GOLF

By SHORT PUTT

In a turn around by the weather forecasters the Forbes golfers did struggle to set the course alight. In conditions that can only be described as ‘Melbourne-like’ the scores were lower than expected which led to close challenges for the prizes.

The golf competition was an Individual Stableford, sponsored by Knight’s Fabrications. The field of 53 players was down on numbers where players may have been wary of the forecast unhelpful weather conditions.

While it was blustery the rain was short and sharp with a short period of lingering moisture thereafter, but it soon cleared with only the wind for the golfers to contend with.

The Div-1 required a count back to determine the prize winners after three players finished on 37 points.

The winner was Shane Sallaway who played power golf to score 20 points on the back-9. A bogey start on the front-9 was disappointing, but it was followed by a string of 2-pointers to settle him down.

This was followed by a bogey on the 11th which was more than compensated for by three 3-pointers which included a birdie on the 15th and a host of 2-pointers to round out his day.

The Div-1 runner-up went to Warwick Judge. His front-9 was quite steady with two 3-pointers, one bogey and the remainder 2-pointers to have him smiling at the turn.

His back-9 was a roller-coaster but a 3-pointer to finish gave him an even-handicap back-9 which helped in the count back.

Unlucky to miss out was Clayton Alley. He started in great fashion with a fiery front-9 that earned him 22 points. It included a string of four 3-pointers including a birdie on the 6th.

Alas his back-9 was beset by a cold putter, and he lost all momentum and any chance of a prize.

The Div-2 winner was Steve Rogers with 39 points. He got off to a good start with a 3-pointer on the 1st and maintained his form to score 20 points on the front-9 despite a ‘miss’ on the 8th thanks to the trees.

He scored one par on the front and a birdie on the 6th. His back-9 also started with a 3-pointer and his steady played rewarded him with 19 points despite tree trouble again but this time on the 16th. He did enjoy his par on the 15th to win the KENO ticket.

The Div-2 runner-up was Al Rees with 37 points. He could do no wrong on the front-9 turning with 21 points. If there was any blemish it was a lone 1-pointer on the 8th.

His back-9 was frustrating in that he could only score two points on each hole and not convert any for 3-pointers. But 17 points was a good return after a 1-pointer on the 13th came ‘out of the blue’ and a missed par putt from close range on the 17th meant only 2-points.

The ball sweep went to 33 points, going to: 37 – C Alley; 36 – B Slack-Smith, P Murphy, Alf Davies, A Quirk; 35 – G Newport; 34 – D Quirk, P Wells; A Dukes, P Dawson, A Alley, A Ruperto, B Turner. There was one visitor – Brendan Turner (Parkes) who enjoyed a homecoming to Forbes.

The NTP’s went to: 9th – Caleb Hanrahan; 18th – Shane Sallaway of whom only Caleb converted for a ‘2’ and 2-points due to his handicap. Overall, there were five 2’s with the 3rd and 9th having two each and ‘Big Shane’ converting on the 18th.

The super-pin was won by Fons Melisi who did score a ‘2’ after sending his shot to 263 cm from the hole. His was a well calculated shot that used the wind to ride the ball unerringly to the green.

The only other ‘2’ scored on this hole was by Bruce Chandler who fashioned a ‘non-textbook’ shot followed by a canny putt.

Apart from the weather faced by the golfers on Saturday the next challenge was the trees. The ‘Golfie’ was full of malady following encounters with the trees. Steve Rogers seemed to be encircled by them on the 2nd but still managed to find two points.

Both Laurie O’Connor and George Falvey managed to get their approach shots over the water on the 15th but both found the trees on the left and both had awkward recovery positions. Laurie had to be careful he did not fall backwards into the water while George had to peer around the trees to get his line.

And then Stevie G had an unaccustomed encounter with the trees. Because of his affinity the ball usually finds an uninterrupted pathway through the foliage or around the stem. But on the 12th it did not work. He hit the first big gum on the left in middle stump and watched his ball rebound almost to the Ladies tee. And his score? A missed putt for a 1-pointer.

