MEN'S GOLF

By SHORT PUTT

Last Saturday the Forbes golfers were keen to take advantage of the good weather and course conditions with the forecast of inclement weather on Sunday. Most of them excelled well with but a few wondering where all their shots went to.

The competition was a 4BBB Stableford Medley with pairings comprising men, ladies and mixed combinations. The field of 62 players was down a bit with quite a few activities vying for the golfer’s time.

The Cowra Men's Open and Condobolin Ladies Open were both attended by Forbes players. And there were a few activities around town. But the players at home enjoyed themselves.

The winners were Harry Callaghan and Dave Bernardi who scored 50 points.

It was a case of Harry using his length off the tee to make easy work of some holes and Dave chiming in with his 4-pointers when Harry faltered. They shared the honours on the front-9 but Harry was the primary scorer on the back-9 scoring 2-under.

The runners-up on count back were Ken Sanderson and Verna Lane with 47 points. As we have come to expect with Ken’s game he was steady most of the way with only a couple of blemishes. But Verna was right there to contribute with her 3-pointers. With a better-behaved putter Verna may have scored higher but at least it did remain in her bag. Unlucky to miss out were Niel Duncan and Max Haley.

The best All-Ladies team was Jill Cripps and Lyn Kennedy who finished with 45 points. They were caught out on one hole where both recorded a ‘miss’ which must go down as a sacrilegious sin in golf. And they had too many 2-pointers instead of 3-pointers.

The luckless last pairing had dismal stories to tell. One of them could only manage single digits for their stable points on each half, while the other barely scrapped into double-digits. And both hit the ball well. How good is golf!

The ball sweep went to 41 points, going to: 47 – N Duncan, M Haley; 45 – J Cripps, L Kennedy; 44 – D Burton, P Murphy; 43 – Alf Davies/S Uphill, B Shine S Paterson; 41 – J Fletcher/A Simmons, C Byrnes/J LeBrocque. There were no visitors although with the vagaries of the new GA-Connect Stephen McAlister enjoys a nomad status.

The NTP’s went to: 9th – Men H Callaghan, Ladies J Fletcher: 18th – Men K Sanderson, Ladies J Cripps. Only Harry converted for a ‘2’, of which there were four. Of those, the majority were scored on the 9th hole with it’s ‘gettable’ position, if you were game.

The Super pin on the 3rd hole was won by Dave Mylecharane to complement his success a few weeks back. The pin being placed in the middle of the green put many players off as only two names were on the score sheet and Dave thought he had no chance with his shot to 530 cm. But all those good players following along seemed to be fazed out. And did he convert for a ‘2’? No is the answer.

The trees were once again the bug-bear of many players. Stephen McAlister was playing alongside Barry Shine and found himself among the trees on the 11th. With ample gap to play a low runner and advance towards the green Stephen struck his shot, struck the tree in front on middle stump and had to play again from behind. Barry’s comments were very helpful.

Some players found playing from the rough gave them a certain advantage. In one group a pair were making their way down the 7th fairway confident they had this hole won when their opponents were ‘in the rough’. One of the ‘winning pair’ was sizing up his long birdie putt when a shot from the rough pair meandered up the green, hit the pin and dropped in for a par. The hole was halved to the amazement of all.

But does lightning strike twice? Apparently it does. This same group had the same situation on the 11th with the same result. If nothing else that cemented the outcome of the Keno ticket. Paul and Terry grabbed the honours with two shots more than the hapless Scotty and Allan.

Putting skill is very important in this game but has a number of variants which cannot all be conquered at once, unless you are Harry C. Stevie G had no problems with long putts and by long we mean anything over twelve feet, or even fifteen feet or even more. I shall let you decide. Those putts either went in or nestled close to the hole for a tap in. The conundrum was short putts and we mean two and three footers. The hole was safe when Stevie attempted those putts.

Danger lurks on the golf course in many guises. In summer it could be snakes or dehydration. In spring it could be swooping magpies or helicopter clubs. Autumn and Winter bring their own dangers. But never would you believe sustaining an injury after being run over would be an event.

One player was casually leaning against a cart chatting to the driver. In a similar manner to International Affairs tensions the driver buried his foot and drove away. Little did he realise that he had run over the foot of his previous conversation partner. Writhing and screaming on the ground Scott Kirkman needed assistance to regain his feet, find composure and manfully continue his game. Maybe that was one way for Paul to gain a Keno win.

There was no play in the Sunday Stableford Medley.

