By SHORT PUTT

Saturday presented a day of comfortable conditions for the Forbes golfers with the promise of something special. And they were not disappointed with fine performances all around and an outstanding effort to ‘knock the socks’ off everyone.

The men's competition was the April Monthly Medal sponsored by the ‘Roadies’, a group of members comprising Grayson, Earl, French and Haley who. The field numbered 59 players which included two visitors and two juniors. The early players had cooler greens but they remained fast throughout the day.

Visitors maintained their good fortune in the A-Grade which was won by Jack Sharkey whose nett 70 was enough to win. He had a 40-40 split with ups and downs on the front-9 and very consistent golf on the back-9. He did finish each half with a par. But he was ineligible for the Medal.

Runner-up and Medal Winner was Jacob Reid (72 nett) in what was a tale of two halves. He was wobbly at the start and was not pleased with double bogeys on the 6th and 7th holes. But he was revitalised on the back-9 after being 1-under after5 holes, finishing with a scratch 39.

The B-Grade went to Mark Simmonds whose round was the reverse of playing partner Jacob Reid. His front-9 was tidy, managing to have a nett par on the par-5’s. But his back-9 hit a wall with a triple bogey on the 11th and more dropped shots on the way home, although he did finish with a par to keep his score to a nett 69. He also was ineligible for the medal.

The B-Grade Runner-up and Medal Winner was Paul Pymont with his nett 71, having gotten there on count back. He also had an even round with 44-44. His front-9 had a ‘triple’ on the 4th and leaked shots up to the turn. His back-9 was steady with minor blemishes on the 11th and 16th, but overall he was pleased with his game.

The C-Grade had an explosion of talent when Brett Slack-Smith sent a ripple around the ‘Golfie’ after posting his 66 nett. His beaming smile provided light in the darkened bar as he pondered his days round. Showing tremendous focus he carded 40 on the front-9 with a ‘double’ on the 4th and dropped shots on the 7th and 9th.

His back-9 started well but the signs of fatigue began to show as he stumbled from the 14th towards home. But he was especially pleased with this game, his best for a long while.

The C-Grade Runner-up was almost lost in the turbulence from the winner. But Jake Banks remembered some salient advice from the H/Pro which helped him score better on most of the holes than he had before. A ‘Bo Derek’ on the 7th was an ouch moment but he stuck to his guns to finish well.

The ball sweep went to 78 nett on count back, going to: 71 – P Maher; 74 – M Duff, B Thomas; 75 – T Morgan, B Chandler; 76 - C Banks, K Sanderson, G Hooper, B Parker, A Bayley; 77 – S Uphill, N Duncan, J House; 78 – D Mylecharane, S Sallaway. The visitors were Jack Sharkey (Dubbo) and Andrew Bayley (The Rock), both of whom enjoyed their day.

The NTP’s went to: 9th – B Thomas; 18th – J Sharkey. Neither converted for a ‘2’. There were three 2’s overall with the 3rd yielding two and one on the 1st going to Reggie Murray. The 9th pin was especially hard to get to while the 3rd needed a good shot to give the putt a chance.

The 3rd hole Super-Pin went to Jeff House with a finely crafted shot that drew nicely onto the pin, such that players in his group were taking photos of it. He knew it was close and was untroubled in converting for a ‘2’.

The sudden cooling in the weather caught many players unaware as they struggled to get to grips with the much faster paced greens. There were comments about chips not checking but running through, or moans when putts slipped past the hole with not even a glance.

Short putt miss mayhem was aplenty with Terry Griffiths being a prime exponent and Stephen Uphill seeking some optometric help after his ‘tiddly’ misses. Alf Davies also had troubles. While he can handle a slick surface on the bowling green he had real problems on the golf greens.

But this meant nothing to Phil Maher. He utilised a magical and mystical manoeuvring of the flatstick to inflict pain on his competitors as he nailed putts from anywhere, seemingly with his eyes shut. He recorded 11 putts on the front-9 and used his ‘wand’ to rescue some unforgivable sins on the back-9. He missed the B-Grade runner-up position by count back.

Another King on the day was Harry Callaghan. He took the mantle of ‘King of the OB’ which he did not relish. It all began when he went OB off the 6th tee twice, before scaling back to a 3-wood, drawing the ball around the corner, then got up and down for a ‘carded 7 eagle’. Not done there, on the 9th he put two balls among the parked carts, although he did get closer to the green with his second ball but still OB.

The 6th hole is rated the easiest on the course and yet it still brings many players undone. There was only one birdie there on the day with a great number of 5’s and 6’s. One player only needed a Pitching Wedge to the green for his second shot, yet he walked away with a ‘7’ on the card. Cam McMillan still cannot work out how that happened.

The 18th should have been an easy hole also, with a helping breeze. But there was only one name on the NTP sheet. Niel Duncan’s group were typical in that none of them hit the green with their tee shot and none of them managed a par.

There was no Stableford Medley on Sunday.

Here is the news:

One of our Juniors, Archie Quirk, headed to Bathurst for the weekend to participate in a Juniors Tournament.

In his first round he found the greens very slick, leading to a high score. But on the second day he was more in control and knocked 10 shots off his score.