The game of golf has good sides and flip sides. On the flip side Pat Murphy struggled on the opening hole where his chipping to the green covered more miles than Burke and Wills. But on the good side he did par the 7th for the first time.

Another with good and flip sides was Todd Callaghan. On the flip side he found the conditions tough but on the good side he managed double-digit points on each half, but only just.

With the difficulty that golf presents it is always a joy when there is good fortune. Scott Kirkman played his tee shot on the 3rd to the left to use the wind. But the wind died and his ball was targeting the moon.

However, it descended quickly and struck the Super-Pin marker from where the ball rebounded onto the green towards the hole. It finished just outside the recorded distance of the current Super-pin winner, but then good fortune only goes so far.

This is the timing for returning golfers. George Falvey ventured onto the course after an absence of nearly five months. He surprised himself with his consistency off the tee and was quite tidy generally around the greens. The back-9 was his ‘Waterloo’ as he lost impetus as the day wore on.

Also returning was Shayne Staines who enjoyed the company of Tony Cogswell and Fons Melisi. Shayne was hampered by his historical handicap but still managed to get some good shots away. He finished each half with pars so was quite pleased.

Here is the news: The Forbes golfing community and the community at large are saddened by the loss of club stalwart Greg Webb. Greg passed away last week after a long illness. He will be missed by all those who knew him.

Greg was an above average golfer who enjoyed the camaraderie and social aspect as much as the golf itself. The Club wish all the best for his family.

Last Sunday Archie Quirk and Liam Fraser participated in a NSW Junior event held at Duntryleague. It was not a good start for Liam but at least he and Archie played in the same group and could be comfortable. Results are not to hand.

We also have our ears open for the progress of Niel and Carolyn Duncan who are competing in the KENO 2-Person Ambrose at Bonville. It is a full-on program with novelty play beforehand, two days of competition and fun-filled evenings.

The 1st Round was held on Monday where they scored a nett 71 and lie in 9th position and only 7 shots off the lead. Having played the course they look to improve in their 2nd round. They will be coming home for a rest.

It is crystal ball time: This Saturday, 6 December, is the Monthly Medal event sponsored by Stephen Uphill. There will be a Stableford Medley on the Sunday.

SUMMER SIXERS

By SMOOTH SWINGER

The sixth round of the Forbes Golf Club Summer Sixers competition saw winning scores range from the very good to the ‘lucky us’. But the two unbeaten teams continued their good run notching up another victory each and by hefty margins.

This week the best teams in each group were: Gp 1 – Birdie Babes (94.5) d Liv Golf; Gp 2 – Duffers (105) d Elders Insurance; Gp 3 – Bump and Rums (98) d Southside Swingers; Gp 4 – Sandbaggers (96.5) d Part Time Putters.

The closest win was in Gp13where Flip Floppers (110) triumphed over Walkers AgnVet (113.5). Gp 1 also saw the only draw with Murrays Mates and Gunn Golf both finishing on 107.5.

Four teams managed to score below 100 with two in the same group. One of those (Forbes Auto) just scrapped in with a 99.5 and welcomed a return to historically good scoring. LITT sat on 100 points but still earned their half-point for team score.

The leaders in the groups are Gp1 - ‘Still Trying’ by a hefty margin, Gp 2 -Globe Hotel and Flip Floppers tied still, Gp3 – ‘Bump and Rums’ well ahead, and Gp4 – Sandbaggers leapt over Part Time Putters. The volatility in the tables seems to be fading away.

Who can stop Still Trying and Globe Hotel who remain the only unbeaten teams thus far? Maybe their fortunes will change after the festive season break. But it will take a good effort.

Best Individual scores for Week 6 were: Members – Tom Whitty (Birdie Babes) 25.5 nett, and for Non-Members – Terry Hodges (LITT) 30.5 nett. Both scores were instrumental in their teams having big wins.

