MEN'S GOLF
By Short Putt
Saturday in Forbes promised and delivered on many fronts. The golf saw the staging of the Annual Can-Assist Charity Golf day, in which 116 players participated. The weather provided sunny and almost balmy conditions. The fun times were spread across the whole golf course.
The Can-Assist golf event is a 4-Person Ambrose, with a Best Scratch prize and many Nett prizes, along with quite a few supporting prizes. Once again the community were generous in the sponsorship, enabling many to go home with a smile and a prize.
The fields comprised 116 players, which was a return to the usual supporting numbers. Among those were 85 golfers and 31 non-golfers, and many people who had travelled from afar, including Mackay, Sydney, Temora and surrounding towns.
The Best Scratch went to the team of C Hurford, S Sallaway, D Kennedy and K Becquet, who shot 62 of the stick. Their front-9 included seven birdies with the 1st and 5th being the only pars. They were 'a bit sloppy' on the back-9, only managing three birdies with the rest being pars.
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The Handicap winners were the team of Peter Mitchell (D-League), Andrew Grierson, Cindy Hillier and Grant Tranter. Their 51 5/8 was a cornucopia of surprises. They started their round with four birdies, had eagles on the 6th and 15th holes, scored 2's on every par-3 and finished with a flourish.
The generous sponsorship allowed for a number of prizes, as follows:
Handicap Runners-up: C Banks, J Banks, N Morrison, J Sharkey 57 1/8.
3Rd: B Ashton, Ash Davis, M Inder, N Inder 57 1/4.
4th: P & L Cowhan, B Robinson, N Greenhalgh 58 3/4.
5th: P Duke, M Duke, T Duke, Alf Davies 58 7/8.
There were a plethora of NTP's:
1st: Men - J House, Ladies - Nil.
3rd: Men - S Brindle, Ladies - B Duncan.
9th: Men - S Sallaway, Ladies - G Bayley.
18th: Men - P Mitchell, Ladies - S Grierson.
Most NTP sheets only had a couple of names on them, but the 18th had four names, indicating the ever encroaching proximity to the hole.
The Pro Shop Super-Pin, played on the 9th hole, went to Shane Sallaway, where his ball finished just a little over 2 metres.
As a challenge there was also:
2nd shot to 12th: Men - Liam Fraser, Ladies - S Grierson.
The organisation by the Can-Assist committee included operating the Halfway House, providing a bbq lunch, and coercing money from players for raffles. All this was very fruitful, returning some monies to the Can-Assist. Those that benefitted from these activities were:
Raffle:
1st - Gaye Bayley (Wheel Alignment), 2nd - D Sly (Fuel voucher), 3rd - B Smith (Sydney - quilt), 4th - J Hamilton (Quilt).
100 Club: Winner: - Will Gunn.
This format from golf can ride high on individual good performances, or sink to the depths with a team misfire. Some teams had an uphill battle with only three, and in one case two, players on the team. One team did not feature in the results because they left their score card on the cart and forgot to hand it in.
But this does give a team four opportunities to 'get it right' for each shot. The count for scoring 2's was 21, with the 3rd hole being the most prolific with 11. The 9th hole only yielded 5, while the 18th gave up '3', a result of the keenly fought NTP attempts. The 1st hole was a pleasing start for Jeff House and his team, to join the winners as the only two teams to score well on that hole.
With four opportunities to make a good shot the worst score on any hole was a '6'. But too many of these can hurt your score, as you need to be on or under par to do any good. One team decided that it was better to enjoy the comfort of the Golfie rather than wander the course. This was a good decision after they had started with three 8's and then a couple of double-digit scores.
At the Presentation organiser Andrew Grierson was enthusiastic with his thanks to the sponsors and to the players, and very pleased with the participation. With revenue from participation, raffles and food sales the likely benefit to the Can-Assist is in excess of $3,000, although an actual final amount is yet to be calculated.
He especially thanked The Forbes Fire Brigade who donated $750 towards Can-Assist, and which made the gift cards very attainable. Other sponsors were Jelbart Dawson Tyres, Gunn Golf who sponsored the NTP's and the FGA. He also thanked the Golfie bar staff for keeping people hydrated. And thanks also to the tireless work of the Can-Assist committee, both for this event and for their work within the community.
