Sallaway Victorious in Lachlan Valley Championships
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Golfers were out an about on the course, eager to take advantage of the benign conditions before the real bleak winter weather begins. While the Saturday golfers performed well, the Forbes contingent at the Lachlan Valley District Championships carried home a winner in Shane Sallaway.
But first to the Saturday golf, which was an Individual Stroke event sponsored by Country Mile Motor Inn. Most players were pleased to be hitting the ball, but for some the quiet thoughts of enjoying the hospitality of the Inn were a big distraction. The field was a little down, probably due to Arts Festival activity, but the 52 players and one Junior did seem to score well.
The A Division winner was Josh Coulthurst who was among the early starters. He must have used the heavy due on the greens to control the pace of his of putts as he holed quite a few to score a nett 67.
Runner-up was Brian Everest with 70 nett. He seemed genuinely surprised at playing so well. But maybe it was a result of the bump on the head, received during the dead of night that made him keep his head still.
The B Division followed suit with the scoring. Hamish Steel-Park, scoring a 68 nett, played alongside Josh ensuring there was tight competition within their group.
Hamish's consistency was rewarded with his good score. Behind him, in both score and timeframe, was George Falvey with 70 nett. George seems to relish the grass green layout as he is a consistent performer in most weeks.
The balls weep went to 75 nett on count-back, being distributed to: 67 - J Coulthurst; 68 - H Steel-Park; 70 - B Everest, G Falvey; 72 - R Webb, P Tisdell, M Collits; 73 - B Squires, A Dukes, G Webb, R Borger; 74 - S Kirkman; 75, D Bayley.
There were no visitors although there were accomplished social players among the groups. One such person was Stephen Shepherd who now rates himself a 'local' having moved up from Victoria. Welcome Steve, and we hope you continue to enjoy your golf.
The NTP's went to ninth - D Bayley; 18th - A Dukes, both of whom got their twos. There were only four twos scored overall, with a fine effort recorded by Dave Rhodes on the third hole, which seems bereft of twos on many occasions.
The dew that remained on the greens for a fair period may have assisted some putting, but generally there were still a number of three-putt stories out there.
Anthony Alley was a recipient of a few as he works through a serious dull patch in his game at present. Despite his good score, George Falvey fell foul of the steep downslope on the 17th. A bit of dew would have slowed his ball up.
It was good to see a couple of our notable members back playing after recovering from injury. Ron Morris enjoyed his second full comp day but still needs to work on his swing a bit.
Peter Grayson enjoyed his first 18-holer, although he found his left calf quite sore after the extensive workout it received during his play, and this despite travelling in a cart.
There were some adventures duly noted on the course. Both Steve G and Geoff Haley laid up in good position before the water on the 15th. Then both proceeded to dunk their next shots. A similar problem beset Paul Kay. If this rate of 'ball dunking' continues then the water level may rise above the banks.
Doug Churchill turned the par-four 13th into a mid-length par-five. His tee shot on the hole somehow managed to finish near to the foot bridge crossing the drain on the sixth.
It arrived there without a hitting tree or a building, apparently, and made for an awkward second shot. Maybe it was a subtle hint to return to the warmer climates in the east. That is, the Pacific islands east of the coastline.
Stevie G loves his trees, but some are like recalcitrant grandchildren who misbehave themselves. His tee shot on the 6th went left, a thing almost totally unheard of. Playing a 'low running' recovery back to the fairway his ball struck a low branch and rebounded almost to his feet. In fact one step was all that was needed to address the ball. Do not be surprised if there is a soon a gap in the tree line there.
Some players were glad the day was over, having struggled around the course. Other players were left wandering as their balls disappeared into a black hole or so it seemed. Both Terry Griffiths and Allan Rees lost balls on the 15th and 16th holes, never to be found again, which was also the case for their cards.
And almost not found was a round of drinks. Peter Grayson bought some drinks, but left the bar to greet mates who were pleased at his return. Less pleased were his group who were amazed when Peter re-joined them, as he had left thr drinks on the bar. Holiday time Peter!
Sunday had the usual Stableford Medley comp, but this time with a very small field. The winner was Barb Drabsch with 32 points, which ordinarily would have left her in the 'also rans'. There was no ball sweep or NTP's.
The Forbes club was represented at the Lachlan Valley District Pennants and Championships, held at West Wyalong on Sunday 16 June, and returning with a number of prizes. A field of about 98 players contested the event, representing Condobolin, Grenfell, Forbes, Peak Hill, Parkes and W/Wyalong clubs.
The excitement for the day was the play-off for the A grade Scratch Championship, where Shane Sallaway was up against Tim Bourke from Parkes.
Shane won the coveted 'Moulder Cup' by scoring a birdie on the first play-off hole, as compared to Tim's par. Shane found the green in two and managed a 30 foot heavily borrowed putt to put pressure in Tim, who needed to chip-in from the fringe to halve the hole.
Other Forbes winners were: Vets Pennants - Forbes '1' (M Collits, P Dawson, A Grierson) with 95 Scratch Stableford points, Junior Scratch - C McMillan, and C-Grade Handicap R/up - S Grallelis.
The full list of Prize winners is:
Pennants - Scratch Stableford:
- A grade - Winner: Parkes (184), R/up: Forbes (173)
- B grade - Winner: W/Wyalong (120), R/up: Parkes (113)
- Pennants - Handicap Stableford:
- Winner: Parkes A (213), R/up: W/Wyalong (211)
- Vets - Winner: Forbes 1 (Collits, Dawson, Grierson) 83
Championships:
- Moulder Cup (Scratch) - S Sallaway (F) 74
- A Grade Scratch - Wnr: S Sallaway (F) 74, R/up: T Bourke (Pks) 74
- B grade Scratch - Wnr: A Harland (WW) 76, R/up: P Bishop (Pks) 80
- C grade Scratch - Wnr: T Ridley (WW) 85, R/up: B Sams (WW) 93
- Junior Scratch - Wnr: C McMillan (F) 83.
- Champion-of-Champions: M McGlashan (Pks) 76
- Sand Greens Champion: D Dow (PH) 84
- Vets Champion: R Hey (Pks) 78 on c/back.
- Gordon Moulder Cup (Handicap) - R Cartwright (WW) 70 nett
- A grade H'cap - D Harris (WW) 70, R/up: B Scott (Pks) 71
- B grade H'cap - R Cartwright (WW) 70, R/up: J Ward (WW) 71
- C grade H'cap - C Bell (WW) 71, R/up: S Grallelis (F) 76
- NTP's: A grade - Z Mitchell (Condo); B grade - J Ward (WW); C grade - V Gaidzionis (Pks).
Here is the News
Players in the Wallace Cup are reminded to get their matches played. Contact your opponent to schedule a match.
Week five of the Winter 3's competition had a wide range of winners. The Voucher win went to Garry Besgrove who scored a nett 25, well ahead of the field. The balls went to: G Besgrove, M Sutcliffe, J Cripps, B Drabsch, E Coombs, S Redfern and A Baker. Team six members all picked up a ball, but could not manage the best score.
Do not forget the Heart Defibrillator demo and training set for 2pm on Wednesday, June 26 at the Golfie.
A number of Opens are scheduled, with more information to come. The first is the Temora Open, set for August 3-4. See the notice board for details.
Crystal Ball Time
Saturday, June 22 is the 18-hole 4BBB Stroke Championship, sponsored by John Davis Mazda. Sunday, June 23 has the Stableford Medley.
Saturday, June 29 is an 18-hole Stroke, sponsored by Forbes TV and Video Repairs. You should get a clear picture on the day. Sunday is the Stableford Medley.
Short Putt