Loughton golfer's challenge for Prostate Cancer UK on Father’s Day.

Rob Green, from Loughton, has taken part in Prostate Cancer UK’s flagship golf challenge,The Big Golf Race, in the last two years after losing his dad, Charles, to the disease in 2015.

The 30-year-old has conquered 72 holes of golf in a day twice, raising over £14,000 for the UK’s biggest men’s health charity, and is encouraging golf fans across the country to follow his lead.

He said: “I chose to take part in the Big Golf Race for Prostate Cancer UK for one - I love golf - and my dad had prostate cancer, so it’s a cause that’s really close to my heart.

“I started playing golf when I was 18 or 19. Dad introduced me to it, and I started playing with him. My dad passed away in 2015, so the Big Golf Race was a way of doing something that I love doing with a group of lads, supporting a charity that’s close to my heart - and I love a challenge!”

Rob Green with his dad (Image: Rob Green)

Rob was joined on the course at Chigwell Golf Club by a group of his mates and clocked up over 26 miles of walking while completing The Big Golf Race, which challenges golfers to either 36, 72 or - new for 2023 - 100 holes of golf in a single day.

“I’d heard about other people taking on two or four rounds in a day,” Rob added. “I really underestimated how much of a challenge it’d be. By the third or fourth round you start to feel it in your legs and back - just walking the course is hard enough.”

Since its inception in 2020, over 7,000 golf fans have completed The Big Golf Race, raising an incredible £2.5 million, which will be invested into better research, tests, and treatments for prostate cancer, a disease that affects one in eight men in the UK.

Rob’s call comes ahead of Father’s Day and during Men’s Health Week (June 12 – 18); a time when Prostate Cancer UK is giving men the power to navigate the most common cancer in men by busting common myths and misconceptions and sharing clear and accurate health information to help our dads, brothers, sons, and mates make the right choices through its new‘What on earth is a prostate?!’ campaign. 

“Prostate cancer doesn’t just impact the person that’s been diagnosed; it impacts those around them too,” Rob said.

“Father’s Day can be a tough time of year, but it’s also a great opportunity to remember your loved ones and create new memories in their honour. I do this by taking on a challenge my Dad would have loved and by raising as much money - and awareness - for a charity that wants to invest in research and be able to diagnose and support people as early as possible.”

• For more information on The Big Golf Race, or Prostate Cancer UK’s work in golf, visit: prostatecanceruk.org/get-involved/golf/the-big-golf-race
• Men can find out if they are at higher risk of prostate cancer – and what they can do about it – by using Prostate Cancer UK’s30-second online risk checker at: prostatecanceruk.org/riskcheck.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, affecting one in eight. Men over 50, black men and men with a family history of the disease are at increased risk. Visit prostatecanceruk.org to find out more and check your risk in 30 seconds.