MEN'S GOLF By SHORT PUTT Last weekend the Forbes men golfers were pleased to see some sunshine, although a few threatening clouds were around. The biggest talking point was the attention by the flies with occasional respite when the breeze stiffened up and kept them away. The competition was the staging of the Monthly Medal, sponsored by Jelbarts Tyrepower. The field was a little low with numbers affected by the harvest activity and representative golf. Of the 55 participants two were visitors and three were juniors. A big influence on the day was the prohibited access to the Pro Shop because of the break-in overnight. Consequently there was no access to carts, drinks or NTP markers. Players could use the Scoring App to record their game or the casual cards. All was well by the end of the day. The A-Grade was won by Shane Sallaway with 72 nett, but only on count back. He had an untidy start to his front-9 with two bogeys and a couple more later but a birdie on the 6th helped. His back-9 was par golf with a bogey on the 17th countered by a birdie on the 16th. The A-Grade runner-up was Andrew Dukes also with 72 nett. His play was evener overall but a run of bogeys through the middle of the back-9 was a ‘mini’ slump and cost him the main prize with a poorer back-9 for count back. The B-Grade was won by Jack Dobell whose feet hardly touched the ground. His 62 nett was the best score of the day blitzing everybody else. Unfortunately I have no details as he used the Scoring App. But it undoubtedly would have been one of his very best scores. The runner-up was George Falvey with 73 nett and on count back over Warwick Judge. George had come back from a long break and was a bit rusty on the front-9 where he managed a good par on the 8th. His swing was more fluid on the back-9 which helped him grab four pars. His only blemish was a ‘double’ on the 15th. The C-Grade was won by Mike Stewart with a 69 nett. Unfortunately, he was ineligible for the Medal but nevertheless he enjoyed his game. A highlight was the chip-in birdie on the 12th with a couple of pars along the way. If his greenside play had been more consistent he may have toppled the best score of the day. The C-Grade runner-up and Medal winner was Brett Slack-Smith with 72 nett. The ball sweep went to 43 nett on count back, going to: 73 – W Judge, P Cowhan, A Moon, S Grallelis; 74 – T Williams, K Sanderson, A Rees and D Burton. There were no NTPs or Superpin. From those who did use a card there was only a single ‘2’ scored. That was by a visitor Justin Clarke (Penrith) who managed to hit the 1st green and then convert his putt. A great way to start the round. Dan Bayley managed to par all of the par-3’s. A common theme through the day was the frustration with the flies. They knew when a player had both hands on their club and attacked mercilessly. There was respite when the breeze was quite strong but then this affected the ball flight. Perhaps this frustration led to three NCR’s from one group, although one of their group coped well and returned a good score. It was often remarked how well the course was playing. The greens are running true and the fairways have good run and are pleasant to play. Some of the run was too good with many a ‘lay up’ ball on the 15th dribbling into the water. Or conversely a recovery shot intended for the fairway ran right through and finished up in the rough on the other side. This happened to one player on the 15. His tee shot went left into the trees. A gentle ‘poke’ out onto the fairway was required but in trying for some extra distance he hit the tree and bounced backwards. His recovery went out but his next shot dribbled into the water. His sixth cleared the water but found trees. A recovery left a chip which was less than adequate and two putts later he had a ‘Bo Derek’. This was an epic worthy of ‘War and Peace’. Another to grab a ‘Bo Derek’ was Frank Hanns on the 17th. But even with that his back-9 score was better than his front-9. Steve Rogers evened his card with a ‘legs 11’ on the 7th and ‘Bo Derek’ on the 11th. Unfortunately no great shots to report with the Scoring App scores unsighted and players zipping away after their game and not able to recount their successes. Lachlan Valley success Forbes players were part of the Lachlan Valley team to contest the NSW Country Championships held at Tamworth over the weekend. The conditions were difficult made more so by an 8am shotgun start on Sunday. The Lachlan Valley team finished in tied-4 with Hunter River on a total of 585 only one shot behind Western Riverina (584) and two shots behind Central Coast (583) who led on Day 1 but faltered on Day 2. The winning team was Newcastle with an outstanding 571 total. The best four scores from the team on each day combine for the total. Contributors for Lachlan Valley on Day 1 were JB, Zac Mitchell (Condo), Steve B and Caleb Hanrahan. Day 2 saw JB, SB, ZM and Harry Callaghan contribute. Congratulations to the team of Forbes – J Betland, S Betland, C Hanrahan, H Callaghan, Condo – Z Mitchell and Jordan Smith. The best Lachlan Valley individual performance was by John Betland. He finished Tied-4th with Hamish Ellison (Newcastle) in the Scratch on 3-under, only two shots behind the winner Blake Palmer (Tamworth) and runner-up Blake Cranston (Toukley). But John did pick up the Nett Championship with 3-under (137) off a ‘zero’ handicap. He finished one shot ahead of Archie Dickson (Dubbo) at 2-Under and two ahead of Blake Cranston on 1-under. Behind John, Steve Betland finished tied-21st