Saturday was an 18-hole Individual Stroke event, sponsored by Country Mile Motor Inn, with 60 players braving the cold conditions.

The A-division winner was Dan Bayley who fired a nett 65 score, helped by a 2-under back-9. Runner-up was Barry Shine with nett 69 who put together two similar halves. The B-division went to Anthony Alley with a nett 71 and on count back. He had some good shots, notably an eagle on the 4th and some not so good shots. Runner-up was Richard Smith, who played steadily throughout.

The ball sweep went to 75 nett on count back, going to: 65 – D Bayley; 69 – B Shine, T Cogswell; 70 – T Callaghan; 71 – A Alley, R Smith; 72 – R Webb, G Drane, J Betland, A Rees; 73 – S Grallelis, B Slack-Smith; 74 – R Morris, T Griffiths and 75 – Martin Woods, S Sallaway.

The NTP’s went to: 9th – T Callaghan; 18th – Martin Woods. The only visitor was Stuart Hayes (Murrumbidgee GC), who was pleased to be in warmer climates.

Anthony Alley’s tee shot on the 4th hole hit the green, bounced and got tangled in the flag, then dropped to stop inches from the hole. Marty Cahill had opposite fortunes on the 15th, earning many penalties to finish with a 13.

The Stableford Medley on Sunday was played by a small group in very cold conditions. The day belonged to Ethel Coombs with 31 points. There was no runner-up and no ball sweep. There was only one NTP, being on the 18th and this went to Ethel Coombs.

By Short Putt

Saturday’s men’s event was the Monthly Medal, sponsored by BWR Accountants and Advisors. The field of 64 players had few standout scores and many calamities.

The A-grade winner was Peter Nixon, who was surprised to see that his score of 75 nett was enough to take the medal honours.

Runner-up on count back, was Ecky Dawson on 76 nett. The B-grade went to Graham Newport with a nett 70, the best score of the day. Runner-up was Martin Cahill, whose 73 nett was very gallant indeed.

The C-grade produced a wide range of results. Ash Tucker compiled 71 nett to be the winners. Runner-up was Graeme Hopkins with 73 nett, and who was especially pleased to enter the winners circle.

The ball sweep went to 76 nett on count back, going to: 70 – G Newport; 71 – A Tucker; 73 – G Hopkins, M Cahill; 74 – B Slack-Smith, A Borger, D Clarke, F Hanns; 75 – P Nixon and 76 – G Webb, P Dawson, B Everest, K Herbert, J Betland, P Barnes, J Haley, S French. The NTP’s went to: 9th – Richard Nixon; 18th – Paul Kay.

On Sunday the 27-hole Mixed Foursomes Championship was played, with fifteen pairings participating.

The scratch winners were A Dukes/ S Crosby with a total of 131. Their win was set up by a steadfast 85 scratch on the first 18-holes. Scratch runners-up, on count back, were A Grierson/ K Stirling with a 136 total.

The handicap winner honours also went to Dukes/Crosby, with a total of 109.5. Runners- up went to Stephen and Eve Uphill on 114.5. The Uphill’s produced the best net on the final-9 but they could not overcome some unfortunate penalties incurred on the 9th hole.

The ball sweep went to 116.5, going to:

Dukes/Crosby, Uphill/Uphill, A Cogswell Davies and Taylor/Cripps. The NTP’s went to: 9th – D Rhodes; 18th – T Griffiths. The 9th hole brought many pairings undone, especially on the final-9. While 3’s were common, so too were 5’s and worse.

The real shocker was a ‘9’.

By Short Putt

On Saturday, the event was an individual 18-hole Stableford, sponsored by the Hodges family, and was contested by a field of 62 players. Up for grabs was the Wilf Hodges Memorial Trophy, which was won this year by Geoff Coles with a very fine 42 points.

The A-division was won by Robb Webb with 38 points. Runner-up on count back was Doug Churchill. Geoff Coles easily won the B-division which had all the excitement but Frank Hanns gave good chasing with his 40 points. He held the runner-up post on count back from Clayton Alley.

The ball sweep went to 36 points on count back, with the lucky recipients being: 42 – G Coles; 40 – F Hanns, C Alley; 39 – G Webb; 38 – R Webb, D Churchill; 37 – A Borger, R Nixon, S Bate, P Grayson and 36 – H Steel-Park, D McAuliffe, J Haley, T Callaghan, R Smith, M Collits.

