On Sunday, a field of 120 players contested the Forbes Open, which was jointly sponsored by the ‘Golf and Sportsman’s Hotel’ and ‘Simon Houston Golf’. And once again a real attraction for many top line golfers was the opportunity to qualify for the GolfNSW Open, with the Forbes Open being designated as a Regional Qualifying event.

Across the 120-strong field there was representation from 21 Clubs, with two players travelling up from Victoria and others from Sydney clubs, Mudgee, Orange and more. It was good to see many returning players who had sampled the delights of Forbes in recent years and were keen to make a mark this time.

The field was quite strong with 63 A graders and about 30 each of B and C graders. Undoubtedly the quality of golf was high, with nearly half of the A graders on a handicap of four or lower, although many found the course quite a challenge.

Once again credit goes to the greens staff and volunteers for their work in presenting the course to a high standard. Many visitors commented on how true, but challenging, they were. And thanks also to Simon Houston for keeping the field on time.

There was no need for a play-off this year, but even so many players finished among long shadows, with the field being spread out through the day. The early clubhouse leader, and eventual winner, had teed of relatively early, then waited around all day for the presentations.

The winner, with a 68 Scratch score, was Konrad Ciupek, a young golfer from Victoria GC, and one of the sub-elite players in that State. He played alongside a scratch golfer from Penrith, Will Arnold, who between them provided a dazzling display of golf for Mark Troth and Steve Grallelis who made up their group. However, the four under score by Konrad was always going to be hard to beat, although Will matched Konrad stroke for stroke through most of the day. Eventually it came down to holing the putts when needed.

There was qualification also for two players to the NSW Seniors Open. The first spot went to Daryl McAuliffe whose shout of joy was heard back in Nelson Bays. The second spot went to Peter Zotti (Wagga Wagga) who is well pleased.

Also available was a spot for a player and two friends to play in the NSW Open Pro-Am. Local player Brett Thomas won this with the best nett score of the day of 87. There was a long line of mates eagerly shouting ‘pick me’.

The Forbes golfers held their own among this talented field, showing many of the visitors how to handle the course. The full prize list is (Forbes unless otherwise stated):

The NTP’s went to: First – A grade: K Ciupek (Victoria GC); third A grade – R Nixon, B grade – F Collie, C grade – nil; ninth – C grade – C Fealy (W/Wyalong); 18^th – B-grade L O’Connor.

For the power hitters there was the chance to crack the longest drives on the 17^th. These went to: A grade – Joel Wheatley (Fox Hills GC), B grade – Chris Flack (Temora), C grade – Anthony Alley. And the 100-Club Raffle prizes went to: First – ‘Bumbler’; second – Phil Maher; third – Paul Kay.

Defending champion John Betland did not start well and needed nine birdies on the back-9 to be in contention, but alas fell short. Steve Betland fared better finishing with an even par round. Some low handicap golfers had scratch scores higher than some C-graders.

There were some fantastic shots played by the sub-zero handicap players, who could send the ball ‘out there’ and shape it from side to side. But undoubtedly the shot of the day goes to Mark Hale (Mudgee) who pitched in for an eagle on the 5th hole. This offset the double-bogey, bogey start he had and finally finished with 72, nett 75.

Saturday was a 4BBB sponsored by Forbes Livestock and Agency, who continue to support golf very well. Many visiting players used this as a warm-up before the Open. In good weather, 72 players managed to post a score but undoubtedly the course was the winner as the scores were lower than last year.

The Scratch winners were Mark Collits and Tim West, with Mark throwing off his ‘bridesmaid’ label from previous years. They were one over on each nine, finishing with 74. It was crowded at the top, and Mark and Tim were lucky to win on count back from Dan Bayley and Todd Callaghan. This pair parred the front nine but had two over on the back. There were four groups within a shot of the winners.

The Handicap winners were Richard Smith and Clayton Alley on 44 points. Both are long hitters who have a tendency to stray, but they dove-tailed well to score consistently. Runners-up were Tony Cogswell and Peter Zotti (Wagga) with 43 points, and on count back. While these guys had stronger handicaps than the winners, the few blemished they had cost them more dearly.

The ball sweep went to 40 on count back, going to: 44 – Smith/C Alley; 43 – T Cogswell/P Zotti, Barnes/R Borger, Tulloch/Parris (W/Wyalong); 42 – Tilden/G Webb; 41 – M Collits/T West, Rhodes/Tisdell, J Clarke/D Clarke, Wyatt (Coonabarabran)/Fealy (W/Wyalong), Bayley/T Callaghan.

The NTP’s went to: ninth – Richard Nixon; 18^th – R Borger. There were eight twos scored overall, with the best being a long bomb by Neil McMillan after his tee shot fortunately skipped over the bunker.

Forbes gave the visitors a very friendly and sunny welcome, with players from Coonabarabran, Foster-Tuncurry, Grenfell, Manly, Mudgee, Parkes, Twin Creeks, Wagga Wagga and West Wyalong clubs.

With no water in the creek many golfers thought they were safe and yet many managed to put their ball into the dry bed. One to use the creek bed well was Ash ‘Sergio’ Tucker, who splattered his next shot out of there while playing the tenth.

Bruce Carpenter teed off on the tenth, hitting his tee shot very low. It hit the rocks on the far side of the creek, then bounced back through the mud and up onto the grass in front of the tee. When he played the 15^th his ball managed to skip into the creek again. This time he played out from among the stones, barely making the bank.

Peter Tilden had a memorable day. In the first time since his Junior days he put his drive off the 1st tee onto the green. He then two putted for a par. After that things did not go all that well and he was glad he had a partner.

Here is the News

We sadly say farewell to Fred and ‘Lady Di’ Collie. They are heading north towards Narrabri to take up a short motel relief appointment before moving on to Queensland for an extended motel stay in Bowen, although Fred has plans for all sorts of ventures. Fred has been a very colourful figure around the golf club, and his keen wit has contributed greatly to fun days of golf.

Due to the welcome, Fred and Di received eight years ago when they came to Forbes from Broken Hill, Fred has big plans for Saturday (tomorrow). Hospitality will be on offer all day before farewell drinks at 5:00pm tomorrow, May 19 in the Golfie, with Ladies invited also. Stevie G has promised to keep the Golf presentations short, so make sure you either hang around or return to the club for a few farewell drinks and stories.

I will say that Fred has often contributed stories, either willingly or unknowingly, for this column and I thank him for his contribution. We all wish ‘Brian’ and Dianne well for the future.

Today will be the Legends Pro-Am, in what should be fine conditions. Once again we have a very full field, and a number of returning golf Pros who enjoyed themselves last year. This should be another great day of golf for them.

Do not forget the 27 hole Mixed Foursomes to be played on June 3. Sort your partner out now.

The Wallace Cup draw will be made very soon, with competition to commence in June. Look out for the nomination sheet and put your name up there.

It is crystal ball time

Saturday May 19 is an 18-hole Stroke sponsored by B&C Autos. This should be a relaxing day for all. Sunday, May 21 is the Stableford Medley

Saturday, May 26 is the 18-hole Stableford for the Wilf Hodges Memorial Trophy. On Sunday, May 28 there is the West Wyalong Open, or a Stableford Medley at home.