Forbes golfers enjoyed good weather and good course conditions on the weekend, which was especially pleasing after the rain during the week. The soft conditions on the fairways hindered some but assisted others. 

The Saturday mens competition was the Monthly Medal, an Individual stroke event. 

The good weather encouraged the field of 71 and also helped a few visitors to enjoy the day. 

A-Grade was won by Andrew Dukes with 67 nett. This was a rare but welcome day of near par golf for him. Runner-up was Shane Sallaway with 68 nett. His 2-under scratch was built on a 2-under front-9. 

The B-Grade was won by Randall Grayson with 64 nett, the best nett score of the day. Unlike most players, the best part of his game was the back-9. Runner-up was Anthony Alley with 70 nett, compiled in a topsy-turvy manner. 

C-Grade Medal was taken out by Matt Duff. He was the Runner-up for the day, with 75 nett, but took the Medal because the winner was a visitor. Michael Arrow (Cumberland GC) enjoyed his round after a more than 20 year hiatus, scoring 70 nett to win the Grade. 

The ball sweep went to 76 nett on c/b. 

The NTP’s went to: 9th – Les Little; 18th – Stuart Thomas. The 3rd hole Superpin was won by Matt Walton, with an exciting shot to 61 cm. 

On Sunday there were not enough players registered to run a comp. 

This week we have an 18-hole Stableford, sponsored by Jelbarts Tyrepower, with the year’s highlight being next week when players ‘shoot’ for a Xmas ham, sponsored by Woolworths Forbes. 

Short Putt 

The Forbes golfers found the conditions hot but matched it with hot putting to bring success in the weekend golf. 

Saturday had an Individual Stroke event, sponsored by Loomzy’s Fish n Fix, which also served to crown the ‘Medal of Medallist’ for the year. More than 20 of the winning Medallists were in the field of 58, aiming to gain both Daily comp and 

Medallist accolades. 

For the Daily Comp, Div 1 was won by Doug Churchill with 66 nett. His putting left scorch marks on the greens. Runner-up was Niel Duncan with 70 nett, and who just missed out on the ‘MoM’ trophy. 

The Div-2 was won by Kailab Tyne, bring his second prize for the day. He also had great success with the putter. Runner-up was Fons Melisi, 70 nett, who also just missed the ‘MoM’. 

The ball sweep went to 76 nett on count back. The NTP’s went to: 9 th – Caleb 

Hanrahan; 18th – Mick Livingston. 

The 3rd Hole Superpin went to Mark Watts. On a gusty wind-affected day he was pleased to find the green, let alone get to 2.46 metres. It was good enough though. 

There were too few to run a Sunday Stableford Medley comp. But a Junior who did play was pleased to have beaten his Dad, even if it was only on one hole. 

This weekend will be a 4BBB on Saturday and the Forbes Nissan Classic on Sunday. 

Short Putt 

The Mens golf competition on Saturday was the November Monthly Medal, sponsored by Jelbarts Tyrepower. The sunny hot weather meant the field of 64 had their games done and dusted early. 

The A-Grade Winner was visitor Daryl ‘Digit’ McAuliffe with a 68 nett. His power-play showed the younger players a thing or two. Runner-up and Medal winner was Peter Dawson with 70 nett, slipping ahead of Steve Betland on count back. Peter enjoyed his birdies on the 7th and 8 th holes. 

The B-Grade went to Michael Livingston with a 67 nett. This capped off a couple of weeks of good but unrewarded low scoring. Runner-up, again, was Jeff House (70 nett) who played par-golf on the front-9, but had a few hiccups coming home. 

The C-Grade saw the return of a rejuvenated Brett Woonton who won with the 

lowest score of the day, a nett 64. He almost could do no wrong. Runner-up was 

Liam Fraser with 75 nett, continuing his run of prize gathering. 

The NTP’s went to: 9th – Rob Webb; 18th – Wayne O’Niell. The Pro Shop Super-pin went to Anthony Alley with a shot to 2.53 metres, and he got his ‘2’. The ball sweep went to 74 nett. 

This weekend the NSW Country Championships will be played at South West Rocks. 

We extend our best wishes to the Lachlan Valley team, which includes our top players, who are focused on bringing home some glory. 

Head Pro Will has a Mizuno Equipment Demo day coming up and it is scheduled for Wed 15th of November. Contact the Pro Shop to book in. 

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The Annual Alby Callaghan Shield, contested as a 4-Person Ambrose Medley competition. Once again the family tradition continued as a member of the Callaghan family was in the winning team. 

This time it was son Todd Callaghan, the team comprising Todd, Peter Dawson, Stuart French and Kim Herbert. Their score of 56 ¼ nett was built on a 

Scratch score of 59. Their seven birdies on the front-9 and six birdies on the back-9 gave them a great score. 

