MEN'S GOLF By Short Putt The weekend produced not only settled and sunny weather for golf, but also inspired the golfers to outstanding performances in the culmination of the Club Championships. The Lachlan Commodities sponsorship for these Championships once again enticed many players to participate across the four days of competition. The Saturday field had 59 with some players required to skip the day due to family commitments, while the Sunday field was still healthy at 43 players. Unfortunately the huge number of flies encountered on the course did not join the competition so they cannot be included in the field numbers. The blue ribbon event is of course the A-Grade Scratch. The seeded draw on Sunday saw John Betland, Steve Betland, Peter Dawson and Reggie Murray playing head to head. The course was set up well with some challenging pins placements but low scores were there for the taking. Reggie did well, as a Junior playing alongside the undoubted champions in the club. His play on Sunday was more even than Saturday’s play, but he still managed to play to his handicap. Most eyes were on the Betland brothers, and they witnessed some unusual shots made by the two of them. John had the better score on Saturday but on Sunday was uncharacteristically over the back with many of his approach shots. Steve did well on Saturday for his 73, but on Sunday was a little untidy around the greens. Meanwhile Peter ‘Ecky’ Dawson was playing a steady game, minimising mistakes and slipping along quietly. His 1-over par on Saturday had him in good position, and he started well on Sunday with a ‘2’ on the 1st. He capitalised on the errors by others and snuck out to a handy lead, finishing with a 69. This gave him enough to be the Champion by two shots from Steve Betland. The A-Reserve turned into a tussle between Stephen Uphill and Phil Duke, with Anthony Alley and Jordan Wright along for the ride. Phil shot a final score of 83 that was three better than Stephen and grabbed the trophy with an eventual two shot margin. The B-Grade looked to be a close contest after day 3. Niel Duncan, Brett Thomas (defending Champion), Jacob Reid and Ken Sanderson had a spread of three shots across them, but they had the leader Paul Kay in their sights on two shots ahead. Niel played exceptionally well to claw back Paul’s lead, posting an 88 on the last day. Paul, Brett and Ken posted 91’s while Jacob had a 93. This gave the Trophy to Paul by one shot from Niel Duncan. The C-Grade was also a tight contest. After Day 3 Nick Morrison (287) led from Nathan Roach (288), Lachlan Alley (298) and Archie Quirk (304). They each had a ‘blow up’ hole during their round, but the excitement was with Archie Quirk as he plundered pars endlessly in trying to run down Nick. He closed the gap to only seven shots. But at the front it was good mates Nick and Nathan we clubbed equally, with Nick holding his one shot lead to the end. The full results in each Grade are: A-Grade Scratch: P Dawson (293), S Betland (295), J Betland (297). A-Reserve Scratch: P Duke (344), S Uphill (345), T Griffiths (350). B-Grade Scratch: P Kay (350), N Duncan (351), B Thomas (353). C-Grade Scratch: N Morrison (383), N Roach (382), A Quirk (388). Vets Scratch: P Dawson (293), P Duke (344), S Uphill (345). Junior Scratch: R Murray (307), A Quirk (388), L Alley (408). The Handicap results threw up some unexpected winners. R Murray took the A-Grade by 6 shots from P Dawson, B Thomas edged past K Sanderson by two shots to take the B-Grade, and N Morrison finished well ahead of A Quick in the C-Grade. The Vets Handicap went to K Sanderson. On each day there was a Daily Comp played, sponsored by the Events Committee. The winners did spring a few surprises from individuals, as forecast last week. The Day 3 results are: Div-1: Winner Tim West (69 nett), Runner-up Anthony Alley (71 nett). Div-2: Winner Nick Morrison (69 nett on c/b), Runner-up Brett Thomas (69 nett). The NTPs went to: 9th – S Betland; 18th – Alf Davies. Steve converted but Alf missed. There were six 2’s with most being scored by Div-1 players on the 3rd and on the 9th. The Super Pin was won by Jarrod Hall (Trundle) who fired to 260 cm away. And he missed the conversion. He was among the first group in the day but nobody could break his mark all day. The ball sweep went to 75 nett on count back, going to: 70 – P Wells; 71 – C McMillan; 73 – O Patterson, P Kay, H Callaghan, P Dawson; 74 – R Murray, S Sallaway; 75 – J Wright, J Reid, C Alley, S Betland, K Sanderson, G Hooper. There were two visitors in the field – Jarrod Hall from Trundle, who is visiting quite often, and our own Jack Elliott (Parkes) – testing his own work. The course played long after the rain a few days before. Reggie Murray had a good front-9, aided by Grandpa Shine on the bag. Stevie G tried a ‘hero shot’ on the 7th to avoid some trees but managed to find the OB instead. And Charlie Dwyer found too many trees for his liking. The Sunday scores were definitely better with drier fairways and smoothly running greens. In fact the only bug-bear across the weekend were the flies, which were very persistent! It was a day when heroes were made and errors cut the runners down. The Day 4 comp winners were: Div-1: Winner Jayden Pendleton (69 nett on c/b), Runner-up Peter Dawson (69 nett). Div-2: Winner Archie Quirk (62 nett), Runner-up Nick Morrison (70 nett). The NTPs went to: 9th – Archie Quirk, 18th – Steve Grallelis. Archie converted his and added another on the 18th, while Steve G missed his but grabbed one on the 9th. They were among the seven 2’s recorded. This time it was the Div-2 players who grabbed the most with three coming on the 18th. The Super pin on the 3rd was snaffled by Brett Thomas, with his shot finishing inside the ‘approximate general range’ at 173 cm. And his was the lone ‘2’ on the 3rd hole. There were some stories to be told. Paul Kay thought his day was done when he OB’d on the 7th after his well struck, low trajectory shot rose fractionally and hit a branch. From there it shot like a bullet across the fairway and OB. But he recovered well. Greg Webb found the bunker on the 9th. His determination to escape the sand was met with a flier over the green, with a return chip only making things worse. Here is the news: Members are reminded of the FGA AGM to be held upstairs in the ‘Golfie’ on Wed 30 Oct. If you want to nominate for the Management Committee please have a completed nomination form to the Secretary by 23 Oct. The Events Sub-Committee AGM will be held on Tue 5 Nov, in the meeting room of FGA House. Give Nominations to the Secretary Steve G before the day please. The 2024-25 Summer Sixes comp commenced this week with 26 teams competing. It is a mix of established teams and new teams but each has the intent to have fun. Thank you to those players who managed to get handicapping cards in. It helped immensely. Do not forget to grab a copy of the FGC ‘Summer Sixes Competition Rules’ from the Pro Shop, and read them so that you can play correctly on the course. Good luck to all. Another reminder of a change to the format for the event scheduled for Sat 26 October. This will now be a 4BBB Stableford Aggregate Medley. Each person in the team of two will record their stableford score for each hole. At the end all scores will be totalled up. The Mixed Foursomes Championships will be played on Sun 27 Oct. Some ladies are looking for partners so speak with H/Pro Will and arrange a partner. The more entries increases the chances of fun. The Forbes Nissan Classic follows on the following weekend. Get your name onto the time sheet in the Pro Shop. It is crystal ball time: This Saturday, 26 October, is the 4BBB Stableford Aggregate Medley, sponsored by Todd Callaghan Painting. The Mixed Foursomes Championship will be held on Sunday 27 Oct, so Social golf will be restricted to the afternoon.
