On Saturday the golfers competed in a Stroke event over two Divisions. This was also the competition round to determine the ‘Medal of Medallists’, whereby each of the winners of Monthly Medals through the year was eligible to be crowned “the Best of the Best”.

In the “Medal of Medallists’, 27 of the 32 eligible medallists participated. Denis Culley relished the warmer temperatures, last winning medal in May, and played well under his handicap to record a nett 66. The best eligible A-Grader was Peter Dawson on nett 73, alongside Steve Betland. In the A Division, Phil Maher was the winner when he played within his handicap to score a nett 71. Runner-Up was David Rhodes, with72.

The B Division went to Denis Culley, with 66 nett, from a determined Andrew McDonald with 69. Denis played well under his handicap. Andrew was fortunate to scrape in on countback from Gary Collitts and Stuart French. Nearest the pins were: 9th – Brian Monaghan; 18th – Brian Everest. They were the only two ‘Brians’ in the field, not counting
Fred Collie. The ball sweep went to 73 nett, being awarded to those above plus: 69 – G Collitts, S French, 70 – R Morris, A Callaghan, 71 – R Baker, 72 – J Clarke, B Everest, 73 – P Dawson, S Betland, A Grierson, N McMillan, S Kirkman, P Duke. Sunday’s Stableford Medley was a quiet day, with many persons wishing to rest and recover from the weather influences.

Richard Smith took the winners circle with 45 points. The NTP’s went to: 9th – Ron Morris; 18th – Brian Monaghan.
The Vets played an 18-hole event at Condobolin on 19 November, the last 18-hole event for the year. The Winners list for the day‘s competition includes:
A-Grade: 1st – J Haley (Fbs) 44 Points; 2nd – D Rogers (Pks) 41; 3rd – B Toms (Cdo) 41 B-Grade: 1st – G Griffiths (Cdo) 43; 2nd – A Luff (Cwa) 40; 3rd F Donahue (Fbs) 40. B-Grade: 1st – T Broadley(Cdo) 45; 2nd – L Archer (Pks) 42; 3rd – B Menzies (Cdo) 42. NTP’s went to: A-grade – D Rodgers; BGrade – F Donohue; C-Grade – R Glover.

The Coles/Miller Shield, which accrues points across the year’s 18-holes Comps went to: Parkes (2170 points) from Forbes (2146), Grenfell (1578), W/Wyalong (1467), Cowra (1342) and Condobolin (1038). Maybe 2016 will see a different result.

This was also the Inaugural Lachlan Valley Districts Vets Golf Medal, sponsored by NSW Veteran Golfers Association. This is played for only between eligible players, those being the grade winners from the first six 18-hole events of the year.

The winner was Len Archer (Pks) with 42 points. He pipped Ralph Baker (Fbs) on count back from his 42 points. The next game is a 12-hole event at Parkes. We return to a gathering time of 12:30 pm for a 1:00 pm start. It could be hot again so take plenty of drink.

Golf Pro Tip Myth busted! We have all heard it before ‘KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN’. I’m sorry to tell you but it is one of the most unproductive things you can tell a golfer. Let’s think about it for a second, when we tell someone to keep their head down what do they usually do? Tuck their chin on their chest! This causes many problems including a restricted shoulder turn and a rigid golf swing. Try it yourself and you will soon see!

Yes, we must keep our head still but, when you miss or ‘top’ the ball that’s not because you lifted your head it is because your chest has come up to where it was causing the club to not stay on path and hit the ball. This is usually caused by the golfer trying to ‘scoop’ the ball in the air.

So next time rather than telling someone to keep your head down, tell them keep their head still and focus on hitting down on the back of the golf ball. This is a much more effective and productive way for someone to improve.