The NTP’s went to: 9th – J Maloy; 18th – R Taylor. We had one visitor, this being Chris Hollingworth (Joondalup, WA).

On Sunday, the Stableford Medley was contested by a small band. Colleen Bratton took the honours with 37 points, ahead of runner-up, Ray Taylor on 36. There was no ball sweep. The NTP’s went to: 9th – Jill Cripps; 18th – Ethel Coombs.

Also on Sunday, 19 players from Forbes travelled to West Wyalong for their 18-hole Open. There were also players from Temora, Grenfell, Condobolin, Wagga, Young, Lake Cargelligo and more.

The top prize, the West Wyalong Open Champion and A-grade scratch winner, went to Dan Bayley of Forbes, with a scratch score of 72. He found many different places on the course but always managed to score well.

Other Forbes players among the prize winners were: Greg Webb C-grade runner up; Peter Nixon A-grade NTP and Steve Grallelis C-grade NTP.

On Sunday, there will be a junior golf event run by Simon Houston. This will showcase some of the best junior talent around the regional areas.

By Short Putt

Forbes golfers enjoyed three days of golf last weekend with a Legends Pro-Am on Friday, Mens Stroke comp on Saturday and the Sunday Stableford Medley.

On Friday 110 players, including 32 professionals, contested the Legends Pro-Am.

The pros had a three-way tie for 1st place, with Martin Petersen (Bega), John Onions (Vic) and Bryce Mawhinney (Young) finishing on 1-under.

There were 18 clubs represented among the club players, who contested Stableford in three men’s grades and a ladies grade, as well as numerous NTP’s.

Forbes players featured well in the prizes, with Jim Carpenter (A-grade scratch), Peter Dawson (A-grade Stableford), Graham Newport (B-grade Stableford), Stuart French (B-grade Stableford runner-up) and Jenny Fletcher (ladies Stableford runnerup) all taking home prizes.

The pros found the course challenging and voted the greens the best they had played on this year. Thanks to the Forbes Shire and the many other valuable sponsors for helping to make this happen again.

Saturday was a stroke event, sponsored by B&C Autos. Many of the field of 65 had played on Friday and managed to find ways to drop shots with ease.

In the A-division, Neil McMillan took the winner’s spot with 70 nett on count back from Stuart French (70 nett). The B-division went to Andrew McDonald (67 nett) ahead of Tom Edols (68) who showed that straight and consistent can return a good score.

The ball sweep went to 74 nett on count back, with the lucky recipients being: 67 – A McDonald; 68 – T Edols, F Donohoe; 69 – B Squires, D Rhodes; 70 – N McMillan, S French; 72 – R Taylor, T Griffiths; 73 – D Bayley, P Pymont, M Collits, L Byrne and 74 – M Westwood, R Borger, P Dawson, C McMillan.

The NTP’s went to: 9th – A Borger; 18th – S Sallaway.

Sunday had the usual Stableford Medley.

The winner was Ron Morris with 37 points, feeling he was being chased by Barb Drabsch who finished on 36 points. There was no ball sweep. The NTP’s went to: 9th – Bess Shields; 18th – Barb Drabsch.

Saturday was the Monthly Medal, sponsored by Adept Plumbing.

Most of the field of 80 players found the scoring quite difficult but the winners found it a breeze.

The A-Grade winner was Peter Grayson, who played consistent golf to record a nett 70. Runner-up, once again, was Phil Maher on 72 nett, who had a roller-coaster round and may have won with a bit of luck.

The B-Grade title went to Rob Webb with a nett 70. He was consistent all day. Ian Bown was runner-up with nett 71. A high score on the 17th included an air swing.

The C-Grade was won by John Pritchard, a visitor from Orange with a nett 67. However, the medal goes to runner-up, Allan Rees with his 69 nett.

The ball sweep went to 75 nett on count back, going to: 66 – J Morgan; 67 – J Pritchard; 69 – A Rees; 70 – P Grayson, R Webb, T Edols; 71 – I Bown; 72 – P Maher; 73 – J Zannes, P Dawson, B Squires, T Hanson; 74 – P Pymont, R Borger, B Thomas; 75 – M Haley, P Nixon, J Haley, G Forrest, R Davies, W Judge and G Coles.

