VETS GOLF What is considered a first in twin towns vets golf surfaced last Thursday with Parkes member Ian Hendry scoring a hole-in-one on the 192 metre 1st in Forbes but more likely 175 metres from the white marker played off last week. When asked did he see the ball go into the hole, Ian had a simple answer, ‘yes, it landed short then one bounce and roll into the hole’. Simple. It wasn’t all good news for the newly crowned ace as he finished with an eight on the 15th hole after playing the 16th as his first hole due to the ‘shot gun’ start. This time Ian scored an ace except it was in the ‘puddle’. And it told, read on. Adding to the excitement of the playing group involving Ian were fellow club member Peter Bristol along with Forbes representatives Andrew Grierson and Bruce Chandler, who collected the encouragement award. It did not stop there. Bruce stopped what could would have been another record as six of the Parkes players sat at the bottom of scoring before his late arrival. One of these, ‘The Rooster’ from New Zealand wasn’t sure who should collect the ‘burner’ for last as he was one in the count-back sitting on a solid 23 points. All in good fun during Thursday twin towns vets golf. There was a winner, none other then hard working Forbes president Peter Barnes who spoil a good day for Ian Hendry beaten on a count-back after both played to their handicaps scoring 36 points. Nearest the pins to Forbes reps in A grade - 9th Scott Andrews and 18th Kim Herbert. No B grade player was able to find the surface on either green. With 21 players to choose their best six individual scores Forbes on top in the twin shield shield 209 points to Parkes’ 186 from 10 representatives. Balls weep to 30 points - 35 Andrew Norton-Knight, Barry Parker, Niel Duncan, Alex Mackinnon (all Forbes), 33 Lex Hodges (P), Alf Davies (F), 32 Rod Staples (P), Ross Williams, Steve Uphill, Scott Andrews (F), 31 John Dwyer (P), Frank Hanns (F), 30 Allan Rees, Barry Shine, Steve Edwards, Jeff Moon (F). Thursday’s play will be in Parkes with noms from 8.15am for a shot gun start at 9am. All vets invited to play. On membership to vets golf Peter Barnes stated on Thursday that 72 shirts engraved with the Forbes logo and vets membership have been ordered and will be seen around the course sooner than later. A positive for the game locally and beyond. MEN'S GOLF By SHORT PUTT Once again hot, sunny weather bathed the Forbes golfers on the weekend and once again the golfers rose to the challenge and produced some very low scores. On Saturday, the Mens Competition was the February Monthly Medal, sponsored by Terry Bros Carpets. The field comprised 68 players with most keen to utilise the cooler conditions early on to give themselves the best chance of a good score. The A-Grade was won by Cam McMillan whose nett 68 was just reward for a few weeks of good scores knocked down by the occasional blemish. Cam recorded 38-38 showing no favours for either half, although a flourishing finish with a ‘2’ was well received. This round he had no big blunders with his worst hole being the 4th where he recorded a double-bogey, after starting with three pars. Runner-up was Brad Ashton (69 nett) in what has become a regular ‘bridesmaid’ effort. He scorched around the front-9, making birdies on both the 6th and 7th holes. And he was travelling comfortably on the back-9 sitting square with the card after 17 holes. But a few mind games ensured he wildly hooked his tee shot off the 18th to near the 15th green, ultimately finishing with a bogey and missing the Medal. The B-Grade was a case of everything coming together for Sandy Paterson. His 66 nett was his best score for some time, and this time there were no helicopter shots. What was out of character were double-bogey and bogey on the 6th and 7th holes. But other than those it was a delightful day of handicap golf with the occasional par nuggets to bring a smile to his face. The B-Grade runner up was Terry Sharpe with his nett 70. He enjoyed his outing and the company which ensured he was relaxed throughout his game. He was so relaxed that on the 15th he attempted an ‘Alf Davies special’ by playing driver off the deck – and it worked! The result was a mere par but nevertheless he had a broad smile on his face. The C-Grade produced the best score of the day when early player Anthony Boshoff posted a 65 nett. He won the voucher but unfortunately was not eligible to win the Medal but was unperturbed. Anthony has recently moved to Forbes and joined the club. He is relishing the challenge and determined to improve week by week. He had a tidy round helped by finishing both halves with pars. The C-Grade runner up was Rob Scott with 73 nett. While seemingly a long way back