Runners-up were Laurie O’Connor, Phil Duke, Tony Cogswell and Verna Lane. Their nett 57 5/8 was off a Scratch of 65. Verna used her Ladies tee advantage on some holes to good effect. 

The ball sweep went to 58 7/8 nett, going to four groups. 

The NTP’s went to: 9th – Men Barry Parker, Ladies Brianna Duncan; 18th – Men John Betland, Ladies NIL. The 3 rd hole Superpin was won by Hamish Steele-Park, with a handy shot to 202 cm. 

Sunday saw the playing of the Mixed Foursomes Championship. This was contested by 11 groups. This is played over 27-holes, with alternating tee shots. 

The Scratch winners were John Betland and Nicole Death with 123, who managed one birdie all day. Scratch Runners-up were Niel and Brianna Duncan on 126. 

The Handicap winners were Matt Walton and Robin Lyell on 101.5. Runners up were Steve and Ev Uphill on 103.5. 

The ball sweep went to 110 ¼ on count back. The NTPs were: 9th – Men NIL, Ladies H Davidson; 18th – Men A Dukes, Ladies NIL. 

This week we have the Monthly Medal, sponsored by Jelbarts Tyrepower. 

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On Saturday the Nutrien 4BBB annual event was run and again thanks to one of our long term sponsors. There were 62 starters for this team’s event where the best score on the hole is totalled for the team. There was also an Individual event held in conjunction.

The winning combination were David Ford and Jake O’Brien who compiled a tidy 49 points. They combined well, with David pulling in 39 points and Jake 38 points. In the ladies event the pairing of Cath Kelly and Patsy Christie reigned supreme on the day, compiling 44 points.

In the Individual stakes, Max Keith on 42 points just got home in front of Wayne Tucker with 41 points and John Dwyer piling on the points for a 40. With the new track settling in, the fear is starting to dissipate, and golfers are coming to grips with it. Jake O’Brien shot a three over and Anthony Riach, Aaron, Wilkie and Max Keith all shot four overs.

The Nearest The Pins on Saturday were –The Idlerite 1st by Colleen Staples at 320cm, the Harvey Norman 11th by Chris Goodie at 320cm, the Parkes Ready Mixed Concrete 9th by Myles Smith at 190cm, the Harvey Norman 11th by Rod Kiley at 130 cm and the 18th by Col Breaden at 548cm. The lucrative 11th hole was won by Chris Goodie at 320cm this week.

Ball winners were Wayne Tucker 41, John Dwyer 40, Anthony Riach, John Pearce, Tom Delmenico 39, Ken Keith, Finne Latu 38, Jimmy Kuntze, Ron Hetherington 37. Captain Cath once again pummeled President David with the scores at 157 to 131

This week is the October Monthly Medal proudly presented by Telescope Tyres and Batteries / Hankook Masters with the daily sponsor being Peter Woods and Associates.

On Saturday 30th September, the Mens golf competition was the October Monthly Medal, sponsored by Forbes Concrete. This event was played this weekend because of the Club Champs starting next week. The field of 63 enjoyed the conditions.

The A-Grade Winner was Chharlws Dwyer with a 69 nett. He played very well alongside Head Pro Will, finishing with a ‘2’. Runner-up was Brad Ashton with 71 nett. His overall good game was not rewarded.

The B-Grade went to Fons Melisi returning a 68 nett, despite three double-bogeys along the way. Runner-up was Jeff House (69 nett) who lost concentration on the back-9 and also lost the Keno.

The C-Grade provided the lowest score with Lachlan Alley carding 66 nett, and this after recovering from a broken arm. Runner-up was Frank Hanns with 71 nett, who beat off Ross Williams on count back.

The NTP’s went to: 9th John Betland; 18th Harry Callaghan. The Pro Shop Super-pin went to Niel Duncan with a shot to 1.0 metres, and he got his ‘2’. The ball sweep went to 74 nett on count back.

The visitors included Steven Neal and Ed Cummins (Wentworth GC), and Scott Galloway (Trentham GC) from Victoria, here to meet his mates.

The Sunday Stableford 9-Hole Medley, played on the front-9, had 6 starters. They were all out early to beat the heat. The best score came from Mike Livingston with 22 points, and breaking a drought to be in the winner’s circle. Runner up was Brianna Duncan with 21 pts.

Monday had an 18-hole Individual Stableford Medley. There were 12 starters with Peter Dawson winning (38 pts). The ball sweep went to 35 pts on c/b. NTP’s went to Brett Thomas and Scott Galloway

This weekend we have the start of the Club Individual Championships.

By Short Putt

Congratulations to Aaron Wilkie and Jack Elliott who have been selected in the Lachlan Valley Men’s team to contest the GolfNSW NSW Country Week Championships at Rocks Country Club 11th and 12th November 2023. We will host this event on 9th and 10th November 2024 and hope to have more reps in team.