Happy Golfing! Daniel

A Grade 18-Hole Scratch Winner: John Betland 69. A Grade 18-Hole Handicap R/up: Kim Herbert 70. A Grade 18-Hole Stableford R/up: Neil McMillan 36. B Grade 18-Hole Scratch Winner: Ted Morgan 85. B Grade 18-Hole Scratch R/up: Paul Pymont 87 on count back. B Grade 18- Hole Handicap R/up: Andrew Cogswell 73. B Grade 18-Hole Stableford R/up: Scott Kirkman 33 on count back. C Grade 18-Hole Handicap Winner: Gerard Everson 75. C Grade 18-Hole Handicap R/ up: Geoff Drane 76. C Grade 18-Hole Stableford R/up: James McLuckie 32. Ladies 18-Hole Scratch Winner: Robyn Hammond 87. Ladies 18-Hole Scratch R/ up: Julie Hurkett 92 on count back. Ladies 18-Hole Handicap R/up: Jill Cripps 72. Ladies 18-Hole Stableford Winner: Brianna Duncan 37. Ladies 18-Hole Stableford R/up: Judy Hodge 35.

Junior 18-Hole Scratch Winner: Lee Grierson 79. Junior 18-Hole Handicap Winner: Jordan Brett 76. Veterans 18-Hole Scratch Winner: Richard Nixon 81.Veterans 18-Hole Handicap Winner: Ted Morgan 71.
Best Scratch score by a Visitor – Peter Kirwan 75.

And now the NTP’s, played on all par-3’s. Ladies 1st – Kathy Collitts. Ladies 3rd – Denise Squires. Ladies 9th – Libby Godden. Ladies 18th – Judy Hodge. Mens 1st – John Zannes. Mens 9th – Adrian Acheson.

On Saturday the golfers vied for the Monthly Medals.  The A-grade winner was Todd Callaghan, with 76 scratch and 70 nett. Runner-up was Dan Bayley with nett 72. The B-grade (32) winner was Peter Barnes with a 67 nett. Runner-up was John Zannes with a 68. The C-grade (20) winner was Stuart French with a respectable 70 nett. Runnerup
on count back was Bruce Chandler, also with a 70.

On Sunday a field of 18 players, plus a junior, contested the regular Stableford Medley. Ron Hurst played the best he has in a long time to score 39 points, which included a par on the 16th. Runner-up was Dave Mylecharane with 37 points.

The NTP’s went to: 9th – R Morris; 18th – E Coombs.
The ball sweep went to 35 points and included: 36 – D Rhodes, 35 – R Morris.
The Vets Golf was a 12-hole event played at Parkes on 5th November. The winner was Geoff Collitts (F) with 24
points. Close behind was Max Haley (F) with 23 points. And the Encouraging Award went to Rick Glover (P).

The NTP’s were: 4th – A-grade P Bishop (P), B-grade ‘nil’; 11th – A-grade J Davies (P), B-grade ‘nil’. The ball sweep went down to 20 points, being distributed to Parkes – R Hamilton, P Harris, L Sunderland, R Bell, S Bell, R Luyts, and to Forbes – G Coles. The Mick Miller Shield (best six scores) went to Parkes with 126 points against Forbes 122.

The Ping Golf Equipment Demonstration day will be held on Tuesday 17 November. See Daniel to book a spot to try the gear any time between 3 and 6 pm. The 2015 Presentation Night will be held at the Sportsman’s and Golfie Hotel on 21 November, following the day’s play.

Saturday’s play was Round 3 of the Club Men’s Championships. There were 78 players in the field, and while not all were eligible for the championships, they all wanted to do well.

Once again A Dukes played steady golf, compiling a fine 75 Scratch to continue leading the A-Grade. Steve Uphill leads Bgrade after his 86, and Craig Barrett has taken the lead in C-grade with his 88.

The round of the day goes to Pete Cowhan, with his 80 scratch, 68 nett. He was playing alongside Daniel Bayley, a contender in the A Grade, and encouraged all the way by Sam Clarke. The results for the Daily Comp, a nett
event, in three grades, are:
A-Grade: P Cowhan (68) on count back from R Nioxon (68).
B-Grade: A Callaghan (69) from D Rhodes (70 on count back).
C-grade: C Barrett (68) on count back from S French (68).

