MEN'S GOLF By SHORT PUTT On Saturday the men's competition was the November Monthly Medal, sponsored by Jelbart’s Tyrepower, in which a field of 71 enjoyed sunshine all day to produce good scores. But it needed a better than good score to win the medal. The A-Grade was won by Harry Callaghan with a nett 69. He was determined to do well having been spotted practising beforehand and even managed to get a good night’s sleep. He had an indifferent start and turned on 39 scratch. His back-9 was exceptional, being a string of pars until his bogey on the last for a scratch 37. He was pushed all the way by his playing partner but showed him a clean set of heels. Runner-up was Kailab Tyne with a tidy 71 nett. He had bookends of par 3’s for his round, in which his only real blemishes were double-bogeys on the 2nd and 4th holes. He did surprise himself, having recently flown back from the UK where he was a member of the team representing Australia in the World Amateur Pool Championships. His keen eye helped in his putting. The B-Grade results were like a Phar Lap race. Winner Peter Barnes, with his nett 64, was streets ahead of the runner-up David Quirk who only managed a 71 nett. Peter will definitely need swabbing as he has carried a muscle injury for some time, which he claims caused his poor recent form. But nobody can contest his near brilliant 37 on the front-9. Runner-up was Dave Quirk with his nett 71. He had a fairly consistent game with 43-42, but was let down terribly by his putting. The C-Grade winner managed to clip his recent run of ‘excessive strokes’. Liam Fraser enjoyed the company of his ‘mentor group’ to score a tidy 71 nett. Runner-up was Elliott Parker, who had travelled down from Parkes for the day on nett 75. The ball sweep went to 76 nett on count back, going to: 71 – D Quirk, D Mylecharane, C Byrnes, L O’Connor; 73 – A Grierson, B Ashton, S Paterson; 74 – P Pymont, T Cogswell, R Hetherington (Pks), A Dukes; 75 – O Patterson, K Sanderson, P Tisdell, Alf Davies, P Murphy; 76 – C McMillan and P Kay. There were a number of visitors from Parkes, whose course was closed due to the hosting of the NSW Country Championships. The Parkes players included – R Hetherington, I Phipps, C Goodsell, P Smith, J Kuntze, C Dunn, B Coultas, G Thompson, E Parker. There was also Neil Howell (Lakes Entrance) who was heading home. There was a group of friends that included: Jamie Peterson (Yowani), with Ken Crocker, Larry Kearney and Ollie Crocker all from Crookwell. They were steered around the district by Graeme Thompson (Pks). The NTP’s went to: 9th – Ben Coultas (Pks); 18th – Jake LeBrocque, with only Ben converting for a ‘2’. There were ten 2’s scored, with the 9th being most prolific despite the pin being tight behind the bunker. There were three on the 18th and only one on the 3rd. The Pro Shop Super-Pin, held on the 3rd hole, went to Steve Grallelis. His shot finished at 123 cm distance, and he did convert for a ‘2’. Visions of a classic high arching shot were dispelled when he caught the ball with the bottom grooves, whence it flew low, bounded a number of times and rolled onto the green. But the putt was solid! One player who enjoyed the walk down the middle of the fairway in sunshine was Barry Parker. He was attired in ‘sartorial elegance’ that would have been close to winning a ‘Gary Player Look-alike’ contest. But for a man who had just turned 80 he still cuts a cool path on the fairways. Belated Congratulations ‘Scadger’. There was no Stableford Medley on Sunday. Here is the news: The NSW Country Championships were held at Parkes GC. This is an Individual 36-hole stroke event with an Inter-Teams event held in conjunction. The Individual event was won by Cooper Giddings (Dubbo) with a score of 133. His most recent success was a win in the Forbes Nissan Classic held last weekend. Runner-up was Ethan Harvey (Kiama) with 135. Forbes’ John Betland finished fifth overall on 139. Unfortunately the Lachlan Valley Team did not do well, with many of the players struggling on the Parkes layout. Steve Betland managed 150, Peter Dawson 154 while Shane Sallaway and Aaron Wilkie both scored 155.The teams event was won by Illawarra with a score of 573, compiled by the four best scores on each day. H/Pro Will had a successful Callaway Golf Equipment Day yesterday, Wednesday. If you missed out and were still interested then contact him at the Pro Shop. We head into the drier summer months now, so be sure to ‘slip, slap, slop’ and all the other things. There is sunscreen provided at the 1st hole, and soon the 10th hole, and plenty available in the Pro Shop. It is crystal ball time: This Saturday, November 16, is an 18-Stroke sponsored by Loomzy’s Fish N Fix, and also the Annual ‘Medal of Medallists’ event, sponsored by