There were no participants in the Stableford Medley's on either Sunday or Monday.
Here is the News:
There has been quite a deal of tree management work undertaken around the course. The removal of trees around the course has been to address safety issues with dead trees, while removal of trees around some tees is aimed at improving grass growth on the tees. Some of these 'gaps' may assist a few wayward shots.
Over June there are a number of Championship events scheduled for both Men Ladies calendars. The first of these is the 4BBB Stroke Championships, with the Foursomes Championships on the following weekend.
The Mens LVDGA Championships are being held at Condobolin on Sun 16 June. These are contested for both Individual and Team honours. Numbers for those representing from Forbes are disappointing. At the close of nominations there were 110 nominations from the LVDGA clubs.
The Tee Time sheet will be available at the Pro Shop from Wed 12th. Tee times are set for the period from 9am - 11 am, with a two tee start so please check your details. Contact Mens Captain Steve Betland if you have any questions.
The Wallace Cup competition for 2024 has been cancelled through a lack of nominations. We needed at least 16 players for this to be a worthwhile event but we had less than eight nominations. The sponsors were reluctant to support this event, instead electing to sponsor other Daily events later in the year. WE shall try again in 2025.
The Membership Renewals for 2024-25 have been distributed. These can be paid either by direct credit to the FGA, or at the Pro Shop. If you have any questions about your invoice or wish to make changes please contact Secretary Steve Grallelis.
It is crystal ball time:
Saturday 15 June has the 4BBB Championships, with both Scratch and Handicap contested. These are kindly sponsored by HG Duff & Partners. Sunday has the LVDGA Championships at Condo, and a Stableford Medley at home.
On Sat/Sun 22/23 June we have the Foursomes Championships, sponsored by FINDEX. Choose your partner well.
VETS GOLF
The 'boys' from Parkes Veteran Golfers certainly made the right call early on Thursday cancelling the twin towns weekly competition with rain early in the morning then continuing all day.
While no rain last Tuesday conditions were closer to snow for the 12 hole social players with the evergreen Dennis McGroder driving from the tee like a 'Betland' for 29 points.
Only 10 faced the ball toss with one scratching where runner-up was Peter Scholfield on 27 then Dave Rhodes and Barry Shine back on 26 points each.
Best for seven was the coffee at Rotary Park after where a dozen problems of today were solved. However, 20 or more surfaced.
Be part of this weekly tradition simply by being at the Pro Shop from 9am for the ball toss, then coffee after if interested.
On the agenda for vets will be the twin towns 18 holes stableford on Thursday in Forbes, noms from 9.30am for a 10am shot gun start. Forbes will then host the monthly Lachlan Valley comp the following week.
Seeing we have little to report today how about a tip from our friendly Forbes resident professional, Will Gunn ... Free Grip Check.
When was the last time you got new grips on your clubs?
Your grips are the only part of the golf club you touch every time you make a swing. Having good grips is crucial to performing at your best.
Golf grips wear over time due to a number of factors, including; sweat and oils from your hands, UV rays, dirt and hot & cold conditions.
As grips wear they will start to feel slick and lose traction. It is recommended that grips be changed once a year to maintain the best traction. If you play once a week or hit the range multiple times a week you may need to change more frequently.
Next time you play, have a look at your grips and ask yourself if they feel slick, look worn or are starting to crumble. If you are at all concerned, bring them in, or give me a call, 0475765840, and I can check them for you.
Don't let worn grips stop you from playing better golf.
Ladies Golf
By The Birdie
Wednesday June 5th was a 4BBB v Par sponsored by Bernie Horan Builders. Winners of this match were the pairing of Debbie Tilley and Wendy Simmons. Carding +8 with next Bests pair Linda Cowan and Ann-Maree Gaffney with +6. Ball winners were Linda and Ann-Maree, Heather Davidson and Robin Lyell. Only Linda Cowan managed a nearest to the pin on the 9th. Ladies matches set down for play this week include on Saturday June 15th the Carolyn Duncan sponsored 4BBB Scratch and Handicap Stroke Championships, NSW Bowl 4BBB Stableford Comp. Wednesday 19th, Stroke and is the 4th round of Golf NSW Medal sponsored by Robb's Jewellers with play in 2 Divisions. Rug up and get out there, Good Golfing everyone.