The ball sweep went to 72 nett and was shared by those above plus: 69 – D Mylecharane, D Bayley, A Grierson, 70 – A Dukes, I Bown, 71 – A McDonald, B Carpenter, P Dawson, T Callaghan, M Haley, S Uphill B Parker, B Chandler, R Borger, L O’Connor.

Nearest the pins were: 9th – Scott Kirkman; 18th – A Dukes. Both got their 2’s.

There were five 2’s scored all day, with only one on the 3rd and none scored by C-graders. It seems strange that with good fairways and good greens very few were able to get close.

The final round on Sunday had a field of 49 players, where the top four contenders in each grade played in their own groups, and others played when they can. In the A-grade, Andrew Dukes was a little unsteady at first, courtesy of a big score on his nemesis hole – an ‘8’ on the 7th – but then he steadied to finish strongly.

Saturday’s Men’s comp was the 18-hole Monthly Medal. There were 61 players in the field, which was quite good when we consider the last weekend of the school holidays, the attention of Grand Finals football, and the many events occurring around the town.

It was apt that the sponsors were Robb’s Jewellers, as there was many a bright crystal among the course conditions and the scoring. The winner of the A Grade Monthly Medal (22 players) was Peter ‘Ecky’ Dawson with a Nett score of 68. To produce his par round, Ecky’s shot 2-under for the front 9 and 2-over for the back 9. A bogey-bogey start to the back 9 put the pressure on him but he recovered well. This was surely a practice round with Ecky’s eye on the Championships commencing next week.

Rob Webb did very well, shooting a balanced 41 for both 9’s to finish Runner-up on nett 70, by count back. Rob was cruising on the front nine, then really whooped up with an eagle on the 6th. In B Grade (23), Cameron McMillan played steady golf to finish with a nett 70. His score on the 11th was a little untidy, but for the other 17 holes he was always around his handicap.

Runner-up was William Gordon (71 nett) who also was tidy, matching Cameron hole by hole except on the 4th and 13th, where he was a little astray. These two Junior players are really demonstrating the high calibre and depth of our Junior members. The C Grade (16) Monthly Medal very clearly showed that you do not need to be long to be a winner.

Frank Hanns took the honours with a carefully constructed nett 70, finishing one shot better than Runner-up Craig Myers. They played at opposite ends of the day, indicating that the conditions were very fair throughout. Craig found it better to score well by playing the fairway beside where he should have been. He met many players that way, but did not see much of his playing group.

The ball sweep went to 72 on count back and was shared by those above plus: 70 – D Bayley, 71 – S Grallelis, Andrew Drane, N McMillan, R Nixon, B Shine, 72 – A Rees, A McDonald, I Bown. Well done guys. Nearest the pins were: 9th – Anthony Gordon; 18th – Ron Morris. Anthony got his ‘2’ but Ronnie missed out. There were five 2’s scored all day, with the 9th hole being most prolific.

Jack Clarke needed his ‘2’ to try to stem the flow of lost holes for the “Keno Stakes”. He hoped his ‘2’ would pressure his opponent to miss his, but Stevie G held his nerve to get his and keep the foot hard down on the Keno stakes. There was some consistent play by many players. One consistency stands out markedly – 5’s on every hole on the back-9. Brian Everest achieved this feat, thankful that he had a good front-9 to make his card look respectable. The worst of it was 3-putt on the last hole to complete the set. Sunday’s play was an 18-hole Stableford
Medley. It was a small but lively field, with many players ‘absent on Grand Final duties’. However it was a good mix of men, ladies and visitors.

The winner was Jill Cripps with 39 points, just ahead of Rob Lea on 38 points. Unfortunately the scores took a dive from there, despite the good playing conditions. The ball sweep went to 33 and included Jill, Rob, and Mitchell Andrews (33) on count back. No 2’s were recorded, so the NTP’s are pretty lonely – 9Th: J Cripps; 18th: F Smith. This was a good day for the Ladies.

