More than 260 birdies and about $15,000 raised – that is the final scorecard a Tauranga dad and his friends handed in after 24 hours of non-stop indoor golf.

Emotions ran high as Matt Henderson and his two good mates sunk their final putts at the weekend for his two-year-old daughter Remi, who lives with a rare genetic neurological disorder called Rett syndrome.

While the trio may still be trying to piece together the events over a full 24 hours without sleep, they will never forget the mammoth efforts they went through for little Remi.

“The support has been overwhelming. It’s pretty mad but all we can simply do is just say thank you. It just means a lot,” said Henderson.

Rett syndrome is a rare genetic neurological disorder which primarily affects girls, impacting their ability to walk, talk, eat, sleep, breathe and use their hands.

The lifelong disorder typically presents itself in the first 6-18 months of age.

The family last year set up a Givealittle page to raise funds for three-week intensive therapy programmes at the Centre of Movement – which opens in Rotorua in July – to help Remi master essential motor skills such as rolling, sitting, crawling and walking. Read more here.

They have been attending programmes in Australia, which were costing up to $20,000 for each trip including flights and accommodation.

So, Henderson and his friends – The Clubroom director Hayden Beard and Four Seasons Indoor Golf owner Matt Blackbourn – planned a 24-hour golf fundraiser on May 23-24 to help raise funds for Remi’s therapy.

While he was still working out exact numbers, Henderson said the trio scored about 260 birdies (one under par) and about $15,000 from businesses that sponsored each hole.

As of May 29, the Givealittle page had reached about $23,455 and the auction items – including former Black Cap Neil Wagner’s test shirt signed by the entire cricket team and a round of golf with Kiwi golfer Daniel Hillier at the exclusive Te Arai Links golf club – were set at about $13,000.

“We’ve probably raised enough to pay for Remi’s treatment for the next three years and that is amazing,” Henderson said.

“That is a massive game-changer for us and gives us some runway into the future.”

Summing up the 24 hours of golf as a “complete whirlwind and a blur”, Henderson has since been going through videos and photos of the event to try and piece it together in his head.

“I take myself back to when we made the last putt on hole 18 of the 24th hour for an Eagle [two under par], to finish 20-under par for the last round, and saw just how locked in we were and having fun.

“That summed it up for me. All the energy in the room and every person’s little bit of effort from start to finish to help Remi and us raise some funds to make this event a success just culminated in that last hour. That’s quite surreal.”

Out of the 24 hours, Henderson said there was only a 45-minute window when it was just the three golfers.

“The fact we had this constant support throughout the whole event was so awesome. At no stage did any of us feel like we were alone when we were trying to do this.”

It was only between 6am and 8am the next day that Henderson said he began struggling mentally and physically.

“I was feeling quite sick, and had thoughts in my head of ‘Can I keep going?’ … then I managed to go for a walk outside to freshen up and all of a sudden, bang, I was back in the game.”

Henderson said the past few weeks have been a “massive emotional ride” but one thing life has taught him as Remi’s dad is it’s okay to be emotional.

“At the end of the 24 hours, I just ran with the feeling at the time. To let it out after physically and emotionally going through some tough stuff, but to be around some really cool people and feel safe to let go in that moment was pretty incredible.”

Blackbourn said the ultimate goal of raising funds for Remi was what helped him push through the 24 hours.

“It was such an epic thing we did and something I’ll always remember.”

Beard said seeing Remi at the end was quite emotional.

“I’ve never played that much golf consecutively in my life, but seeing how strong Remi is, is what kept us going.”

Remi’s mum Mandy Henderson was still lost for words but thanked everyone who supported the event, sent messages and made donations.

“The outpouring of love and support over the weekend was so overwhelming. Remi is our baby and obviously we would do anything for her, but to see so many other people step up and have her back too was amazing,” she said.

“We felt the aroha and the support of the community rallying around us and we consider ourselves so lucky and grateful to have you all in our corner.”

To donate to Remi’s cause, visit givealittle.co.nz/cause/help-remi-stand-one-birdy-at-a-time or visit the auctions at www.32auctions.com/birdies-for-remi

A gala dinner is also planned during Rett Syndrome Awareness month in October.

- Content supplied by freelance journalist and The Clubroom co-owner Zoe Hunter.