GOLF

By SHORT PUTT

With good weather forecast the Forbes golfers were keen to get out and post a decent score. Some afternoon storms arrived earlier than expected but some players relished the wet conditions.

Saturday was the staging of the February Monthly Medal, sponsored by Michael Robinson & Co.

The field of 53 players was down a bit but some players were preparing for the Pennants final to be played on Sunday. It was good to see three juniors in the field.

The A-Grade Medal was won by Josh Coulthurst with a nett 69.

Although he had a bogey-bogey start followed by a few more bogeys scattered through the front-9 he turned with a reasonable score.

He sprung into action on the back-9 with two birdies to counter four bogeys. His best play was during the sudden downpour of rain making him a ‘rain buddy’.

The A-Grade runner-up was Dean Fairley with a nett 72. His front-9 was also a mixture of scores but he capped it off with a ‘2’ on the 9th.

His back-9 was tidier with only two 5’s on the card and both of those bogeys. This put him in a good frame of mind for Sunday’s Pennants Final.

The B-Grade had a couple of winners but neither of whom could claim the Medal. Phil Maher took the voucher prize with a score of nett 69. His front-9 was almost faultless turning on level par but he had a few ups and downs along the way.

He was well pleased with his ‘2’ on the 9th. His back-9 had a bit of colour in it, especially after scoring a ‘7’ on the 12th hole. Then the rolling thunder followed by a downpour of rain on the 17th upset his concentration. What score might he have had?

The B-Grade runner-up was Dave Hodder with 70 nett. He was under his handicap on the front-9 with steady play and a snowman on the 7th. His back-9 had no calamities but the putts refused to drop in the hole.

The B-Grade Medal went to Jono Roylance who had his trademark good round despite not having played for a while. A birdie on the 7th felt good but not so the ‘double’ on the 12th.

The C-Grade saw the best round of the day when Cam Herbert posted a 64 nett. With a few good rounds lately he is expecting his handicap to drop suddenly but he is enjoying the golf. His front-9 saw a ‘snowman’ but this time on the 2nd. His back-9 was very steady with no ‘escaping scores’ but likewise no ‘pearls’ either.

The C-Grade runner-up was Matt Duff who had a nett 74. His game was ‘either/or’ throughout. He either had a roughie hole or he had a good hole but nothing much in between. He started and finished each half with 4’s but it was bitter sweet as three of those were bogeys.

The ball sweep went to 75 nett on count back, going to: 71 – J Roylance, P Barnes; 72 – D Page, F Melisi, A Dukes, C Alley; 73 – R Grayson, K Tyne, K Sanderson; 74 – P Pymont; 75 – T West, D Burton, C Hanrahan. There were no visitors.

The NTP’s went to: 9th – D Burton, 18th – P Dawson. Dan was the only one to convert for a ‘2’. Putting was quick tricky which led to very few 2’s being scored. There were only four in total with all being scored on the 9th despite it being a tricky pin. Only four of the A-Graders names were on the sheets with a combined handicap total of ‘9’. Interesting maybe?

The 3rd hole Super-Pin went to Jeff House with a shot to 124 cm. He impressed himself with his tee shot but did think it was going to drift too far right. But it swung, landed softly and rolled a little past the pin. Unfortunately, he missed his ‘2’ but was happy to reflect that it was another Super pin earned in two weeks. His dilemma is what to spend his money on.

Following on from the recent Taylor-Made Equipment Day there were some timely deliveries of new clubs. Dale Page used his new irons to good effect to score a nett level par. But he did say they will take some work still.

Another recipient of new clubs was Randall Grayson who was keen to put his newly aligned ‘sticks’ into play. While he did not ‘shoot the lights out’ and finished on 73 nett he felt very comfortable with the new weapons.

The greens were very slick with solid putts towards the hole skating well past in many instances. Some tentative strokes with the putter unerringly faded away from the hole. No doubt this led to the very few 2’s and good shots into the green seemed to be not rewarded by a dropping putt.

Despite the putting there were some good scores. The ‘B’ and ‘C’ graders used their handicaps to post more than their fair share of par or under scores. And there were those who could have sent skyrockets into the sky with a very low score if only the putts had dropped.