On Monday 5 October, which was a public holiday, there was also a Stableford Medley. There were 21 players who obviously wanted some fresh air after the Grand Final television watching blitz. The Duncan family must have been really happy with the AFL result, because they all were in good spirits, although Essendon did not play.

The winner was Biana Duncan, with 47 points, and ahead of Niel Duncan on 45 points. Briana was quite tidy on the front-9 but scored better on the back-9 despite having a ‘wipe’ on one hole. Scoring ‘4 pointers’ on the 10th, 14th and
16th holes really did the job and it was good golf all around.

The NTPs went to – 9th: N Duncan, 18th: E Hush. Niel got his ‘2’ but sadly Eileen missed out. Other 2’s, were scored on the 9th by J Cripps and the 1st by N Duncan, who luckily avoided the ‘A par on the 1st hole leads to a bad round’ rule. On Thursday 1 October, the Vets played a 12-hole event at Forbes in delightful conditions. Encouraging numbers of 32 players participated, with 19 from Forbes, and 13 from Parkes.

The winner was Milton Cartwright (F), with 27 points, a little lower than the conditions may have seemed likely. Runner-up on 26, by count back, was Dave Williams (F). The Bradman Award went to Allen Affleck (P) who just did not seem to get any rhythm going. He did manage more than one point per hole, just. The NTP’s went to – 9th A Grade: P Bishop, B Grade: T Edols; 18th A Grade: B Toole, B Grade L Byrne.

The Mick Miller Shield emphasised that when Forbes turn it on, they really turn it on. The field was fairly even, but it was an emphatic result for Forbes, with 151 points to Parkes 133. That was a real treat for the Forbes boys who have faltered over recent weeks. There are some very important AGM’s coming up. The Mens Committee AGM is scheduled for Thursday 15 October, at the Forbes Sportman’s Hotel. The following week, the FGA AGM is to be held on 21 October, also at the Sportsman’s Hotel.

Saturday’s game was a 4-person Ambrose. In all 72 players took to the course in 19 groups. Not all groups had the full complement of players, but all were encouraged by the sponsor Alby Callaghan to play with lusty strokes and much gusto. The winners were the group of Ron Hurst, Shirley Redfern, Fleur Wells and Phil Wells, returning a score of 56.8 nett (rounding to the nearest decimal point, not the multiple decimal points that some tried to use).

Three birdies (one on the notorious 7th hole) and three bogeys gave a level par score, but their handicap really helped. For the record, a group comprising some of the ‘battlecruisers’ of the membership enjoyed the conditions so much that they knocked 10 shots off par. Yes, their 62 scratch was made up of 10 birdies and no bogeys. A run of five birdies to finish the front-9 helped. And who were they? Daniel Bayley, Peter Dawson, Kim Herbert, Michael Wood are the battlecruisers, leaving the label of battleships to the Betland boys.

The ball sweep went to 58.8 nett and was shared by the winners and: 57.6 – T Morgan, J Morgan, S French, A McDonald; 58.5 – P Dawson, D Bayley, K Herbert, M Wood; 58.7 – J Haley, R Taylor, B Monaghan, L Byrne; 58.8 –
S Garvey, T Griffiths, L Godden, B Carpenter. Some very close results through all that.

Nearest the pins went to: 9th – Randall Grayson; 18th – Peter Dawson. The 2’s story is interesting. There were 7 scored overall, but one group got three 2’s, missing out on the 1st hole. Guess who that group was! Good to see the Forbes Roving Golf Ambassador, namely ‘Digit’ McAuliffe, who came from Nelson Bay GC via Thailand, playing on
the weekend. It is always good to see Digit playing here, as he maintains his Forbes ‘roots’ and supports us very well.
Sunday’s Stableford Medley was also well supported with a field of 20. The scores matched the conditions – really good all round.

