On Saturday, November 2 EganBuilding Supplies sponsored our Saturday Stableford Competition and theWinner was Robin Lyell who also had closest to the pin on ninth and 18th, well done.

Ball Sweep went to Colleen Venables. On Wednesday, November 6 Bokeyar Electrical sponsored the Stroke round with Ev Uphill winning Division 1 with a Nett 73 with Sarah Black winning Division two. Marie Reid won the putting Competition with 25 putts.

Monthly Medal saw Ev Uphill win Division 1, Robin Lyell Division two and Sarah Black Division three.Ball Sweep to Bess Shields and Robin Lyell 74. NTP ninth Verna Lane and18th Sarah Black. Congratulation to all the winners over the last week.

Coming up this Saturday is the Nissan Classic on Sunday and the 4BBB on Saturday sponsored by the Forbes Advocate so a big weekend ahead. Next Wednesday, November 13 Jessicas Beauty Salon sponsors a Stableford and Ev is on cards.

Roving Reporter

Once again the weekend golfers were met with a variety of weather conditions, ranging from dusty, blustery conditions to damp windy times.

The November Monthly Medal, sponsored by Jelbart's Tyrepower, was played on Saturday under trying conditions. The wind was ever present, but more so for the later players. At times the players needed more grip in their tread to stay stable during their swing, and then needed to contend with the roll of the ball being affected by the wind. Nevertheless, the 55 golfers triumphed through it all.

The A grade results had no breakaways, but merely ascended from the low 70's upwards. Dave Mylecharane was sitting pretty in the clubhouse with a 72 nett, looking to add to his October medal. But Todd Callaghan came in later with a pleasantly surprising 71 nett.

Todd's front-nine was quite erratic, being affected by the wind, but he came home in par. By comparison, Dave was tidier around the front-nine, but slightly shabby, with 37, on the back-nine. Interestingly, neither did well on the par-threes, both scoring bogeys until Todd's lone par on the 18th.

The B grade was the closest result, needing a hole-by-hole count back to decide the winner. In this grade also, the early starter in Ash Tucker sat in the clubhouse with a handsome 70 nett, only to be gazumped by Bob Borger later in the day also with 70 nett. Their scores were within cooee of each other, but Bob's tidier end to the back-9 gave him the honours.

The C grade was also tight and also had an ascending level of excitement. Early starter Bruce Squires battled well to record a 74 nett. Then Steve Grallelis arrived with a 75 nett, more than happy with a possible second-place. But in one of the final groups Rod Besgrove returned a 73 nett, thus carrying on his form in the Championships where he whipped the carpet from under players feet.

The ball sweep went to 75 nett on count-back, going to: 70 - R Borger, A Tucker; 71 - T Callaghan; 72 - D Mylecharane, L O'Connor; 73- P Pymont, R Besgrove, T West; 74 - B Squires, M Spice, A Currey, B Everest, B Chandler; 75 - J Coulthurst.

The NTP's went to: ninth - B Everest; 18th - D Rhodes. Any twos were going to be very good on a day where the wind affected the ball both in the air and on the green. As it was, only four were scored, with D Rhodes converting his NTP into a two. The third hole managed to record 50 per cent of the twos scored.

The biggest talking point was the manner in which the wind affected the performance of the players. But some people did find certain holes easy. Josh Coulthurst managed an eagle on the 15th, to offset a nine on the sixth and a couple of other high scores that damaged his card.

Some players made it harder for themselves from the outset. Brett Thomas struck his tee shot on the first with confidence, only to see it strike a post on the safety fence, rebounding behind him across the tee. Then it struck the pole of the sunscreen stand, and shooting towards him but into the garden.

His next shot went OB, then he struck the first trees. From there it was a story of chips, branches, over-shoot and a few putts to record a nine. He, like a few others, is on the call-up list for the Australian cricket team.

Scott Kirkman was faced with a difficult shot on the eighth. After an errant tee shot he then smashed a fairway wood, watching it running through the trees towards the green. However, when he got there his ball was found almost directly behind a stump. This required him to stand awkwardly, with his front foot was splayed on the stump in a most ungainly manner. But he did well on his chip, finishing on the edge of the green.

Niel Duncan had lost the tempo in his swing, often resulting in his ball finishing among trees. From there he consistently made bogey. Yet, Scott Kirman drove well, finishing on the fairway. But from there he consistently managed double-bogeys. One of the conundrums of golf.

Many found the seventh hole less daunting. But then Brian Everest found a way to create an epic. Somehow he bounced his way among the trees and down the fairway, finishing on the green with a short putt for a par. However, he 'charged the hole', missing it and was faced with a return putt twice as long for his bogey, which he was thrilled to get.

This was by no means the worst score on that hole. The least said about Greg Webb's scores on the sixth and seventh holes of ten and nine respectively, the better. A loss was a six-iron from Jeff Haley's bag, which was eventually found, you guessed it, in his bag. A win was the victory by Ethan Gaffney and George Falvey over Paul Kay and Craig Barrett for the Lotto ticket, where the "match" finished on the 14th.

Also pleasing to see a bit of colour being worn. Not able to win Monthly Medals, Rob 'Spider' Webb has put his attention to the 'colourful socks' award. Those he wore on Saturday, a tartan styled mix of colours were outstanding.

There was no Sunday Stableford Medley, due to the wet weather which was appreciated by all. However, some of our guys were part of the Lachlan Valley team contesting the NSW Country Championships, played at Bathurst.

After day one the Lachlan Valley team were leading the comp, with a combined four-over, on the back of good scores by Steve Betland (69), John Betland (70) and Shane Sallaway (72). The other team members, Mitch McGlashan, Aaron Wilkie and Paul Redman did not fare so well. The LV team led by one stroke from Hunter and three from ACT-Monaro. And Steve was in second place for individual honours behind Lloyd Radcliffe from Kooindah Waters on 68.

However, day two was a day when the windy weather affected everybody The Illawarra team played really well to take the honours, coming from +ten on day one to +14 at the end. Unfortunately, the LV team slipped to 5th overall, going from +four to +26. This did equal their fine efforts from last year.

It was pleasing to see the Betland boys hold form and Paul Redman improve. Steve and John Betland finished tied-fourth for Individual honours alongside three others. Among those was Mark Hale from Mudgee.

Here is the News: Organising for the Forbes Nissan Classic, sponsored by Frank Spice Motors, is well in hand for this weekend, November 9-10. The tee time sheet for the 4BBB on Saturday and the Individual Stroke on Sunday are in the Pro Shop. Numbers are good.

Do not forget the Calcutta on Saturday night, the opportunity to win raffles and the Presentations on Sunday afternoon. The Annual 'Medal of Medallists' will be played in conjunction with the Stroke event on Saturday, November 16. All eligible players will receive a letter of invitation to participate. The Year's Trophy Presentations for Ladies and Men golfers will be held on Saturday, November 16, following the day's golf at 6pm.

Crystal Ball Time: Saturday, November 16 is a Stroke event, sponsored by Loomzy's Fish n Fix, and is also the playing of the 'medal of Medalists'. Sunday, November 17 is the VW Scramble.

Short Putt