Captain Three-putt had numerous birdie chances degenerate to double-bogeys. Golf is hard enough without the putting trauma as Scotty would put it nicely.

Jeff House voiced the opinion of many when he ventured into the Pro Shop after 9-holes, looking for a ‘Packet of Putts’. He needed to buy something to help his game.

Despite the fast greens the latter part of the field had other concentration problems. It can be quite unnerving when a player takes his stance to play a shot or putt and then hear the fierce rumbling of a cloud build up. This may have led to rushed shots, and especially on the 18th when the sanctuary of the ‘Golfie’ beckoned as the rain tumbled own.

Here is the news:

The Men's Pennants teams travelled to Wentworth to contest the Div-1 and Div-2 Finals. Having gone through their round robin games undefeated they were confident but not overly so. Their opponents in both Divisions is Dubbo who can boast some strong Western Plains Talent.

The Div-1 team had a very close and hard-fought encounter but lost by 1-4 games. Peter Dawson managed a win but the others fell down. Team Captain Caleb was keen to score something but lost on the 18th after the overall result was decided.

The Div-2 team had a similar hard-fought battle but eventually went down by 1.5 to 3.5. Dean Fairley finished an excellent season with a win. Team Captain Dan Bayley was close but agreed to halve his match after the result was already decided

While it was a difficult finish to the season the Forbes club and the players can be very proud of their achievements. They dominated their groups in their Pool and all team members showed their commitment to be available and perform to their best. Maybe next year we can field a team in each of the four divisions.

Unfortunately, this means that Dubbo has one over us in the sports arena, but as one player was heard to say: ‘Not good enough on the day’.

The Pro Shop is operating well although the merchandise stocks are down a bit. But you have until April to use your Pro Shop account and take advantage of the Sale being offered.

The management committee are in the throes of seeking a new Head Pro. Interviews will be conducted soon with the hope to have a new Pro on board by early April.

It is crystal ball time:

This Saturday, 14 March, will be a 4BBB Stableford, sponsored by SGB Signs, with an Individual comp played in conjunction. And there is the usual Sunday Stableford Medley comp.

PENNANTS GOLF

Forbes representative golfers may have left Wentworth GC on Sunday after losing out to the strong Dubbo club in the Central West District Pennants competition finals contesting Divisions 1 and 2 but all is not lost as they entered the final playing one of the ‘hottest’ golf clubs in country NSW.

Undefeated before Sunday Division 1 went down 4/1 while in Division 2 it was 3.5/1.5.

Still all representatives can still hold their heads high having made the finals from Pool 1 before clashing last Sunday with Dubbo, winners in Pool 2. In Division 2 Forbes were also undefeated, as were Dubbo.

The pennants tournament is just the start for the local players with plenty of majors still to be contested including the much sort after club championships set down for October and the Nissan Classic in November. In between it is sure the players who took part in the pennants will figure prominently over all grades in the other championships matches.

Scores in Division 1 – In playing order, team caption Caleb Hanrahan lost 1 down to Cooper Giddings; Steve Betland lost 4/3 to Pat Wilson; John Betland lost 2/1 to Metthew Glesson; Shane Sallaway lost 4/3 to Dayne Gardiner; Peter Dawson won 1 up playing Zac Gooch.

Division 2 – In playing order, captain Dan Bayley all square with Aaron Etcell; Archer Quirk lost 5/3 to Wes Giddings; Andrew Dukes lost 5/4 to Ron Willis; Dave Mylecharane lost 5/3 to Blake Ellis while Dean Fairley won 1 up playing Nathan Peckham.

Parkes, led by Twin Towns super vet Peter Bristol (winning 1 up) won Division 3 4/1 over Mudgee while in Division 4 it was again Dubbo with a 3/2 win over Cowra.

SUMMER SIXERS

By SMOOTH SWINGER

The first week of the finals for the Forbes Golf Club Summer Sixers competition saw feverish activity towards the end of the week as teams strived to produce a good score. This resulted in some cases with some very tight scores.

In the Group 1 Main Draw LIV Golf (98) produced the best round of the week and pushed Gunn Golf (111.5) out of the comp. Still Trying (102) knocked off the Pool winners Murray’s Mates (102.5) by a mere whisker to earn a week’s rest. The Plate Draw sees Optimists and Birdie Babes play right through to week 3.