In the overall standings he took 4th place in the Handicap division. A fine effort for a young person who works hard on his golfing skills.

The Taylor Made Equipment Demo day organised by H/Pro Will on Wednesday 9 April had a good turnout. Many attendees were keen to try the new irons with some surprised by the results.

We wish Head Pro Will good fortune in his quest to retain his Tour status. He is playing in tournaments at Leeton and Griffith over the next four days. Good finishes in those will keep his name ‘competition’ list.

Draw for the Mens ‘Wallace Cup’ Handicap Matchplay event has been made with the notice to be displayed in the Pro Shop soon. Play will commence in the week after the Mens Open, with the aim to conclude by the end of August.

This Saturday 12 April, there will be an Individual Stroke event, sponsored by J&J Ridley. And Sunday we have something different in the form of a 3-Person Ambrose Medley.

VETS GOLF

Forbes continued its recent dominance in twin-towns veterans golf when the ever-consistent Ted Morgan won the money at last week's event in Parkes.

Morgans one-under round of 37 points had him two ahead of Forbes' Ken Walton who was runner-up from team mate Steve Uphill on a count-back.

Twenty-six players contested the event and despite Forbes only having 11 players to Parkes' 15 they were comfortable winners of the twin-towns shield by 205 points to 188.

No B grade players hit the greens for one on the designated fourth and 11th nearest-to-pin holes, while A grade winners were Parkes' Peter Bristol (11th) and Ken Sanderson from Forbes on the fourth.

The encouragement award was won by the likeable John Pearce from Parkes.

The ball sweep went to 31 points and winners were: 35 - Steve Uphill; 34 - Tom Delmenico (P) and Peter Barnes (F); 33 - Dale Stait (P); 32 - Steve Edwards and Don McKeowen (Bogan Gate); 31 - Rob Lea and Rod Luyt (P) and Alf Davies (F).

This Thursday Grenfell will stage the April Lachlan Valley veterans 18-hole competition. Registrations from 9.15am for a 10am shot-gun start.

Now that daylight saving has ended it is hoped we get back to usual number for Tuesday social golf as last week we only had eight starters. Remember, it is only $3 ‘comp’ fee for 12 holes and from this week ball toss for partners will be at 9am.

Besides, you may have the experience of playing with talents rarely seen on a golf course. It’s all there for the taking, be in it and remember Tuesday is open to all, young and old, male or female.

Last Tuesday the BG scribe changed the course being played with an alternative 12 holes chosen where he did it again, Barry ‘Scadger’ Parker best with 22 points.

But only just as five others scored 21 points. See you Tuesday if nothing else to do.

LADIES GOLF

Last Wednesday the ladies played for the D & A Car Detailing Trophy. It was a Stroke Event for Golf NSW Medal and the Veteran Country Championships. Three ladies took advantage of the dropout stableford after having difficulties with water and lost balls.

The scores were not great overall with the winners of both divisions coming in with nett 77. Sally Perry is back to form after her layoff and won Division 1 on a countback from Sally Crosby while Lyn Kennedy won Division 2 one clear of Ann-Maree Gaffney. Balls went to Sally Crosby, Jenny Fletcher and Kate Steele-Park to 78 c/b. NTP on the 9th went to Lindy Pollock and the 18th to Heather Davidson. Dropout Stableford was won by Robin Lyell.

Beautiful cooler weather greeted the golfers on Saturday but a bit of wind seemed to make the course a bit tougher. The Euphoria Road sponsored event was a stroke event for the Monthly Medal, Golf NSW Medal and Veterans Country Championships as well as putting. Again, the scores were not brilliant with 77 nett being the winning score in both divisions. There should have been one really good score but for a 16 on the 4th hole. Not many people lose half a point off their handicap after having that many on one hole. That is how good the rest of the round was, nett 80/36 stableford points.

Monthly Medal Winners were Heather Davidson in Division 1, Lindy Cowhan in Division 2 and Veronica Rebellato in Division 3.

Daily winners were Heather Davidson in Division 1 and Lindy Cowhan in Division 2 Balls went to Brianna Duncan and Veronica Rebellato. NTP’s went to Heather Davidson on the 9th and Lindy Cowhan on the 18th. Lindy Cowhan had a good day also taking the putting with 30 putts.

This Saturday is a new event to our program. The 4BBB Mulligan is sponsored by Wendy Simmons and Sharon Grierson. A Mulligan is a second chance allowing a player to replay a shot without penalty. The basic rules are each team has 6 mulligans, 3 for each nine. Any unused ones can not be carried over. Mulligan must be marked on scorecard. Full rules will be given out on the day.

Next Wednesday April 16 is an18 hole Stableford sponsored by Allure on Main in 2 Divisions.

Grenfell Ladies Tournament is on Sunday April 13.

Forbes Ladies Tournament is on May 3 and 4.

Forbes Veterans “Week of Golf” is on from Monday May 5 until Friday May 9.

Congratulations to the Duffers team who ended up plate runners up in the Sixes Competition despite being down to only three or four players during the playoff period. Well done to all other ladies who played in the Sixes Competition throughout the summer.