MEN'S GOLF By Short Putt On Saturday the sunny weather coupled to a gentle breeze ensured the Forbes golfers were comfortable in their play. This undoubtedly contributed to very good scores that cluttered the top of the leader board with many teams on the same scores in the high 40’s. The men's competition on Saturday was a 4BBB Stableford event, sponsored by SGB Designs. The field of 67 players included three juniors and a plethora of steadfastly focused players. The winners were the pair of Clayton Alley and Liam Fraser with 49 points. Individually they played to their handicaps but their success was in their combination. They managed no less than two points on each hole with two 4-pointers and nine 3-pointers proving very beneficial. But their success was in their combination. For example, Clayton did not score on the 6th or 7th holes but Liam carded a 3 and 4 pointer there. Liam scored best on the front-9 with 18 points while Clayton took charge on the back-9 with 21 points. Runners-up were Jeff House and Steve Grallelis who arrived home with 47 points. This was a case where Jeff carried on his good form of last week while Steve chimed in with a good score on the rare occasions when Jeff stumbled. And did all this even though they did not score on the 2nd hole. They amassed four 4-pointers and six 3-pointers with only a single 1-pointer and of course the blackout on the 2nd. Steve managed a 4-pointer on the 2nd putting pressure on their opponents to match the score and not drop behind in the ‘Keno Contest’. Jeff managed three birdies and an eagle on the front-9 to set the day up. The winner of the Individual Stableford comp run in conjunction with the 4BBB comp was Jeff House. His 41 points was a testament to his good play all day and headed a promising junior in Archie Quirk by three points. The ball sweep went to 42 points, going to: 46 – S Paterson/D Quirk, C Byrnes/A Boshoff; 44 – P Murphy/c McMillan, J Reid/M Simmons; 43 – L Whitfield/C Neilsen; 42 – C Banks/H Callaghan, D Burton/D Mylecharane, S Betland/T West. There was one visitor – Cooper Neilsen (Bathurst) who enjoyed his day by picking up a ball in the sweep and an NTP. The NTP’s went to: 9th – G Hooper; 18th – C Neilsen. Cooper managed his ‘2’ from ‘a bit of a distance’ but Glen watched his attempt slip past. Overall there were eleven 2’s, with the 9th being easy meat and the other par-3’s sharing the rest. The two 2’s on the 3rd came from the same group, while the two on the 1st went to Caleb Hanrahan and Brad Ashton to cap off very fine tee shots. The 3rd hole Super-Pin was a ‘you don’t have to draw a picture’ experience for those in the group watching. Tony Cogswell still needed a few holes to warm up and arrived on the tee a bit tight. His tee shot struck the ground not far ahead of the tee, avoided the dam and bounced its way onto the green. The resulting shot finished only 98 cm from the pin. His putt for a ‘2’ was under pressure to halve the hole when one of his opponents sunk a long range putt also for a ’2’. But Tony was successful. The best Individual Scratch score was 71 scored by Steve Betland and Caleb Hanrahan. Unfortunately hampered by their handicaps and with partners who could not capitalise on this consistent play they finished well down the order. In this format not only must the players in each team mesh together but at least one of them needs to be consistent. Examples of this were Caleb Hanrahan on the back-9 with a run of 4’s interspersed with a ‘3’ and a ‘6’, David Rhodes with his eight 5’s and a lone ‘6’ on the back-9, and Brad Ashton also on the back-9 with eight 4’s and a ‘5’ on the 17th. There were some excellent shots to rival the ‘chip-ins’ played by Aussie’s Min Jee Lee in the recent LPGA tournament. Bruce Chandler found himself on the hillock to the right of the 10th green with his ball in thick grass. No worries for a chip-in par. Then there was the eagle scored by Jeff House. He was beside the 6th green in two and in the longish grass. A smooth swing resulted in the ball popping out, landing on the green and smoothly running into the hole. Not to be outdone Caleb Hanrahan found the same green in two and slotted the putt. Many groups have a wager on the ‘KENO’ as the trophy for their match. One group started well squaring the 1st hole. The 2nd hole proved a challenge for all players in the group. The end result of this hole was a square after none of the players scored any points! Sometimes individual shots make up for a game beset by mishits and blunders. Tony Cogswell found himself on the western side of the practice fairway to play his 3rd shot to the 16th green. With but a narrow gap through the branches of the big gums near the green he struck his ball with confidence, through the gap, onto the green and rolled past the pin. Unfortunately the return putt was not of the same standard. As a last word we say farewell to Digit McAuliffe. He heads to Cowra for time with his son before heading back to Thailand. There was no play in the Sunday Stableford Medley. Here is the news: On Sunday 16 Mar H/Pro Will is running a ‘Jack Newton Junior Golf – Juniors on the Move’ event. This is intended for those junior players aged between 9 and 12 who do not have a handicap, commencing at 9 am. The event will be played over nine modified holes with rules to foster enjoyment. Any parent with a child who is interested in playing golf should get them along. Contact Will at the Pro Shop for details. The Finals of the CWDGA Mens Pennants were held on Sunday and proved a bonanza for the Mudgee Club. They won the Div 1, 2 and 3 Finals with Dubbo snaring the Div 4 Final. The Mudgee club have proven very strong for several years and showed their strength this week. A Callaway Equipment Demo day was held on Wednesday 12 Mar. Head Pro Will was pleased with the attendance while the players were impressed with the new gear. More equipment days will be held later in the year. It is crystal ball