The Parkes Open weekend kicked off on Friday 15th September with the ProKonnect day, sponsored by Jake and Sammy, where everyone got to have a look at the course in relaxed and inviting stableford event. Ten visiting clubs were represented on the day, with local Ben Coultas firing a handy 42 point total to take out the event. 

We then moved to highly prized Cam Standen shootout event. The event was on the 9th hole, 120m out with a large crowd on hand to see the contestants try their luck at getting nearest the pin. Riall Harrison posted the closest, lining up with barely minutes left to fire a 65cm gem in to claim the prize.

The Epiroc day on Saturday, Alex Diamond and team again sponsored our 4BBB event and this lead-in to the Sunday stroke event proving very popular with players. In the scratch event the President and Vice President of PGC came out on top as David Stevenson and Peter Bristol combined well in the relaxed atmosphere and recorded 37 points, with Bristol recording an eagle on the 8th to bump up the points.

At the SCT Open on the Sunday it was great to have the sponsors representatives in attendance and swinging the clubs in pursuit of the prestigious trophy alongside representatives from 30 other golf clubs.

We were treated to a special event on the newly realigned golf course with Rob Hey from Parkes and Peter Kirwan from Cowra, with a former Parkes resident, tying on 114 after the compulsory 27 hole event. With a 3 hole playoff required, down the 1st, along the 2nd then up the par 5 18th, the hill in front of the clubhouse packed, combatants were tied after 3 holes, this required the 18th to be replayed until a winner was decided. Four more times the golfing warriors battled it out until the sun started to set and the green was covered in shadows then Peter Kirwan sank a short putt to be crowned the 2023 SCT Parkes Open Champion. After that battle neither player deserved to lose so congratulations to both. The SCT 27 hole Handicap winner was local Stephen Riley.

The 18 hole Handicap winner in A grade was Sam Morgan from DuntryLeague with 70 winning on a countback from David O’Bryan from Dubbo.

The Fred Funnell Memorial Vets trophy was won by David O’Bryan from Dubbo on 70, the prestigious Gidgie Leister Memorial 18 trophy was won by Richard Crane with a score of 62, the Keith Clark Memorial Scratch Vets trophy was won by Rob Hey on 73, the PGC local Junior winner was Simon Hogan.

The traditional Tom Casey Long Drive contests this year was on the 13th hole for the first time and was won by Mitchell Smith Narromine in A grade with 301m, Torin Hando 291m in B grade and Liam Conn from Wellington in C grade at 286m.

After a long and anxious wait our members finally got to have a hit on the new revamped layout in the Telescope Tyres and Batteries / Hankook Masters sponsored Monthly Medal with our day sponsor being Matthews Mediation and our genuine thanks go to Mel Matthews for the support she gives the club via many means. It was also the day we celebrated the Bob Smith Memorial Day supported by the Smith family and we thank Mick and the family.

Everyone hit off the traditional 1 st hole and it was great to see the whole course covered in players and some of the new tees bringing players closer together during play than they have ever been.

There was a southerly blowing which was causing some chill in the air but that didn’t deter the golfing fraternity. Our best field for some considerable time with 122 players eager to test themselves and the new course but there were only 4 players breaking 80 this week and 42 golfers breaking 100, so round 1 definitely went to the course.

The honour of hitting the first ball on the course went to Lindsay Elliott and he and his group enjoyed the rare feat of playing the first competition round on the course. Coincidently Lindsay must have been overly pumped with the opportunity, as he hit shot only 3.5m from the pin and that shot lasted all day as he won the nearest the pin – I’m sure that story will be embellished over the years to come.

In A Grade Jack Elliott signalled his early favouritism for the club championships with a solid 77 off the stick to narrowly beat home Michael Dumesny by a stroke. This was just a 1 over his handicap round for Jack and with his long hitting game, which was required off the long blue markers, this was a great first outing. A big day for the Elliott family. Michael Dumesny has been making the A grade medals his realm this year and again was the clubhouse leader for a sustained period. Justin O’Malley from the Federal GC and the ever present Wayne Parker were the only others below 80. In the nett event Joe Van Opynen was out and about with a solid 70 with Jack Matthews and Wayne Parker back on 72.

This month the competitive Griffins Leading Edge putting competition was won by Jack Elliott with 25 putts. Although there was some speed difference on the greens on their first outing they were true and will be a handful once they speed up. The Norman family sponsored Wally Norman Vets Medal was taken out by Wayne Parker with his 72 nett, making sure he got something on the day.

This coming week we have on Friday a 9 and 18 Hole Medley Stableford Sponsored by ProKonnect, the ‘Shootout’ Sponsored by Cameron Standen, Saturday an 18 Hole EPIROC 4BBB Stableford and on Sunday- 27 Hole SCT Parkes Open Tournament.