The winner was Cameron McMillan with 40 points, showing the results of some very intensive practice sessions. Runner-up was Ron Morris with 39 points, who missed a good chance for a win courtesy of a ‘7’ on the 15th.
The ball sweep went to 38 points and included: Cameron and Ron plus 38 – Neil McMillan, Peter Grayson and Ray Taylor. The NTP’s were: 9th – N McMillan, and 18th – B Monaghan, of whom Neil got his ‘2’. Other 2’s went to Briana Duncan (9th) and Neil Duncan (3rd).

Through last week, the Vets had a ‘Week of Golf’ at Parkes, which comprised 54 holes at Parkes and a lay-day played at Forbes. Vets players came from as far afield as Hervey Bay (Qld), making up a field of 55 overall. A good contingent of Forbes players tried their best. Some basic results are: 54-holes: A-grade Scratch to G Brambly
(Hervey Bay) 104. 54 holes: B-grade Scratch to Rod Luyt (Parkes) 120. 36-hole Stableford: A-grade to Barry Shine
(Forbes) 69 points. 36-hole Stableford: B-grade to Rob Lea (Parkes) 64 points. There were 18-hole events run on the Mon, Tue and Thu. The best Forbes effort came from Ted Morgan, with 39 points in Tuesday’s event.

The Lay-day at Forbes, attended by 34 players, was a Medley event. Milton Cartwright, playing alongside two ladies, pulled a winning score of 41 points. In 3rd place was another Forbes player, Fleur Wells with 38 points. This week the Vets are playing a 12-hole event at Forbes. The usual 12:30 pm assembly for a 1:00 pm start. The weather promises to be extra nice so get out there and enjoy it.

Some news items for you: All players are encouraged to wear an item of pink clothing on Saturday 10 October.
This is to register support for Cancer Research and the good work that local support groups, like Can-Assist, provide to cancer sufferers. You can wear a pink hat, or pink socks, or a complete Pink ensemble, but please get into the spirit of it. And I am pleased to announce the result of the Mixed Foursomes event. You may remember that when this was played the Scratch result was a tie, and thus a play-off was needed. With four players all having different commitments it was hard to get them back together to ‘finish the job’.

On Monday 28 Sep Andrew Dukes and Sally Crosby battled it out against Jeff Haley and Ethel Coombs, over 18 holes. At the end of the day the victors were Andrew and Sally with a Scratch score of 76. Unfortunately it was not a good day for Jeff and Ethel who had quite a few problems in their round. A couple
of shots into the water on the 4th helped their score creep up to over 90.

Thus, for the 2015 Mixed Foursomes, A Dukes/S Crosby are the Scratch winners, and J Haley/E Coombs are the Handicap winners. What a marathon.

Good Field at Golf
The format on Saturday was a 4BBB Stableford Medley, sponsored by Cahill’s Footwear. There were 67 in the field, making up 34 pairings. The winners were the pairing of Craig Barrett and Peter Grayson. They did team well,
scoring a number of 3-pointers and a 4-pointer to more than cover the three misses they had.

Runners up on count back were the Woods, father and son, with 46 points. They showed brilliance with birdies on the 7th and 15th holes, and managed no less than 2-points on every hole. The ball sweep went to 43 points and was
shared by those above and: 46 – A Callaghan/ Chandler, 45 – Rhodes/Finn, Baker/F Smith, Newport/Drane 43- J Cripps/Taylor, Edols/Cartwright, Morris/Kirkman.

Nearest the pins went to: 9th – B Chandler; 18th – R Taylor, but neither got their ‘2’. Across the whole field there were only two 2’s scored, and both on the 9th. They went to the Callaghan/Chandler and L Godden/ Carpenter pairings.