Here’s hoping you all do well in the ‘Bonus Points’ round this week where performances are worth double points. Maybe fortunes will change.

VETS GOLF

Steve Uphill was the player with the magic touch at the twin-towns veterans golf competition played in Parkes last Thursday when his 42 points over 18 holes left the field in his wake.

In was a near perfect display in somewhat testing wind conditions at times by the Forbes veteran who had two points to spare over team mate and runner-up Ken Sanderson.

His 40 points would normally get the money and win would have been a good lead in to his 55th wedding anniversary with his lovely wife Jenny the next day.

However Ken did get some consolation winning the A grade nearest-to-pin on the fourth hole, while team mate Les Little was closest in B grade. No A grader threatened the green on the 11th hole, but Steve Edwards showed how it was done winning B grade and giving Forbes a clean sweep in the NTPs.

The day attracted 28 players - 14 from Parkes, 13 from Forbes as well as North Queensland visitor Jonathan Dean from Cardwell who put together a tidy 33 points - with Forbes again victorious in the twin-towns shield by 226 points to Parkes' 212.

Parkes did have some reason to celebrate with John Fowler winning his second successive encouragement award and hinting that three-in-a-row could be a possibilty at Forbes this week.

The ball sweep went to 35 points with winners as follows: 37 - Don McKeowen and Peter Grayson (F) and Rob Staples (P); 36 - Barry Shine (F) and Rob Lea (P); 35 - Nym Dziuba and Lyndsay Elliott (P).

This Thursday is the annual Christmas Party with a ‘bakie’ after play which will be held in Forbes. Local president Peter Barnes has put out a call for players to support the day.

"Excellent prizes will be on offer after the mystery 4-ball aggregate draw for partners which will take place after play," he said. Registrations will be taken from 8.45am for a 9.30 shot-gun start.

Also there for the taking on December 18 under sponsorship from Woolworth Forbes and Forbes Scrap Metal (Les Little) will be Christmas hams as trophies in the 2-person ambrose with players to select their own partner.

Last Tuesday the coffee after play had plenty of discussion on current affairs where new arrivals headed by David Earl were entertained with criticism from so called experts.

Despite many away with harvest 13 played the 12 hole social comp and just as entertaining came with after play talk of good and not so good scoring. Good was the fact the ‘punters pal’ John Milton only played nine holes to be beaten on a count-back as winner by Barry Shine after both scored 26 points.

No so good was the colourful Andrew Norton-Knight posting three pointer after three pointer early and mid round only to collapse in sight on the winning post as did a coupe of others all finishing a single point from the count-back.

By now most will have read the following very well written and submitted by Ted Morgan on Friday.

Well known and popular local identity Greg Webb died last night after a long and debilitating illness.

He will be missed by all those who knew him.

He is especially well known to the golfing community having played the sport since his youth.

He was a well above average golfer who enjoyed the camaraderie and social aspect as much or more than the golf.

We wish all the best to his family who have been a wonderful support during his illness.

NOTE - Greg’s funeral will be held on Monday December 8 from 2pm at St John’s Anglican Church followed by a private cremation.

LADIES GOLF

Ladies play last Wednesday was Stableford Mulligan sponsored by Deb Dingwall and it was also cake day.

Winner on the day was Colleen Venables with 39 points with next best Kerry Stirling with 37.

Ball winners were Kerry Stirling and Deb Dingwall.

Pin winners were Jen Fletcher on the 9th and Colleen Venables on the 18th.

Saturday 29 November was Stableford sponsored by J Ridley in 1 division.

Jill Cripps was the winner with 39 points on count back from Sarah Black with a matching 39 points.

Ball winner was Ev Uphill.

Pin winners were Ann Simmons on the 9th and Jill Cripps on the 18th.

The matches set down for play this week include Saturday 6 December is our Monthly Medal and putting comp.

Sunday 7 December is the Ladies Christmas Luncheon to be held down stairs at the clubhouse.

Wednesday will be Stableford.

Until next week, good golfing everyone.