magazine 2010/3 - Mercedes-Benz UK

32 The Company and its People Omnibus 3·2010
The competitors travelled to the prestigious tournament in appropriate style, on-board an exclusive four-star Travego. The Winner is: Winfried Heckt, with winners Uwe Marx,
Gerdi Gerlach, Carsten Pülm and Thomas Unholzer (from left).
The culmination of the entire series is the World Final, traditionally
held at the “birthplace of the automobile”, around Stuttgart. After all,
tradition is a commitment that has to be sustained.
The World Final features players who qualified by winning the finals
in their respective countries or regions. The international character of
the MercedesTrophy is demonstrated most clearly by the people who
compete in it: every year, the Stuttgart final attracts golfers from over
50 different nations.
In good company
It is not only the course which makes the MercedesTrophy so appealing
to golfers. It is also the history behind the event; the several hours’
healthy exercise; the tournament competition; and of course, above all,
the sense of belong to a growing global group. It was back in 1989 that
Mercedes-Benz began hosting a series of tournaments for amateurs at
national level in conjunction with the German Golf Association (DGV).
In 1991 the event was modified to become a competition for customers
and friends of the company, and renamed: the MercedesTrophy was
born. The series has since grown into an event which is spread across
every continent. Nevertheless, its charm lies very much in the fact that
it focuses on amateur golfers.
More important than life and death
“It’s a real experience just taking part,” comments Thomas Zeiler, a bus
operator from Munich. He is thoroughly enjoying the unique atmosphere
at the Seddiner See course near Potsdam, which is hosting the
2010 MercedesTrophy “Bus Day”. “It’s all perfectly organised, and there’s
plenty of time for the social side alongside the golf. And I have to say,
we don’t just talk about buses either!” It’s as the Scots tend to say: Golf
is not a matter of life and death – it’s more important than that.
By the time the evening comes around, the competitors are all too
aware that the old prejudice about golf not being a proper sport cannot
be true. Over the last four hours – the average time taken for a round
at the Seddiner See course – each one of them will have walked more
than 8 kilometres, swung anywhere between 100 and 200 times, and
burned off around 1,200 calories. Those attending the event but not
competing are also well catered for. They have the chance to get a few
lessons from European Senior Tour player and former World Cup
winner Torsten Giedeon, together with the great Bernhard Langer. So
who knows, maybe they will be back next year competing themselves
in the 2011 MercedesTrophy. After all, it’s quite easy: all they have to
do is put the ball in the hole 18 times. t
www.mercedes-benz.com Photos: Daimler