Sunday’s Stableford Medley was well supported with a field of 27. The winner was Jordan Brett with 43 points,
and showing a desire to put an early tan on his legs. Runner-up was Peter Dawson with 42 points, on count back from Rob Webb and Michael Wood Jnr. The ball sweep went to 36 points and included:
42 – Rob Webb, Michael Wood Jnr,
38 – Kevin Vale, 37 – Ray Taylor, 36 – Ethel Coombs, Scott Kirkman, Shane Sallaway.

Don’t forget the “Golf Open Day” on Sep 27. Players are encouraged to come along and help any visitors, and also to encourage anybody they know who may be interested to come along and have ago. The fun starts at 10am.

Successful Junior Golf Camp
During this week Daniel Newton, Head Professional at Forbes GC, has been running a Juniors Camp. The main group attended on Monday and Tuesday, while a session for newer golfers was run on Thursday.

There were 21 Juniors registered on the Mon/Tue camp. Monday had a series of coaching classes, then the Juniors were assigned into groups to play a 7-hole Ambrose event. The results for that were:

Division 1 – Will Gordon/ Harry Leadbitter with 30 shots.
Division 2 – Matty Duke/Jack Nadin/Fred Stuckey with 35 shots.

Tuesday had more coaching sessions for the newer starters, and the “Juniors-on-the- Move” 9-hole and 6-hole events. The results for those events are:
9-Hole Division 1 winner: Brianna Duncan.
9-Hole Division 2 Winner: Gus Hooper.
6-hole Handicap Winner: Alec Mclean.

Despite a cold wind the juniors really showed enthusiasm throughout the coaching sessions and their play.

After two delays because of bad weather, the Mens Foursomes Championship was finally held over two days last weekend. Saturday played the first round with a field comprising 40 players in 20 teams. The first round Scratch leaders were Steve Betland and Mark Collits, who finished the day with a par 72 round. Close on their heels were Andrew Dukes and Shane Sallaway, 7 shots adrift.

The first round Handicap leaders were Betland/Collits with a nett 70. Not far behind them was Craig Barrett and Allan Rees on nett 72. The ball sweep went to 73 and was shared by those above and: 72.5 – B Squires/P Kay,
R Morris/S Kirkman, 73 – B Carpenter/B Shine.

Nearest the pins went to: 9th – A Dukes; 18th – M Collits, of whom only Mark got his ‘2’. In fact, there were only two 2’s scored all day, with Morris/Kirkman bagging one on the 3rd. On Day Two, Dukes/Sallaway got off to a flyer with a 1-under 35 for the first nine.

They lost shots on the 13th and the 15th but still returned with a Scratch 76. Runnerup for the second round were Betland/Collits, with a somewhat untidy 78. The Day Two Handicap winners were Morris/Kirkman. They improved their scratch score by five shots from the previous day and finished with a 67 ½ nett. Behind them was the pairing of Bown/Newport, finishing with 71 nett. The ball sweep went to 72, and were distributed by: those above plus P Dawson/R Taylor. The NTP’s went to: 9th – P Barnes; 18th – M Spice. No-one scored 2’s that day.

The Results for the Overall Championship
are:
Scratch Winners – Steve Betland/ Mark Collits 150.
Scratch Runners-up – Andrew Dukes/Shane Sallaway 155.
Handicap Winners – Scott Kirkman/ R Morris 140.
Handicap Runners-up – Ian Bown/ Graham Newport 146, on count back.

The Sunday Stableford Medley was available for those men and ladies who were not involved in any of the Championship events. The winner was Milton Cartwright with 40 points, and showing a welcome return to good form. Runner-up was Tom Edols with a tidy 36 points. They both enjoyed the splendid conditions.

The Forbes Golf Club Summer Super 6’s are getting organised! Team nominations and entry fees are due by Friday 2 October with entry forms available at the Pro Shop. The handicap round starts 2 October with full competition starting on 12 October.

For those wanting to “dip their toes in” before contemplating golf, come along to the Forbes Golf Club Open Day on Sunday 27 September. Our friendly pro Daniel Newton will be on hand to help.