and Caleb Hanrahan in tied-35th. The Lachlan Valley team continue produce performances above expectation but are still to grab the top prize. Better luck next year. A reminder that the use of the Scoring App is optional and score cards will still be available. Details on the score cards must be correct, including correct scores, signatures and completing the result boxes at the top. Nissan Classic weekend This weekend 14 and 15 November is the annual Classic Tournament. Saturday has the usual 4BBB Stableford and is a good warmup. There are separate competitions for ladies and men. Sunday has the Individual Stroke event, sponsored by Frank Spice Nissan. The fields are well supported. SUMMER SIXERS By SMOOTH SWINGER In the Forbes Golf Club Summer Sixers third round team scores were more even with no teams breaking 100 and only two scoring below 103. There are some front-runners edging ahead. In Group 1 Elders Insurance maintained their winning form with a 2-shot win over Murray’s Mates. Forbes Auto lost narrowly to The Choppers by one point. In Group 2 Six Appeal had the best group score with 101 to brush aside Full Strength Dry who did not play. Southside Swingers and Shankaholics shared the next best group score of 103 to overcome their opponents. Group 3 saw a massive win by The Optimists, a close win by The Duffers over Part Time Putters and the first ‘Tie’ of the comp between Flip Floppers and Still Trying. Group 4 matches were more competitive with F-Troop, Sandbaggers and ‘Out and About’ recording wins. On the leader board Group 1 has Elders Insurance ahead of Forbes Auto, Group 2 has Six Appeal leading the bunch, Group 3 has Duffers narrowly ahead of Flip Floppers and Group 4 has ‘Out and About’ streets ahead. The voucher winners and ball sweep information was not available yet but there should be a notice on the board soon. A reminder to enter your details correctly on the card or it will not count. And remember to brush up on the rules, a copy of which can be obtained when you are next in the Pro Shop. Sunny days should be with us now but so will the flies. Remember to be patient or hire a ‘fly swatter’ to follow you around. VETS GOLF A comfortable win, a four under-par round and the return of Barry "Scadger" Parker to the golf course were the highlights of the twin-towns veteran's golf competition played at Parkes last week. Leading the way - on what at times were testing, windy conditions - was Parkes' Rob Cunningham who continued his consistency with a score of 40 points for the 18 holes. Forbes' Niel Duncan - 36 points - gained the runners-up prize on a count-back from team-mate Alex Mackinnon and Parkes' Gordon Pritchard who had his best round for a while. However the highlight of the day was the four-under par 68 round by Parkes professional and "honorary" vet Zac Kelly who was in fine touch to return 37 points. Zac was four under par for the first nine and shot even par on the run home. Thirty-seven golfers participated - 21 from Parkes and 16 from Forbes - which included "Scadger" Parker who made a welcome return to the vet's ranks after being out for some time due to having a pacemaker fitted. He still showed his game is in good shape by winning a ball after compiling a solid 33 points. Rob Cunningham continued his good day by winning the B grade nearest-to-pin on the fourth hole, while Parkes' two Smiths - Phil snr and Phill jnr- won the A grade NTP's on the fourth and 11th holes respectively. No B-grader hit the "dance-floor" on the 11th. Parkes' John Fowler collected the encouragement award. It was a win for Parkes in the twin-towns shield by 213 points to Forbes' 202. The ball sweep went to 32 points with winners as follows: 36 - Alex Mackinnon (F) and Gordon Pritchard (P); 35 - Phill Smith jnr (P); 33 - Tony Cogswell and Barry Parker (F) and Peter Bristol (P); 32 - Phil Smith snr, Tony Hendry, Joe Davies and Rob Staples (P) and Ken Walton and Frank Hanns (F). This week it is back to Forbes - registrations from 8.45am from a 9.30 shot-gun start. LADIES GOLF Welcome to this weeks round up of ladies golf. Wednesday 4 November was 18 holes of stroke and Monthly Medal sponsored by Bokeyar Electrical with play in three divisions. Jennifer Fletcher was the Div 1 winner with 73 on c/b from Kerry Stirling with another 73. Division 2 winner was a visitor from Kiama Golf Club carding 75 with next best Lindy Pollock on 76. Division 3 winner Lindy Pollock 76. Monthly Medals were won by Jennifer Fletcher Div 1; Ann Simmons Div 2; Lindy Pollock Div 3. Nearest to the pins were Jen Fletcher on the 9th and Ann-Maree Gaffney on the 18th green. Silvers Day was held Friday 6 November hosted by Wentworth Golf Club in Orange. Forbes girls finished sixth from 11 teams. Brianna Duncan was best of our local girls scoring 21 points. Carolyn Duncan won second shot onto the green event while Jennifer Fletcher won a nearest to the pin. Duntryleague ladies were the winners of the day. Saturday 7 November was Individual Stableford sponsored by Jessica’s Essential Beauty. Division 1 winner was Carolyn Duncan scoring 39 points from Sally Crosby 33. Division 2 was won by Jenny Hubbard with 31 from next best Deb Tilley 25. Ball winner on the day was Sally Crosby. Matches set down for play this week include on Wednesday 11 November Flint Street Butchery and Central Butchery with play in two divisions. 4BBB Stableford sponsored by Forbes Holiday Park. Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November is the Nissan Classic weekend. Good golfing, everyone.
