The B grade win went to Warwick Judge, who scored a 70 nett on count-back from Ian Bown. Warwick is the ever calm quiet achiever and despite a seven on the fourth hole he had two very good nines. Runner-up was Ian Bown (70) who carried on some recent good form.

The C grade saw the lowest nett score of the day. John Gunn took those honours with a nett 69. Having recently returned to golf he was excited with his form, although mindful that his handicap may change somewhat. Close behind on 70 nett was Albie Callaghan, who surprised himself with a good front nine. 

The ball sweep went to 73 nett on count-back, being distributed to: 69 – J Gunn; 70 – W Judge, I Bown, A Callaghan; 71 – T Morgan, R Webb, S French, P Maher, D McAuliffe, R Smith; 72 – D Mylecharane, M Cartwright, G Webb, M Andrews, P Barnes, F Hanns, P Dawson, D Rhodes, R Besgrove; 73 – M Collits, S Uphill, G Collits.

The NTP’s went to: Ninth – D Mylecharane; 18th – R Webb. The twos were few and far between.

The third hole once again coughed up the most, perhaps because of the incentive of the Pro Shop Trophy for each grade. None of the C graders scored any, while only one of the NTP’s was converted.

There were two visitors, Craig Galvin (Kwinana, WA) was visiting his grandad, Milton Cartwright, and enjoyed the game. He managed a 79/75 with hired and borrowed clubs. Graeme Hausler (Coolangatta-Tweed Heads) played a round also. He loved the fairways, but found the trees a bit daunting.

Fun on the greens, at one end of the scale we have monumental bombs, and example of which was Craig Barrett’s putt on the fifth, for birdie. It was at least 55 foot long, carried over a hump but in she went.

Reconcile that with Richard Nixon’s putt for three footer on the 17th. It was across the slope and struck with authority and entered the hole as it should. Then it hit the back edge of the cup and bounced out, settling some inches away.

It is well known that Stevie G likes his trees. Sometimes he gets a bit too close. On the 14th hole his errant tee shot finished against a large tree on the left. It was too large to wrap his arms around to play a shot so he had to twist and bend to fit the curvature and fashion a recovery shot of some skill.

Ian Bown has been in good form, and hoped it would carry through this weekend into the Pennants the next day.

In this round Ian hit fantastic drives, but just could not convert the good start to good scoring, although he did finish runner-up. It is good to see some returning. Les Little and Morrie Westwood enjoyed their game, if not the score. But they are both agreed that they will improve. Morrie certainly wants to relinquish the ‘Bradman Award’. Welcome back guys.

Another ‘returnee’ is Adam Andrews. He provided satisfaction to Ash Tucker, by having a drive on the first tee only a few feet shorter than Ash’s. It is also good to see the new players establishing their game. Joshua Coulthurst has started well with low scores, and kept good form with a nett 74. Keep it going.

February 4 the regular Stableford Medley was played. The winner was Scott Kirkman with 35 points, on count-back from Ray Taylor. There was no Ball sweep, but the NTP’s were good. On the ninth it was Barb Drabsch, and on the 18th it was Mike Wood. Also in the field was Steen Hansen, from Palmerston GC, and becoming quite a regular here.

The Pro-Shop comp, which played through the week was light for numbers this week.  It was an all-Lady contest. The winner was Kerry Stirling with 37 points, finishing quite a way ahead of Julie Hurkett on 33 points. Unfortunately there was no ball sweep, and no NTP’s in this comp.

Here is the news: Forbes teams started the CWDGA Pennants with some success, where three of the four teams recorded wins from the first Round, held at Duntryleague. This should give them a boost for next week’s round at Bathurst.

The Division 1 team romped home with a 4/1 win, the Division 2 team had a 3/2 win, and the Division 4 team a 4/1 win. Unfortunately the Division 3 team lost 3/2, with many matches quite close.

In Division 1 the guys recorded easy wins, returning to the clubhouse real early, but Shane had tough competition only to gallantly lose 4/2. The Division 2 team can thank Cameron McMillan for their win. His 2/1 cemented the victory, with wins also to Kim Herbert and Pete Cowhan.

The Division 3 team were a little unlucky. Dave Rhodes almost had it but finished 1-down. Ian Bown could not capture his recent form and Niel Duncan pushed his opponent all the way. The cagey play by both Peter Grayson and Peter Barnes earned them wins.

The Division 4 team had one match go the 19th, where Mark Watts won with a steady par. Troy Howe had an easy trot (6/5) and Stevie G was successful 3/2, as was Richard Smith. Garry Pymont encountered a player in form, unfortunately losing.

Simon at the Pro Shop is looking for kids in the five to 12 years old range to participate in an Introduction to Golf programme. Pro Shop 0403 871 700.

It is crystal ball time: February 10 we have an 18-hole Stableford comp, sponsored by Troy Howe Electrical. That should spark you up. Sunday is the Stableford Medley. February 17 we have an 18-hole Stableford event, followed by a Par-3 Championship, open to all players, on the Sunday.

In the ASI Capital sponsored Super Sixes golf comp fourteenth round, the players were keen to do their best and take advantage of the ‘double points’ round. By playing well the players hoped to snare a win and leap ahead of their opponents.

The best Members score of the round was made by Ian Bown who was Tiger-like in his play to score a nett 28.5. Vince Aitken took second place with 30.5 and Jennifer Horan was third on 31. The best Non-members score was recorded by the redoubtable Garry Fordham (30), with Rod Duncan close behind on 31 and Bev Williams taking third with 32.5.

In the team results there were two results under 100, and both won their matches. The best in Pool 1 was Golfie Pub (103.5), while Pool 2 had ‘Hit n Miss’ with 94.5 (which may be a comp record). Pool 3 was led by Postie Top Six on 98.5, and Pool 4 saw F Troop jump up with a score of 101.

The score by ‘Hit n Miss’ was a real team effort with their three best players within cooee of each other. Maybe they should have spread the talent across more rounds? However, most teams were within the 103-112 range, making things quite competitive.

Pool 1 – Ash Tucker, Marie Read, Phil Dukes, Barb Drabsch, Martin Cahill, Terry Sharpe, Heather Davidson.

Pool 2 – Ian Bown, Garry Fordham, Rod Duncan, Jeff House, Murray Field, Steve Grallelis, Alison Kingston.

Pool 3 – Vince Aitken, Jennifer Horan, Bev Williams, Nick Ryan, Verna Lane, Len Wood, Kathy Collits.

Pool 4 – Mat Duff, Ralph Baker, Terry Bokeyar, Jenny Ridley, Sarah Black, Ken Sly, Vince Pout.

Quite a few classy names among that lot, and some other names who have had success bribing the handicapper. Many teams made big moves after this round, and some of the gaps at the top have closed. So here goes:

Pool 1 saw ‘Boys and Girls’ change places with ‘The Never Coulds’, while the ‘Coffee Club’ dropped down to 5th spot. In Pool 2 the top three stayed the same, with lesser margins, but ‘Hit n Miss’ jumped up to 4th, dislodging Flip Floppers.

In Pool 3 ‘Postie Top Six’ stay on top, but now ‘Lost in the Trees’ is second and’ Gunns Menswear’ have dropped to fourth. Rounding things out, Pool 4 sees Bushrangers further ahead, F Troop and TBC exchange places and Hook Drive and Sink surge all the way to fourth spot. With only four weeks left the focus is on maintain a spot in the top four. So I expect to see some grit and grind out there.

-by Smooth Swinger