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

The grand final of the Forbes Golf Club Super Sixes golf comp for 2017-18, sponsored by ASI Capital, was held on Sunday, 8th April. The weather was conducive to good golf, which the players took advantage of.

The grand final for the Sixes Cup was contested by the winners of each pool, having come through the semi-final stages victorious. The contenders were Boys and Girls, Bush Divas, Postie Top Six and Bushrangers. There were almost full teams for each.

There was also a contest for the winners of the Plate in each pool. They were Drawshanks, Hit n Miss, Lost in the Trees, and Hook, Drive and Sink It. Unfortunately not all players could attend, so this group got around a bit quicker.

Following the play, participants gathered in the Golfie for the presentation dinner. After introductions by President Andrew McDonald, Jeff Herdigan speaking as the major sponsor, thanked the players for their efforts through the season, commiserated with those who missed out and congratulated the winners in all categories.

Vanessa Herdigan, ably assisted by head professional Simon Houston, presented the prizes for weekly winners, overall best performers and the Plate winners and Cup runners-up. A successful weekly winner was Lindy Cowhan, who won the non-members category on three separate weeks.

Loud cheers emanated when the winning team of Bush Divas were announced. Their 101.5 points was significantly better than the runners-up Boys and Girls (107), Postie Top Six (118) and Bushrangers (119). The Bush Divas made a colourful splash in the outfits as they received their prizes.

The Plate winners were Lost in the Trees (110.5) with Hook, Drive and Sink It runnersup.

The Best Net Individual Score in the Cup final went to Denise Squires, while the Most Improved Player for the competition was Robert Scott who halved his handicap from 18 to 9.

Another successful summer season has finished, with over 3,500 games played in the competition. A truly wonderful effort made possible by the good condition of the course.

For those wishing to continue the fun social golf, there is a Winter 3’s comp, commencing on 30th April. Details and entries at the Pro Shop.

By Smooth Swinger

The Easter weekend had plenty of golf activity, producing very good scores.

Easter Friday saw the keen golfers participate in a Stableford Medley, with a field of 10 players scoring very well. Richard Nixon had a blinder, scoring 44 points and as well ahead of runner-up Scott Kirkman with 40 points.

There was no ball sweep, but NTP’s went o 9th: R Nixon and 18th: R Nixon. Yes, he got them both and he got the 2’s also.

There were no visitors.

Saturday was an Individual Stableford event, when 37 players continued the high scoring streak.

The A-division winner was Dave Rhodes, who used his recent golf lessons to score his 41 points. He got there on count back from Mike Spice. In the B-division Ron Morris hit form with 40 points. Geoff Coles quietly compiled his 39 points to be runner-up.

The ball sweep went to 36 points on count back, going to: 41 – D Rhodes, M Spice; 40 – R Morris, B Carpenter; 39 – G Coles; 38 – F Collie, B Bayley, R Taylor and C Barrett. The NTP’s went to: 9th – B Carpenter; 18th – Paul Fisher (Royal Park GC). Neither got their ‘2’.

The visitors included Quintyn Fisher (Duntryleague), Lee Grierson (Wollongong), Peter Sinclair (Nelson Bay), Paul Fisher (Royal Park) and Peter Jackson (Coffs Harbour).

Easter Sunday was a very quiet day, with only the most dedicated of golfers on the course. Once again the scoring was very good. Ron Morris won the day with 43 points, a good eight shots clear of the rest of the field. Needless to say, but I will, there was no runner-up, no ball sweep and no NTP’s.

Easter Monday once again had the golfers bringing in good scores. In the Stableford Medley, Bruce Carpenter was an early clubhouse leader with 43 points.

Todd Callaghan was in the last group for the day and also scored 43 points, but lost the count back to finish runner-up.

The NTP’s went to: 9th – Peter Jackson; 18th – Michael Spice. Michael got his ‘2’, as did Ron Morris on the 9th. The ball sweep went to 40 points on count back, going to: 43 – B Carpenter, T Callaghan; 42 – G Webb and 40 – M Spice.

By Short Putt

The sunshine brought out the best in the golfers’ scores and their outfits, worn to support the ‘Pink Day’.

