MEN'S GOLF By SHORT PUTT On Saturday the Forbes golfers were excited to play on very much improved surfaces and showed their pleasure by posting very good scores. The Medal winners excelled in their play with each of them finishing on the same score. The Monthly Medal competition was sponsored by the events committee. The field comprised 61 players with most of them abuzz with the excitement of the rugby league grand finals to be played on Sunday. Their excitement flowed over into their scoring. The A-Grade was won by Andrew Dukes with a nett 66. He struck the ball well and was not too displeased with a scratch 37 on the front-9 after a bogey-birdie start. His back-9 was very steady with one birdie and one bogey among the pars until the last hole. On the 18th he converted his good tee shot for a ‘2’ and finished on scratch 35. The A-Grade runner-up was Adam Currey on nett 68 who got there on count back from two others. He was coming off a bit of a break and while feeling quite fresh did not expect much. On the front-9 he started with four bogeys but was happy with that, finishing the front-9 well. His back-9 was much the same and made quite pleasant by a birdie on the 11th. He was very surprised with a 40-40 split and more than happy with his game overall. The B-Grade was a bit closer but in the end it was Barry Parker who took the medal with his nett 66. He was a bit untidy on the front-9 where he only scored three pars. He was pleased that one of those was on the 7th. His back-9 was more fruitful with more birdies and a very good finish to par the last three holes. His 45-40 split earned him a good nett score. The B-Grade runner-up was Alf Davies who produced a very tidy round to score a nett 67 and get the nod on count back from Fons Melisi. He managed a 40-40 split with pars on all the par-5’s. While not pleased with his finishing stretch of three bogeys his main complaint was to finish as ‘bridesmaid’ for a medal on two consecutive outings. The C-Grade produced a similar story with both the winner and runner-up having very balanced games. Brett Woonton took the medal with his nett 66, compiled on two halves of scratch 44’s. Most pleasing in his game was the absence of any major hiccups. That is until the 17th where a triple bogey caused him to suspect he had blown his good work away. The C-Grade runner-up was Adrian Cole who had a very similar game to Brett to score a nett 70. His aim was to minimise any dilemmas which he did quite successfully except for one hole. On the 7th he managed a ‘Bo Derek’ (or double bogey). His end result was a 45-45 split wherein if he had managed a par on the 7th he may have taken the medal. But golf is full of ‘what if’s’. The best scratch score of the day went to Steve Betland with 68. He managed a tidy split with 34-34. His front-9 was helped by an eagle on the 2nd hole but he scored birdie-bogey on the other two par-5’s. His back-9 was a display of par golf with a flourish at the end with two birdies. The ball sweep went to 70 nett on count back, going to: 67 – F Melisi; 68 – A Matthews, P Dawson; 69 – T Morgan, S Betland, P Kay, A Carlisle, B Ashton; 70 – J Reid. The visitors in the field were Stephen Grant and Stuart Hayes (both from Murrumbidgee) and Brett Thomas (Links Shel Cove). The NTP’s went to: 9th – Niel Duncan: 18th – Ted Morgan, both of whom converted for a ‘2’. There were eleven 2’s overall with the 1st hole and C-Grade missing out entirely. The Super pin on the 3rd hole was won by Cooper Byrnes. His tee shot to 360 cm was the only record on the card. As he was in the second group of the day it looked like the majority of the field were aiming at the wrong green or maybe their shots were affected by the wind. Unfortunately, he did not convert for a ‘2’, while others outside his range did. Within one round of golf a player can experience many different emotions. This can extend from the satisfaction of a job well done when paring each of the par-3’s as Todd Callaghan had done. Or it can be the sheer frustration of not knowing how anything happened when posting a high score on a hole as Todd achieved with his ‘14’ on the 7th. There was a moment in Dale Page ‘s game when he thought he should not be on the course. This happened to be on the 2nd tee after he wrote down an ‘11’ for his score on the 1st hole. However, he stuck with his game and while he eventually ‘raised the bat’ he did manage to par the 9th and birdie the 15th as small achievements through the day. The 7th hole once again was the speed bump for many players. Four players barely managed to avoid double figures on that hole by scoring a ‘9’ with a number of 8’s close behind. The 15th was an easy hole by comparison with but one ‘9’ and two 8’s being the worst scores recorded there. It did yield seven birdies, most of which were scored by B-grade players. And for those interested in a little bit of statistics we answer the question – “How easy are the par-3’s?”