warwickshire Golf Course to celebrate our industry — and what a day it was!
The event created new connections and lasting memories, bringing people from every corner of the manufacturing industry together to enjoy a day of golf, camaraderie, great food, and even greater prizes!
Oh yes, it wasn’t just an excuse to have some fun, there was also the serious business of claiming fantastic awards and prizes. We selected some exceptional individuals from throughout the day to win some well-deserved rewards.
Meeting at the world-class golf course
The day began with us arriving at the Warwickshire Golf Course. The championship level course also acts as an exclusive country club, and we couldn’t have been more pleased to call them our hosts for the event.
The stunning venue is one of the premier modern golf complexes in England, nestled in the green and pleasant Warwickshire countryside.
Then it was time to tee-off. There are a few courses to choose from and we decided to play on the King’s Course, an 18-hole American-style course with wide fairways and plenty of challenging scenery to keep us on our toes during play. We can honestly say that all of our golf skills were tested to their limit!
The incredibly well-designed course was a trial of brains over brawn, requiring strategic thinking to navigate the bunkers and water hazards placed expertly around the course.
But there were some who rose to the challenge, proving their golfing acumen and impressing us all.
Award winners and delicious dinners
After we finished our game of golf, we retired to the club house for an evening of food and fun, celebrating the winners of the day with applause and beautiful trophies, if we do say so ourselves.
In fact, a spokesperson from Phoenix Tooling had this to say, “The beautifully crafted metal trophies, a testament to the craftsmanship of the industry, were a fitting reward for the hard work and dedication put in by all the teams. They served as a reminder of the strong bonds that were formed that day, as well as a symbol of the shared passion for sheet metal, metal-forming and fabrication.”
Couldn’t have said it better! In the evening, as we all finished enjoying a laugh and a drink over our fabulous food, SMI mastermind Jas Rai took to the microphone to announce the winners of our awards, completing the post-game celebrations.
Drum roll please; and the winners are!
- Longest Drive – Daniel Burton for Team Phoenix Tooling
- Nearest to the Pin – John Elford for Team Havant Sheet Metal Ltd
- Best Individual Score – Stephen Madgwick for Team Bruderer
- Winning Team – Fronius UK Ltd (James Anderson; Lee Parkinson; Darren Marshall; Dave Silvester)
A big congratulations was given as their names were announced and everyone joined in to celebrate their wins as well as each other’s successes.
Though not everyone was gracious about not winning a trophy, as Tom Wood of AMOB UK said, tongue in cheek, “A fantastic day for a group of like-minded people at a championship level course with some very questionable golf! Cannot wait to be back next year and fingers crossed we won’t come 2nd again…”
And others were a little more glowing with their praise; James Anderson of Fronius UK told us, “From the venue to the course condition, to the hospitality and most importantly the company on the day – everything was faultless. Well done SMI!”
As you can tell, we all had a huge amount of fun and enjoyed the playfully competitive atmosphere between us throughout the day. We had tonnes of praise for Jas and how well-organised the event was; Steve Madgwick of Jet Press said the event was, “Superbly organised by Jas.” And Gary Powell, Area Sales Manager for Prima Power commented, “It was a very enjoyable day and extremely well organised. Already looking forward to the next one! Thanks again and well done, Jas!”
It’s safe to say that SMI’s inaugural Golf Challenge Day was a huge success. One we are hoping to repeat in the coming years Who knows, maybe next year it could be you who wins a prize!?
Incredible industry support
We would be remiss if we didn’t mention the spectacular support we received from the industry for the event, with companies nationwide lending their sponsorship for every hole on the course.
Our sponsors included:
Metalforming Machinery Makers Association
A huge thank you to all who helped to make the SMI Golf Challenge Day possible; we literally couldn’t have done it without you!
Looking forward to seeing you all at our Golf Challenge Day in 2025.
We’ll give the last word to Mick Spargo, Director of AlanSpargo LTD who commented: “What a fantastic golf day you organised for companies working in our industry sector. It was an excellent golf course, and a great time was had, both on and off the course. It gave us the chance to meet some great people, some old faces and some new. The food was amazing, and the award ceremony was very entertaining. Well done, Jas, keep up the good work. We look forward to the next one!”
As do we!