Saturday’s event was an 18-hole Stableford, sponsored by Ian Simpson & Co Real Estate, contested by 74 players. The golfers also donated in support of the ‘Pink Day’, a means of raising money in support of the Forbes Breast Cancer Support Group.

The A-division winner was Doug Churchill with an outstanding 43 points, on count back. Runner up was Paul Pymont, who enjoyed slightly cooler conditions earlier in the day. He had 43 points, but was pipped by one stroke on the back-9.

The B-division winner was Greg Webb with 42 points, to continue his form. Not far behind was Robert Borger on 40 points. He had consistent scoring on the back-9.

The ball sweep went to 37 on count back, being distributed to: 43 – D Churchill, P Pymont, N Duncan: 42 – G Webb; 40 – R Borger; 39 – C Alley, Mike Wood, T Callaghan, A Tucker, M Spice, B Doyle; 38 – R Taylor, D McAuliffe, R Searl, P Grayson, D Clarke; 37 – M Andrews, B Collie, M Wood Jnr, F Hanns.

The NTP’s went to: 9th – S Uphill; 18th – Alf Davies.

The visitors included Richard Searl and Mike Bradley Wood. Niel Duncan was unlucky to miss out on a prize. He scored 43 points to come third and this with his second- ever best score of 77.

On Sunday, the regular Stableford Medley produced the usual crowd. The winner was Ray Taylor with 43 points. Runner-up was Ron Morris with a credible 39 points. Ray was pleased to match his age with his score.

Also on Sunday, Forbes had two teams in the CWDGA Inter-Club Pennants semifinals being played at Duntryleague. It was a day of mixed success with the Division 1 team losing 3-2 to Dubbo, while the Division 4 team won 3-2 against Dubbo. This carries them into the final against Wellington, to be played at Cowra on Sunday, 18th March.

The golfers embraced the ‘Pink Day’ event at the Forbes Golf Club. Numerous players wore pink, which was very fetching on many of the lady players and made some of the men players quite attractive.

Some of the outfits were very inventive and others required some courage to wear.

Donations were aplenty, with the golfers contributing $134 which will go to the Forbes Breast Cancer Support Group.

Some players had missed the notifications and were disappointed that they were not able to really dazzle the course. There will be a chance again next year.

Nominations for the Forbes Veteran’s ‘Week of Golf’, set for 23rd to 27th April, are quite slow. Please hurry and put your nominations in as we need early notification for catering purposes and for notification to the NSW Vets Golf. Entry forms are available in the Pro Shop now.

By Short Putt

 

 

 

 

 

 

During Saturday’s event, a 4BBB Par sponsored by Highlands Design, the 56 players managed to score very well.

Peter Tisdell and Richard Smith combined well to score +11, finishing one shot better than Greg Webb and Peter Tilden on +10, who got there on count back. The unlucky ones to miss out on the count back were Rod Besgrove and Barry Shine.

The ball sweep went to +8 on count back, being distributed to: +11 – P Tisdell/R Smith; +10 – G Webb/P Tilden, R Besgrove/B Shine; +9 – D Mylecharane/L O’Connor, R Morris/S Kirkman; +8 P Maher/M Spice, G Newport/D Bayley.

The NTP’s went to: 9th – D Bayley; 18th – S Sallaway. Overall there were six 2’s scored, with four on the 9th and two on the 18th. Peter Tilden scored a classic ‘2’ on the 9th, while Alby Callaghan and Dan Bayley matched each other with monster putts for 2’s on the 18th.

On Sunday the weather was mainly drizzle and consequently there was no Stableford Medley comp. There was a group of players from the Parkes Services Social Golf club, who played the course early and enjoyed the fun.

On Sunday the Pennants teams were in contest at Parkes. This was a mixed results day for the Forbes teams. The Div 1 team had a 3/2 win against Cowra. That assures the Div 1 a place in the semi-finals.

The Div 2 team had a bad run, losing 4/1 to Duntryleague, while the Div 3 team also had a loss – 4/1 to Cowra.

The Div 4 team continued their strong performance, winning 3/2 against Cowra.

This also puts the team into the semi-finals.

On Saturday, 3rd March the Parkes Club will be holding their competition at Forbes, as there course is closed for the day. Their comp will run separately to our Monthly Medal.

However, this is a good chance to contest the Twin Towns Championship. The best scores from each comp will be collated to determine this.

By Short Putt