it was a case of three bad holes otherwise marring a sound performance. Triple-bogeys on the 6th and 7th holes, coupled to a double-bogey on the 15th, were most definitely blemishes on the card. The ball sweep went to 74 nett on count back, going to: 70 – J Anderson, S Sallaway, C Byrnes; 71 – B Everest, S Betland, B Parker, A Dukes; 72 – S Uphill, P Dawson, S Kirkman; 73 – A Alley, D Bayly, Alf Davies; 74 – T Morgan, T Callaghan, A Quirk, W Gunn and J Coulthurst. The visitor was Kyle McGinty from Tally Valley GC in the Gold Coast. He was well used to the temperatures if not the lack of humidity. The NTP’s went to: 9th – A Dukes; 18th – T Cogswell. This was the second month that Andy nabbed an NTP and this time he converted for a ‘2’, unlike Tony Cogswell who missed his. There were eight 2’s with a nice one on the 1st hole by Joel Anderson and a smooth one by Pete Barnes on the 18th whose shot finished barely centimetres outside Tony’s. The 3rd hole Super-Pin went to Cam McMillan to cement a good day for him. His shot to 275 cm went unrewarded unlike that of Barry Parker who was outside Cam but snaked his long put for a ‘2’, the only one on that hole for the day. There were a number of regular players who usually do not feature but this week enjoyed and excelled themselves. Brian Everest featured among the B-Grade leaders, with unkind comments suggesting it was his mode of transport which assisted his game. Pete Grayson shared some limelight in the C-Grade with Brian Clarke not far back. Shane Sallaway had a good day with he sticks shooting a par round alongside Pete Dawson and H/Pro Will Gunn. Clouds do have silver linings. Pete Barnes did well in the early stages of the front-9 being only 3-over after six holes. Then he ‘did his handicap’ in just two holes. His 8’s on both the 7th and 8th were huge stumbling blocks. On the 15th he hooked his tee shot away onto the 10th fairway. Then with no care in the world he played an outstanding shot over the trees to prime position on the 15th fairway and ready for a shot at birdie. There was no birdie but the fish had to swallow a large white orb. Andrew Dukes was looking for a repeat performance of last week and would have produced that if the putter in his hand worked. But it did not. Putting was certainly a problem for the many players with 9’s on their cards. But not for Mike Prior where putting saved him from calamity on the 7th hole. It was the tree and OB which contributed to his ’11’ but his putting was okay. The shortest hole does produce more than its fair share of dramas. Frank Hanns was pleased to stay in single figures with his ‘9’ being a combination of water and bunker problems. Al Rees also found the bunker there quite difficult. A beautifully executed bunker shot gave him a comfortable two-putt but only after three previous swinging attempts to get ‘off the beach’. There were not enough players to hold a Stableford Medley on Sunday. Here is the News: The men’s Pennants teams began their quest in the CWDGA Pennants for 2025. Both of our teams this week were playing Parkes at Duntryleague. SUMMER SIXES By SMOOTH SWINGER Round 12 of the sponsored Forbes Golf Club Summer Sixers competition was played under conditions very similar to the past few weeks. But for whatever reason the scoring this week was quite difficult. Most teams managed to record a score but many of them would have hoped for something better. This gave the chance for a few other teams to grab the limelight. In Group 1 the best score was made by The Duffers who managed 103, who took revenge on Blackridge Hire. Dragoness had a comfortable win as did Globe Hotel. Group 2 had a few close results. Gunn Golf (106.5) edged past GHAE (109.5) while The Foxes (104.5) nudged out Forbes Auto (1-8.5). EHAG had an easy win and Flip Floppers had the bye. Group 3 had four scores within a point of each other. Murray’s Mates (110) ousted LITT and Southside Swingers )110.5) were too good for Midpro. Liv (109) were very lucky to head off HD&SI (110). The lowest score in Group 4 was made by Sandbaggers (103) who knocked off F-Troop. The other winners were Six Appeal (108), Still Trying (103.5) and Part Time Putters (110) also recorded wins. The Rnd 12 Best member nett score was made by Sarah Black (Duffers) with 31.5 and on count back from Ricky Nikolic. The best non-member nett score was made Dylan Biles (Top 5) with 28 nett. He is certainly a hot player. The ball sweep went to 35 nett. As usual balls for members will go onto their account while Non-members can get theirs from the Pro Shop. Maybe playing in hot weather is taking its toll, but then good fluid intake and much team member support will raise the performance levels once again. Remember, swing easy.