. The 9th, 3rd and 18th each recorded par or better for just under half the field with 29, 28 and 27 scores respectively. With so few names on the Super Pin and NTP sheets these holes must be easy to ‘get up and down’ on. The 1st recorded only 13 pars or better, understandably. There was no play in the Sunday Stableford Medley. Here is the news: Sunday was a busy day for head pro Ellesha Michie with the first of her clinics scheduled in September taking place. More sessions to come but very encouraging to see so much support. H/Pro Leesha is establishing contact with the equipment suppliers. There is an ‘ONYX’ fitting and demonstration day scheduled for Tuesday 29 September. If you haven’t heard of this brand come down and try some out. A Taylor-Made fitting day is in the wind also. The Pro Shop has a small stock of ‘Sports leisure’ and ‘Greg Norman’ shirts. Have a browse on these and place an order for your size and colour. This weekend has the playing of the Parkes Open and the Bogan Gate Open. Parkes also has a 4BBB event on Friday. On Sunday 27 September we shall be staging a Golf NSW 2-Person 9-Hole Ambrose event. The entry fee is $13 plus a G-NSW Fee of $5.00 per pair, or $2.50 per player. Prizes are sponsored by Local businesses. Put your name on the time sheet. This event replaces the G-NSW KENO 4-Person Ambrose that was played for many years. The 2-P 9-Hole event is a competition run across the State. The best 12 scores will be invited to play at the Vintage GC prior to the staging of the NSW Open. It is crystal ball time: This Saturday, 12 September is an Individual Par event sponsored by Everest Auto Repairs. Sunday has a Stableford Medley. VETS GOLF Scores in twin-towns vets golf last Thursday were extremely good despite the Forbes layout in the middle of an extensive renovation program. Cored and sandy greens made putting a lottery at times but this was complemented by tees ‘up’ from regular positions due to works which will have them, and the whole course, in prime condition now that spring is in the air. All this did not stop Forbes’ Alf Davies back to his best where the talented "lefty" stated after he was happy driving extremely well backed by success on the sandy greens scoring six over his handicap for 42 points. Also finding the course to his liking was Parkes' Tony Hendry the day's runner-up and five over his handicap for 41 points, while not so happy with his game was Forbes larrikin John Milton with the encouragement award but happy to tell he did birdie the 4th hole. Due to the ‘shortened’ course the ball sweep only went to 34 points – 40 Gordon Pritchard (P), Ted Morgan (F), 38 Ross Williams, Adam Andrews, Andrew Norton-Knight (F), 37 John Fowler (P), Andrew Grierson (F), 36 Max Haley, Niel Duncan, Les Little, Barry Parker (F), Steve Grace (G’fell), 35 Rob Staples (P), Kim Herbert, Steve Uphill (F), 34 Don McKeowen, Barry Shine and Steve McAlister (F). Nearest the pins, all Forbes - 9th A grade Allan Rees, B grade Steve McAlister, 18th A grade Alf Davies, B grade no one hit the green in one. With 41 players - Forbes 26, Parkes 14 (one visitor) the reign of Parkes as twin-towns champs was short lived with the host club from their best six individual scores posting 233 points to Parkes 216. Thursday’s twin-towns is back to Parkes with noms from 9am for the usual 9.30am shot gun start. Parkes will then host the next Lachlan Valley 18 holes on September 17 which will incorporate the LVVGA Championships. Talk on Thursday after golf centered on three major points: 1. All players take a sand bucket and repair divots; 2. Bend the back and repair pitch marks; 3. Slow play, remember the principle is . . . keep up with the group in front, not ahead of the group behind.