The NTP’s went to: 9th – Marty Woods; 18th – F Donohoe. Neither got their ‘2’. There was a big group of visitors from Wentworth GC and Tony Hanson from Shoalhaven. We may see them again for the Open this weekend.

There was no Stableford Medley on Sunday. Instead the day belonged to the Forbes Ladies Open, which was contested by 71 players. Players travelled from Mudgee, Wellington and our near neighbours.

There will be full report provided but for those interested, the scratch winners over the three grades contested were, A-Grade: Catherine Cox (Mudgee) with 89; B-Grade: Sally Crosby (Fbs) with 98 and C-Grade: Deb Dingwall (Fbs) with 103.

By Short Putt

The golf on Saturday was an Individual Stroke event, sponsored by LINX. The field of 69 produced a range of scores from very low to very high.

The A-Division was decided on count back. Todd Callaghan was tied with Ecky Dawson on 66 nett, but Todd had the better back-9 to take the win. In the B-Division it was a case of ‘catch me if you can’, as Brodie Hodges blitzed the field with 62 nett. Runner-up was Stuart Gordon, who had two 41’s with a nett 65.

The ball sweep went to 72 nett on count back, being distributed to: 62 – Hodges; 65 – Stuart Gordon; 66 – T Callaghan, A Dukes; 67 – B Squires; 68 – A Dukes; 69 – T Leach, B Tooth, K Herbert; 70 – A Borger, L O’Connor; 71 – S Sallaway, P Tisdell, R Morris; 72 – G Webb, G Pymont, J Maloy and T Howe. Club pro Simon played but was disappointed with his 70 scratch.

The NTP’s went to: 9th – Andrew Dukes, 18th – Richard Smith. Andy Dukes nearly had a hole-in-one, but did finish the day with three 2’s. Alas, Richard missed his ‘2’.

The Stableford Medley on Sunday had a healthy field. The winner was Neil McMillan who managed to avoid the trees and score 38 points. Runner-up was Ben Mackey (Bathurst) with 34 and who would have done better but fell victim to the 7th hole.

There was no ball sweep. The NTP’s went to Ray Taylor on the 9th and to Mark Collits on the 18th NTP. Mark scored the only ‘2’ on the day.

Please note that the 27-Hole Mixed Foursomes Championship will now be held on Sunday, 3rd June. Speak to your captains if you are seeking a partner.

This weekend will have the Forbes Ladies Open played on Sunday. This does mean that the course will be closed until 1pm. A Stableford Medley will run once the course is open.

The Forbes Open is set for 13th May. Get your name on the time sheet and also snaffle a place in the 4BBB on Saturday.

By Short Putt

The winners of this year’s Hawke Trophy were Paul Pymont and Frank Donohoe, who scored 47 points. They won on count back from Bruce Carpenter and Libby Godden. It was the better ‘back-9’ that got Paul and Frank their win.

The event for the day was a 4BBB Stableford Medley, won by a visiting pairing of Rob Rogers and Grant Goodman, both from Castle Hill, with 48 points. They were lucky to win that for not only were there the two pairings above in hot pursuit but a bundle of players close behind them.

The ball sweep went to 43 points on count back, being distributed to: 48 – Rogers/ Goodman (Castle Hill); 47 – P Pymont/F Donohoe, Carpenter/Godden; 46 – Rhodes/ Zannes; 45 – Tisdell/R Webb, F/R Smith, Dukes/P Nixon; 44 – Hopkins/ Herbert, Little/Westwood; 43 – B Slack- Smith/H Steel Park and Dukes/Maher.

The NTP’s went to: 9th Alf Davies and 18th Alf Davies. His putt on the 9th was very short as it stopped short of going in by only a foot. Among the 81 players on the field were visitors from Castle Hill and Matt Donohoe from Royal Sydney.

The need for teamwork and consistency was on display by Les Little and Maurie Westwood. They each took turns in scoring 3- and 4-pointers but they messed up with both wiping on a couple of holes.

The Stableford Medley on Sunday, 22nd April had 20 players in the field including the visitors Helen Robinson (South West Rocks) Patricia Young (Howlong) and Janeace Owen (Callala).

It was Ash Tucker’s day finishing ahead on 38 points, keeping runner-up Max Haley (37 points) at bay.