Lachlan Commodities. Those players who earned a medal between Dec 2023 and Nov 2024 are eligible for the ‘MoM’. Sunday has the Stableford Medley for those that want an extra game. SUMMER SIXES By SMOOTH SWINGER Round 3 of the sponsored Forbes Golf Club Summer Sixers competition saw many teams continue this season’s theme of competitive scoring. While it is early days yet, after Round 3 some strong teams have risen to the top of their respective leader boards. Only six of the 27 teams remain undefeated, with Group 2 being dominated by Gunn Golf. Those teams who are yet to register a win are playing the waiting game, ready to surge forward in the latter parts of the comp. Most players are doing the correct thing and entering their ID number and team on the card, but a few still need reminding. With this week’s results players also received a copy of the ‘Summer Sixes Rules’. These closely follow the usual rules of golf but there are some differences aimed at keeping the enjoyment levels up. But you must all abide by them. The big winners in the third round were Walkers AgnVet (96.5) who raced past Grant Howell AE (101.5) who thought they had a handy score. Also with a big win was Bogey Boys (98.5) over The Duffers (105.5). The Rnd 3 best member nett score was made by Joe Nicholson (Bogey Boys) with 31 nett. The best non-member nett score was made Brett Stace (Six Appeal) with 30 nett. Look out! The chop is coming. The ball sweep went to 35 nett. Balls for members will go onto their account while non-members can get theirs from the Pro Shop. There were a couple of close encounters. Gunn Golf snuck past Flip Floppers by a half point, while Still Trying did the same over Part Time Putters. There have been a number of sub-103 rounds, which earns the team an extra half point. We shall see how that shapes up as the comp progresses and the handicaps tighten. So far in the comp there has only been one draw. That was in Round 1 between Still Trying and Six Appeal who both recorded 99.5! The early glory is a good tonic, but there is a long way to go. Make sure you all keep swinging. VETS GOLF In one of the closest finishes for some time only one point separated five players at last week's twin-towns veterans golf competition played at Forbes. Three players finished on 37 points and another two on 36 with local Peter Barnes getting the decision on a count-back from team mate Ken Sanderson. Another Forbes player Adam Andrews was the unlucky one of the trio and had to settle for a ball in third place. On a good day for golf only 26 players competed - 15 from Forbes and 11 from Parkes - with Forbes taking the team honors by 216 points to 198. Forbes dominated the nearest-to-pins with Kim Herbert the A grade winner on the 18th hole and Frank Hanns the best in B grade on the ninth. Parkes' Graham Cooke won the encouragement award. The ball sweep went to 34 points and the winners were: 37 points - Adam Andrews; 36 - John Dwyer (P) and Les Little (F); 35 - Barry Parker (F); 34 - Rob Lea and Nym Dziuba (P) and Scott Kirkman, Alf Davies and Frank Hanns (F). After play Forbes players voted to join Parkes vets in starting all twin-towns events over Spring and Summer at 9am with registrations taken from 8.30. This week it is back to Parkes for the 18 holes. It was also only a small field last Tuesday in ideal conditions with nine starters where Barry Shine came out on tops with 27 points from the in-form Ken Sanderson and the sweet swinging Dennis McGroder next best posting 25 each. LADIES GOLF By THE BIRDIE Our ladies results begin with the Bokeyar Electrical sponsored Stroke, Monthly Medal and Putting Comp. Division 1 winner was Janet Smith with 75 nett. Division 2 winner Julie Wood with 77 net. Monthly Medals were won by Jennifer Fletcher in Division 1, Janet Smith in Division 2 and Julie Wood in Division 3. Ball sweep winners: Jennifer Fletcher, Heather Davidson, and Ev Uphill to 77 nett. Nearest to the pins were Heather Davidson on the 9th and Alison Kingston on the 19th. Heather was also the winner of the putting comp. Saturday November 9 was 18 Holes of Stableford sponsored by Jessica’s Beauty & Wellness. Our worthy winner was Veronica Rebellato carding a lovely 40 points over runner up Sharon Grierson with a nice 38 points that on any other day would have been a winning number. Ball sweep winners were Sharon Grierson and Wendy Simmons. Nearest to the pins were Sharon Grierson on the 9th hole and Colleen Venables on the 18th. Matches set down for play this week include on Saturday November 16, Stroke, sponsored by Kate Steele-Park in two divisions. Medal of Medalists this year sponsored by Walkers Ag-N-Vet. November 20 is Individual Stableford Sponsors: Grace’s Hair Studio and Taryn’s Beauty Therapy with play in two divisions.
