ON Sunday, December 8, as the dawn appeared and the kangaroos slowly left the fairway at Jubilee Golf Club, hit off was at 5.30am to play four rounds of golf in one day to raise funds for the Cancer Council.

Frances Duffy, Glenn Hunt, Leeanne Carmody, Judy Fogarty and Gordon Hines - better known as the Jubilee Jesters team - committed to playing 72 holes of golf in a single day as part of the Cancer Council’s The Longest Day fundraiser.

The Longest Day is the ultimate test of golf skills and stamina, challenging golfers to take on 72, 54 or 36 holes of golf in one day while raising money to help reduce the impact of cancer for all Australians.

This year, The Longest Day was officially on Monday, December 9, but participants can take on the challenge at their local golf club anytime during December and January.

Duffy said everyone has been touched by cancer in some way.

“Sadly, we all have family members, friends and golfers who have gone through very difficult times with various forms of cancer,” she said.

“So playing 72 holes of golf in one day to raise necessary funds is our way of supporting what the Cancer Council does, every dollar counts.

“This is our third year in a row that we have played 72 holes, and we are ready to do it again next year.”

Jubilee Golf Club board member Joy Hester said the group played from dawn until almost 5pm.

“At around 4.45pm they arrived back at the clubhouse, fresh as a bunch of daisies and ready for a well-deserved celebratory drink,” she said.

“This was a great effort, and from all reports each team member had a lot of fun, played some excellent golf and didn’t hit one kangaroo.

“So far $2488 has been raised however, during the next few months, we plan to conduct further fundraising efforts to increase our donation to the Cancer Council.”

With golfers almost 2.5 times more likely to develop skin cancer in their lifetime, Cancer Council Victoria is encouraging all golfers to keep sun safe and slip on sun protective clothing, slop on SPF50 or higher sunscreen, slap on a broad-brim hat, not just on The Longest Day, but every day.

Cancer Council Victoria’s head of fundraising and communications Lyrian Fleming-Parsley said all Victorians will be affected by cancer at some point in their lives.

“By working together, we can all play a part in reducing the impact for cancer for all Victorians,” Fleming-Parsley said.

“Participants in The Longest Day will be making a difference as all funds raised will go towards funding Cancer Council Victoria’s world-class cancer research, helping save lives and bringing us closer to a cancer-free future.

“Thanks to investment in research to date, amazing advancements have been made in cancer prevention, screening and treatment – helping increase survival rates from 51 per cent in the late 1980s to around 70 per cent today.”