That's what stood Orange golfers in the face this week as they took part in The Longest Day.

The event is an endurance golf marathon designed to test your skill, strength and stamina. The challenge is to successfully complete your chosen number holes from dawn to dusk and raise funds for Cancer Council's research, prevention and support services.

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Juan van Jaarsveld was out at Duntryleague Golf Club trying to put together four good rounds.

"72 holes is like climbing Mount Everest," he said.

"We teed off at 5.30am in the morning which was nice and crispy.

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"Myself and my friend Simon felt spritely after two rounds of golf, but the next 18 holes were bad and the last 9 were even worse."

But the day was about more than just birdies and pars.

Across the country, nearly $3million was raised for the cancer charity, $2,000 of which was raised by van Jaarsveld and his group.

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"I've had family members and my father have big bouts with cancer," he said.

"It's a great day to bring awareness as we sometimes don't do enough until the rubber hits the road."

The day went so well in fact, that he already has eyes on bigger and better things next time around.

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"Everybody on the course was really hyped up about it," he said.

"You see everyone doing it for a purpose and it was magnificent, not one thing we could've done different.

"Hopefully next year we will be able to have even bigger groups.

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"I think next year is going to be a roaring success compared to this year, and we already did a pretty good job."