Saturday’s competition was the Golf NSW/Keno 2-ball Ambrose, jointly sponsored by Marg and Ron Hurst and E Coombs and F Smith. The 72 players, playing in Men’s, Mixed and Ladies categories, were keen to win and go on to the Regional Finals.

With good numbers in the Men’s category the Runners-up team were also nominated for the Regional Final:

• Men’s Winners: M Spice/A Dukes with 62.75 nett.
• Men’s Runners-up: D Bayley/J Boyle with 65 nett.
• Mixed Winners: A Tucker/J Fletcher with 66 nett.
• Ladies Winners: K Steele-Park/ J Ridley with 70.75 nett.

The ball sweep in the Overall event went to 67 points, going to: 62.75 – A Dukes/M Spice; 65 – D Bayley/J Boyle; 66- B Carpenter/N McMillan, A Tucker/J Fletcher; 66.5 – D Williams/S Hayes, R Webb/ D Culley; 66.75 – P Pymont/R Smith; 67 – D Rhodes/ P Tisdell.

The NTP’s went to: Men 9th – B Squires, 18th – A Dukes; Ladies 9th – S Grierson, 18th – B Drabsch.

A delightful ‘2’ was scored by Jenny Fletcher on the 9th. Using Ash’s drive, which had only just cleared the creek, Jenny made a solid stroke from among the tall grass and watched as the ball shot up the green and dived into the hole.

The Sunday Stableford Medley was played in good conditions.

The winner was Stuart Hayes (Murrumbidgee) on 37 points, with Runner-up being Ethel Coombs on 35 points. The Ball Sweep went to Barb Drabsch on 33 points. Unfortunately there were no NTP’s recorded.

On this weekend we have the Monthly Medal, sponsored by Mc- Feeters Motor Museum on Saturday. Sunday has the Stableford Medley, and the Bogan Gate Open.

By Short Putt

Saturday’s Men’s competition was the annual American Foursomes, sponsored by Milton Cartwright, and contested by 28 pairs of players. This event requires good combination of players abilities, which were ably demonstrated by the winners.

Steve and John Betland used their brotherly ESP to produce a winning score of 65 Nett. It was a delightful amalgam of shots which compiled a 34-31 split. Runners-up in a near equal score were Terry Griffiths and Craig Barrett, with a handicap assisted 65.5 nett.

The ball sweep went to 67.5 nett on count back. The lucky recipients were: 65 – S and J Betland; 65.5 – T Griffiths/ C Barrett; 66 – N McMillan/ B Carpenter; 66.5 – B Everest/ P Maher; 67 – L Little/ G Falvey; 67.5 – B Hazell/ W Judge, A Dukes/ S French.

The NTP’s went to: 9th – D Churchill; 18th – S Betland, with only three 2’s scored overall. Visitors included players from Hervey Bay and Dubbo.

The funniest story was provided by Bob Borger and Peter Barnes. Off the 4th tee they both put their shots into the dry dam on the corner. Then swapping balls they both played out to the green with Peter putting his shot onto the flat stuff. It was follow the leader.

The Presentation for the Winter 3’s comp was held at the Golfie, with all teams represented. Congratulations to the Winners (G Besgrove, T Rousell, N Girot), the Runners- up (R Taylor, J Haley, A Tucker), and the best score Winner (Som).

By Short Putt

Last weekend the Sand Grass Green Championship was played at Grenfell and Forbes courses. Sponsored by Forbes Shire Council, the event attracted 73 golfers from across NSW.

The 36-hole Men’s Scratch Champion was John Betland (Forbes) with a Scratch Stableford score of 72 points.

The 36-hole Women’s Scratch Champion was Jan Crichton (Killara) with a Scratch Stableford score of 56, and the Runnerup was defending champion Chantelle Greaves (Dunedoo) with 49 points.

The 36-hole Men’s Nett Winner was Barry Green (Grenfell) with 68 points. He used his 17 handicap well to finish ahead of Dan Bayley (Forbes) with 67 points. Dan got the nod on count back from two other players on 67.

The 36-hole Women’s Nett Winner was Virginia Drogemuller (Grenfell). Virginia was well pleased with her result, but not as pleased as Runner-up. Elyse Troth (Grenfell) was so thrilled in this her first major competition that she wanted to hug everybody in the room.

Teams Winner – Forbes (J Betland/S Betland/D Bayley/ M Grant)

Forbes NTP’s (sponsored by Greater West Golf):
• Women 9th – Alice Wood (Killara); 18th – Liz Harding (Young)
• Men 9th – John Betland; 18th Steve Betland (Forbes).

The sideways sloping fairways on the Grenfell course provided many challenges, while blustery wind conditions at Forbes pushed many golfers into the trees.

The local Men’s comp on Saturday was an Individual Stableford, sponsored by Gunn’s Traffic Control, and contested by a field of 44 players.

The A-Division winner was Phil Maher (35 points) on count back from Brian Everest (35 points). The B-Division winner was Denis Culley with 44 points, while runner-up was Martin Cahill with 39 points.

The ball sweep went to: 44 – D Culley; 39 – M Cahill; 38 – R Scott; 37 – J Cutler; 35 – R Baker, L Little, P Maher, B Everest, H Steel-Park, N McMillan, R Smith. Both NTP’s went to Barry Parker.

By Short Putt