Here is the news:

Our new Head Pro Ellesha Michie (please call me Lesha) was in the Pro Shop on Saturday to meet and greet the players. With her head reeling from all the names she staggered home but recovered enough to commence duties on Mon 10 Aug.

Drop in and chat to her about our golfing community and her desire to grow interest in golf among the lady and junior players out there. Having a strong background in coaching she will be able to help the male players also.

The Cowra Open was played on Saturday and Sunday last weekend. This event has a tradition of inclement weather and this year it had both good conditions and wet conditions. But 77 players managed to finish the 2-day event.

The A-Grade 36-Hole Scratch winner was Rory Elphrick with a 3-under 139. Runner-up was Caleb Hanrahan on 1-over 143. Congratulations also to Fons Melisi who won the C-Grade 36-Hole Scratch with 178 and one shot ahead of Will Sutton.

Another Forbes players to do well was Archie Quirk Day 2 A-Grade 18-Hole Nett Winner (nett 71). Brad Ashton and Jade Page also participated but did not have any luck.

On Sun 16 Aug Forbes will be hosting a ‘Juniors on the Move’ event. There will be players competing in 18-hole and 9-hole formats. The morning will be closed to social play until they have all hit off. Check at the Pro Shop to see what time you can get on.

For those keen to join in don’t forget the ‘Sand Greens Trilogy’ played, obviously, on sand greens at three Clubs. Details are on the notice board.

Players please note that on Sat 22 Aug the scheduled G-NSW/KENO 2-Person Ambrose will not be played. The format for this event ahs been changed. The day is sponsored by our H/Pro who ahs settled on an Individual Stableford until she gets to know our players better.

It is crystal ball time:

This Saturday, 15 August is an Individual Stableford sponsored by MTA Travel. Sunday has the ‘Juniors on the Move’ in the morning and a Stableford Medley later in the day.

VETS GOLF

A big field, multiple scores hot on the heels of the leaders and a countback to decide the winner - that was the scenario at last week's twin towns veterans golf competition played at Parkes and won by local Lindsay Elliott.

It was a good return for Lindsay, and fellow Parkes player John Ivey, who both carded 38 points with Lindsay getting the decision on a countback.

There were three players on 37 points, while another four players recorded even-par 36's to their handicaps in a day of high scoring.

Parkes provided 26 of the players, while Forbes with 16 and three visitors made up the field. The visitors included former Parkes golfer Adam Ferguson who played with Anthony Rogers from Condobolin and Kade Sharp, the grandson of popular Parkes vet Dale Stait.

Given the wight of numbers Parkes won the twin towns shield 222 points to Forbes' 212.

The A grade nearest-to-pin winners were the Forbes duo of Alf Davies and Don McKeowen, while Parkes' John Fowler (his first prize in some time) and Rob Cunningham were the B grade winners.

The ball sweep went to 34 points with winners as follows: 37 - Ken Keith and John Fowler (P) and Don McKeowen; 36 - Gordon Pritchard and Peter Boschman (P), Les Little and Trevor Williams (F); 35 - Alex Mackinnon and Steve McAlister (F); 34 - Dale Stait and Phill Smith and Barry Whittaker and John Dwyer (P), and Ted Morgan (F).

Barry "Scadger" Parker from Forbes was a "popular" encouragement award winner.

This week it is back to Forbes with nominations taken from 8.45 for a 9.30 start.

Tuesday golf

No doubt the best he has played for a couple of years resulted in Barry Shine finishing a couple of shots over par in last week's Tuesday 12 hole comp recording 32 points.

Playing partner Warwick Judge also hit ‘em well for 26 points as did, from all reports, Peter Scholefield while next in line were Andrew Norton-Knight and Ross Williams, both on 24 points.

Tuesday golf for all, be at the Pro Shot by 9am for ball toss and you're in for a pleasant walk over 12 holes.

But all that changes on Tuesday with the staging of the Bogan Gate Masters, noms and morning tea from 9.30am for a 10am shotgun start. Remember no eftpos, it’s BG so cash only.

Also remember Forbes Tuesday golfers, GA handicaps so you will most likely lose three to four shots on your Thursday/weekend handicap. With NO yellow flowers it is expected around 40 will take on the challenge of the sand greens layout.

This is also the last call for those interested in having a friendly hit. Let Steve Edwards 0415 665 925, Barry Shine 0409 718 004 or John Dwyer 0419 232 755 know if playing by Sunday evening for catering purposes.