Group 2 Main Draw winners had an easier time. Flip Floppers (104.5) flew ahead of Duffers (110) to get a free week. Elders Insurance (103.5) knocked Globe Hotel (109.5) out and will face the Duffers. The Plate Draw sees Walkers AgnVet and Lenny’s Lawn Care have two weeks to post a good score and the winner face Haig’s Heroes in the third week.

In Group 3 the Main Draw saw table toppers Bump and Rums (106) keep ahead of F Troop (113) who tried valiantly but faltered. Southside Swingers (106.5) put paid to Midpro (108) who now drop out. In the Plate Draw both Six Appeal and Bogeys on Batties have three weeks of play.

Group 4 Main Draw saw second placed Shankaholics (105) nip past Sandbaggers (106.5). Forbes Auto (108) ended the run of Part Time Putters (111.5). The Plate draw is very interesting with a full field. HD&SI (115.5) got an extra week by beating EHAG. LITT (137.5) ended the comp for Motley Crew but will find stiffer competition against EHAG.

The best member score was by Randall Grayson (LIV) with 30 nett doing well for his team. The best non-member score of 31 nett was by Isac Stewart (Southside Swingers) to help get them through. The ball sweep went to 35.5.

For those teams with multiple weeks to post a score you can play as many games as you like to ensure a good result. The Plate final is played through the final week while the main draw grand final must be played on Sunday 29 March.

Please note that the presentation night will be held on March 29. We need to know who is coming for catering so please let the Pro Shop know.

LADIES GOLF

Wednesday 4 March 4 begins our ladies golf calendar year.

A nice field contested our first match with Kate Steel-Park taking the win by three strokes over Heather Davidson.

Ball winners for this match were Heather, Jill Cripps and Jenny Hubbard.

Nearest to the pins were Jill Cripps on the 9th and Jennifer Fletcher on the 18th hole.

Saturday’s Stableford match was won by Sharon Grierson with a score of 36 points from next best Brianna Duncan.

Brianna was our first ball winner alongside Eve Uphill, Deb Tilley, Heather Davidson and Jennifer Fletcher.

Saturday's match resulted in no lady golfer being able to hit the green on either the 9th and 19th holes.

Looking forward matches set down for play are on Saturday 14th the Blush sponsored 18 hole stroke being the first round of Golf NSW Medal in one division and Wednesday 18th also a stroke match being the first round of the mid week golf NSW Medal, monthly medal and putting comp plus Dropout Stableford sponsored by Flannery’s Pharmacy with play in two divisions.

Good golfing everyone.

VETS GOLF

 He did a superb job cooking the ‘snags’ after vets golf played last Thursday in Parkes so it was only right that local member Lindsay Elliott won a three-way count-back to collect ‘the chocolates’ scoring 38 points.

It was superb back-nine that got him home from runner-up Rob Staples and one of the few Forbes visitors in Warwick Judge.

Ball sweep to 34 points - 38 Warwick Judge, 37 Ian ward (P), 35 Alex Mackinnon (F), 34 Richard Hamilton, Peter Bristol, Mick Bond, Warwick Wright (P). The like-able John Pearce from Parkes collected the encouragement award. They say a reason being he hosted his brother Don from Duntryleague Orange.

Nearest the pins, and all Parkes players - 4th Joe Davies (A), Tony Jackson (B), 11th Peter Bristol (A), Catch Kelly (B).

Only 27 players last week, 16 from Parkes who won the twin towns with 215 points from Forbes, only nine reps for 196 points. Ex-Parkes resident Peter Townsend now from Kempsey was another visitor reportedly enjoying the outing.

“Where are your players?” was asked by a Parkes official to the few Forbes players. Reply, “In Orange,.” “Doing what” was asked, “Medical.” As they say, all part of growing old.

Twin towns golf on Thursday in Forbes, noms from 9am for a 9.30am shot gun start. The following week Forbes will host the Lachlan Valley Association 18 hole comp.

Last Tuesday naturally no play in the social 12 hole comp where 50 plus mls (in some areas a lot more) of rain was welcomed in the Forbes district.

Looking for a game any Tuesday, be at the Pro Shop for the ball toss at 9am and your in. Coffee to follow if interested.