The XL Re Broker Golf Outing serves as a reminder of the role that golf can play in nurturing long-standing business relationships.

The event celebrated its 20th anniversary last week. Some 60 business partners who have been doing business with XL Group’s reinsurance unit for years, and even decades, flew in from North America and the UK to take part, joining around 20 who took part from XL Re.

Michael Jenkins of JLT Park was the net winner and Bill Farmer of Aon Benfield took the gross honours at the Mid Ocean Club.

While the winners are celebrated through a donation to charity, the real winner is XL Re, which benefits from building bonds between individuals in what is an industry that is heavily dependent on personal relationships — not to mention local businesses who get a welcome boost from the influx of brokers, some of whom take the opportunity for a vacation with family.

Some notable names from XL’s history were among those who swung a club — including former CEO Brian O’Hara, former COO Henry Keeling, and Bob Newhouse, a co-founder of the 28-year-old company.

XL Re chief executive officer Jamie Veghte said the first event two decades ago was “held in my back yard” where he hosted the visitors for an informal get-together. From those humble beginnings, the event became an annual fixture on the reinsurance calendar and this year the reception was held in Tom Moore’s Tavern.

“We wanted to reward the brokers we do business with, by bringing them together and entertaining them, and thank them for being reliable trading partners,” Mr Veghte said. “Several have come back in multiple years.”

Charles Cooper, XL Re’s chief underwriting officer, said that while it might be an exaggeration to say that deals were done on the golf course, it was certainly true that business relationships could be strengthened there.

“We see a lot of brokers coming through maybe two or three times a year,” Mr Cooper said. “The golf outing gives us a rare opportunity to spend four or five hours with them in a relaxed environment.”

One of Bermuda’s attributes as an international business centre was its environment, he added — and not only its golf courses.

“I’d say we have two world-class courses and others of very high quality,” Mr Cooper said. “Given the proximity of the US, we have many clients who enjoy coming here for some fishing or vacation time, and they often bring their spouses.”

The event has built up its own folklore over 20 years. Mr Veghte and Mr Cooper could recall only one year when the weather was bad, in 2004, when the highlight was the remarkable round of 79 by Guy Carpenter’s David Priebe, achieved in 30-knot winds and rain.

The pair agreed that the host company’s most consistent performer over the years had been Mark Berry. “That’s appropriate,” Mr Veghte said, “as he was the very first employee of what is today XL Re.”

They believed that Aon Benfield broker Paul Markey had been the most successful participant, with six victories to his name.

Then there was the unfortunate participant — whom they declined to name — who fell in the pond at the seventh hole at Mid Ocean Club and walked into a tree on the same day.

Numbers at the event have fluctuated with the times, buts its track record and longevity reflect the growth of Bermuda as a reinsurance centre and its continuing importance in the industry, Mr Veghte said.

So will the event remain an annual fixture in another 20 years?

“We certainly hopes so,” Mr Veghte said. “It’s been great for XL Re and for the Bermuda business community. This is all about celebrating business relationships.

“This marketplace has grown so remarkably since we started this event 20 years ago and it’s been exciting to contribute to that growth.”