The ball sweep went to 36 points, being picked up by Ray Taylor and Scott Kirkman. The NTP’s went to Ethel Coombs on the 9th and to Phil Maher on the 18th NTP.

A very important notice to all golfers. The 27-Hole Mixed Foursomes Championship that was scheduled for Sunday, 27th May will now be held on Sunday, 3rd June. This will avoid clashes with other events.

The Winter 3’s commences play next week, 30th April. If you rush in and see Simon he may be able to get you into a team or something.

By Short Putt

Saturday’s event was an Individual Par competition, during which the wind had a big effect on the scores for the field of 67.

The A-Division winner was Scott Kirkman, who finished 2-up and got there on count back from Phil Duke. Scott’s better back-9 gave him the edge. The B-Division also was decided by count back, with two players finishing on 4-up. Stuart Gordon with a very good back-9 got the nod ahead of Clayton Alley who had a strong front-9.

The ball sweep went to All Square on count back, being distributed to: 4Up – S Gordon, C Alley; 3Up – J Coulthurst, B Hodges; 2Up – S Kirkman, P Duke, M Cahill; 1Up – G Webb, G Newport, M Haley, G Drane, R Taylor, P Pymont, J Zannes, P Maher; Square – D McAuliffe, L O’Connor.

The NTP’s went to: 9th – Brett Thomas; 18th – Denis Culley.

On Sunday 15 April there was the regular Stableford Medley, with a good band of Forbes and visiting players enjoying calmer conditions.

Ray Taylor was swept to victory with 39 points, just edging out a visitor Vivienne Sulejmani from Mt Warren Park, on 38 points by count back. The ball sweep went to 38 points, giving Jill Cripps a ball.

The NTP’s went to Bess Shields, who got both the 9th and 18th NTP, but unfortunately no 2’s.

Our Club Pro Simon played in tournaments held in Canberra last week, hoping to earn points for his PGA ranking. At the first one-day events held at Yowani (73) and Federal (73) Simon finished in the top- 20 each day.

Then, at the 2-day event held at Murrumbidgee, Simon scored 71 and 69 to finish second overall, beating a field that included players from the US and European Tours, as well as a NZ Open winner and a Vic Open winner.

The Forbes GC Veterans ‘Week of Golf’ is set to be played next week. The week starts with a 4BBB, followed by 18-hole Stableford events on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. The NSW Shield will be decided on Friday.

Local players are reminded to bring a plate of food to help with the morning teas each day.

By Short Putt

Saturday’s event was the Monthly Medal, sponsored by Terry Bros Carpets. The field of 67, which included eight players from Orange, seemed to have the scoring opportunities covered but let them slip.

The A-Grade winner was Ray Taylor with a nett 66. His scratch score of 78 equalled his age, which is a major achievement for a golfer. Runner-up was Richard Nixon, who scored 75/68. He had a good start but the back-9 let him down.

The B-Grade saw Adam Borger storm home with a nett 70. Runner-up was Jeff Haley with a very handy 71 nett. The CGrade honours went to Andrew Norton- Knight (70 nett), ahead of Greg Webb with his 72 nett.

The ball sweep went to 75 nett on count back, being distributed to: 66 – R Taylor; 68 – R Nixon; 70 – A Borger, A Norton-Knight; 71 – J Haley; 72 – B Doyle, D McAuliffe, G Webb; 73 – J Davis (Orange); 74 – L O’Connor, D Churchill, L Little, Mike Wood; 75 – A McDonald, T Leach, R Morris, B Chandler and J Zannes.

The NTP’s went to: 9th – Steve Bate; 18th – P Pymont.

The Lachlan Valley Districts Golf Association annual Pennants and Championships were held at Grenfell on Sunday. There were 54 players from Grenfell, Forbes, Parkes, West Wyalong, Peak Hill and Bogan Gate clubs.

Forbes took out the A-Grade Pennants, with contributions from M Collits, A Dukes, D Bayley, T Callaghan and S Sallaway.

The LVDGA ‘Champion of Champions’ went to Mitch McGlassan from Parkes.

Many Grenfell players featured among the other grade championship prize winners but Steve Grallelis did snatch a NTP prize.

The Summer Sixes grand final was played last Sunday. The winning team was the ‘Bush Divas’, ahead of ‘Boys and Girls’, ‘Postie Top 6’ and ‘Bushrangers’.

By Short Putt