time: This Saturday, 15 March, will be a 4-Ball Ambrose Medley, sponsored by Forbes Rugby Union Club. This is the Sanderson Memorial event which is now part of the regular Club competitions. Non-handicap players are welcome to play but under handicap limits. Sunday has a Stableford Medley comp and the JNJG event. VETS GOLF With a host of players way for personal and medical reasons plus a dozen Forbes members playing on the South Coast only 23 took to the Parkes golf course for the twin towns weekly competition last Thursday. After enjoying winning the twin towns shield the week prior the host club was brought back to earth with their best six individual scores from 12 reps totalling 205 points to Forbes’ 216 points out of 11 visitors. There were two visitors. The course was well presented, however the sandy greens due to maintenance tested most but it did not deter Forbes players taking all honours. Winner with a creditable 39 points was Ted Morgan from Ken Sanderson next best on 38. Keeping it in the ‘stable’ Allen Res took home the encouragement award. Nearest the pins - 9th A grade Ken Sanderson (F), B grade Gordon Pritchard (P), 11th A grade Rob Cheney (P), B grade nil. Ball sweep to 33 points – 36 points Rob Cheney (P), Barry Parker (F), Alex Mackinnon (F), 35 Gordon Pritchard (P), Barry Shine (F), 34 Lindsay Elliott (P), John Fowler (P), Peter Grayson (F), Alf Davies (F), 33 Brian Bourke (P), Rob Staples (P), Nym Dziuba (P), Dale Stait (P), Peter Jackson (Port Macquarie). Twin Towns 18 holes on Thursday in Forbes, 8.30am noms for 9am shot gun start. More vets the merrier, see you there. As mentioned above a dozen Forbes ‘senior’ golfers were testing their skills on South Coast courses which took away from the Tuesday 12 hole social comp with only nine facing the day’s starter, the one and only Alex Mackinnon, that’s Mack…. The BG scribe reports winner was Barry Parker with 27 points who also faced testing his fitness with the remote buggy breaking down after playing the first hole. Thank goodness for motorised buggies. Next best Ken Sanderson and Barry Shine on 25 points from Reggie Murray 24, The rest only a shot or two behind. Tuesday ball toss at 8.30am, ‘comp fee’ only $3. Everyone invited to play. Brief results from the trip to the rich 36 hole Murray Downs Senior Golf Tournament which attracted over 200 players contested two weeks ago. Best out of 14 representatives was Alf Davies runner-up in the 36 hole 74 years and over division. Our reps took in their own comp played over five days. Day 1, Murray Downs - Peter Jackson (brother-in-law to Alf Davies) with 34 points. Day 2, Murray Downs – Alf Davies two over par for 40 points. Day 3, Tocumwal – Brian Doyle, 34 points. Day 4, Tocumwal – Niel Duncan and Peter Dawson 36 points. Day 5, Narrandera – Steve Uphill 36 points. Overall for the five days play, Peter Dawson and Peter Jackson. LADIES GOLF The first Wednesday comp day for 2025 saw a good turnout of ladies including one visitor despite the conditions still being quite warm. An early start saw the field beat the heat with most players being in by midday. The Individual Stableford event was sponsored by Acheson’s Mitre 10 and Garden Centre and Loomzy’s Fish and Fix in two divisions. Ev Uphill was the winner of Division 1 with 33 points while Debbie Dingwall was the winner of Division 2 with a very good 36 points. Ann-Maree Gaffney, Lyn Kennedy and Jenny Fletcher were winners in the Ball Sweep which went to 31 points. NTP’s went Heather Davidson on the 9th and Debbie Dingwall on the 18th. Saturday May 8 was a Stroke Event and first round of the Golf NSW Medal and the Mabel Mackenzie Brooch. The Event was sponsored by Blush in 1 Division. Winner was the in-form Ann-Maree Gaffney with a nice round of Nett 69. Robin Lyell was the winner of a ball in the Ball Sweep while Veronica Rebellato on the 18th was the only NTP. Well done to all players and thankyou to our sponsors. The Sanderson 4 person Medley Ambrose is on next Saturday March 15. Next Wednesday March 19 is an Individual Stableford in two divisions sponsored by News on Rankin. Good luck to all players in the finals of the Sixes Competition. Don’t forget to get your name in for the dinner. Free for registered Sixes players. Happy Golfing. SUMMER SIXERS By SMOOTH SWINGER The final round, being round 17 of the round robin competition in the sponsored Forbes Golf Club Summer Sixers competition was played with the leading teams in each group cementing their position for the Major Draw of the Finals. Most matches across the groups went according to form but there were a couple of upsets in Groups 3 and 4. The leading contenders in Group 1 had wins with Bogey Boys (102.5) recording the best score to push the Dragoness down to fourth spot. Group 2 had a similar situation with Gunn Golf (102.5) having the best score and pushing Flip Floppers into fourth spot. Group 3 had an upset when fourth placed HD&SI (101) returned the best score in defeating second placed LIV. Murray’s Mates and Southside Swingers had comfortable wins. The lowest score in Group 4 was made by Part Time Putters (93.5) which held Still Trying in third place. The bottom placed team Top 5 (101.5) shocked second placed Six Appeal (104.5) with a win, and fifth placed Up to Par held F Troop back in fourth place. The Rnd 17 best member nett score was made by Jett Rudd (Bogey Boys) with 31. The best non-member nett score was made Jackie Davenport (Part Time Putters) with 27.5 nett. 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. The finals draws commenced this week with the top four teams in each group contesting the Major Draw and the bottom teams contesting the Plate Draw. Details are available at the Pro Shop but basically it is a knockout format where you can play as many games as you like to ensure the best score. Details are at the Pro Shop. Also remember to advise the Pro Shop if you are attending the dinner. The hard stuff starts now.
