Saturday’s competition was play for the Hawke Trophy, a 4BBB Stableford Medley event, where a strong field of 60 players took part.

Steve Betland and Troy Howe pounded the course to finish with 49 points, well ahead of the rest of the field. With Steve’s power play and Troy’s timely contributions they were well pleased with themselves.

Runners-up were Paul Pymont and Richard Smith with a very good 46 points. This was one of five teams to finish on that score, so a count-back was needed. The ball sweep went to 45-points on count back: 49 – S Betland/ T Howe; 46 – P Pymont/R Smith, C Kelly (P)/ M Green (P), F Hanns/ L Little, S & K Harrold (Shelly Beach), S Hayes/ S Grant (Murrumbidgee); 45 – G & A Drane, A Callaghan/ G Newport.

The NTP’s went to: 9th – Ladies: E Coombs; Men: A Davies; 18th – Ladies – Nil; Men – P Dawson. There were eight 2’s scored, with Herbert/Kirkman getting 2’s on each of the 3rd and 9th holes.

On Easter Friday there was a Stableford Medley with 20 participants. The winner was Shane Sallaway with 39 points, ahead of Stephen Grant (Murrumbidgee) with 37 points on count back. The ball sweep went to 37, going to: 37 – S French, G Falvey and B Slack-Smith. The NTP’s went to: 9th – S Sallaway; 18th – S Grant.

On Sunday, the scheduled 27-hole 2-P Ambrose Medley was replaced by a Stableford Medley, contested by a small field of 9 players. The winner was Dave Mylecharane with a good 40 points. Runner-up was Ethel Coombs on 38 points on count back. The ball sweep went to 38 points, going to Ash Tucker. The NTP’s went to: 9th – A Tucker; 18th – P Dawson.

Easter Monday also had a Stableford Medley, with a good group out playing. The winner was Nick Ryan with 41 points, ahead of Ecky Dawson with 40 points. The ball sweep going down to 35 points on count back: 41 – N Ryan; 40 – P Dawson; 39 – T Cogswell; 36 – G Webb, P Tisdell; 35 – D Rhodes, A Dukes. Andrew also cleaned up on the NTP’s, snaring both the 9th and 18th prizes.

The 27-hole Mixed Foursomes are scheduled for Sunday, 28th April, having been shifted from its original date in May. Do not forget that the Forbes Men’s Open will now be held on the weekend of 18th and 19th
May.

The start of the Wallace Cup has been delayed because there is currently a lack of numbers. Please get your name into the Pro Shop or Captain Steve as soon as you can. Also note that the Tuesday golfers start time has changed. Now players are requested to gather at 9:00am for a 9:30am start.

Saturday, 27th April has an 18-hole Stroke, sponsored by LINX. Sunday has the 27-hole Mixed Foursomes Championships. Saturday, 4th May is the Monthly Medal, sponsored by Adept Plumbing. Sunday, 5th May the course will be closed for the Forbes Ladies Open.

By Short Putt

The competition on Saturday was an Individual Par event, sponsored by the Tuesday Golfers and contested by 47 players.

The A-Division was won by Stuart French with 6-up, on count back from Jeff Haley.

Stuart was helped by a good score of 5-up on the back-9. The B-Division also required a count back, with Brett Slack-Smith winning over Craig Barrett after both scored 3-up.

The ball sweep went to 2-up on count back: 6-up – S French, J Haley; 4-up – P Barnes, I Bown, P Maher; 3-up – B Slack-Smith, D Rhodes, S Kirkman, C Barrett, D Bayley; 2-up – R Borger, G Webb. The NTP’s went to: 9th – P Maher; 18th – F Hanns.

The Stableford Medley on Sunday was supported by a good number of players, from whom Bruce Carpenter emerged as the winner with a tidy 39 points. Runnerup, on count back, was Dan Bayley on 38 points.

The ball sweep went to Andrew Dukes (38) and Mike Wood (37), while Ethan Gaffney took out both NTP’s.

Also played on Sunday was the final of the 2018 AAA Cup, sponsored by AAA Septic Services. A play-off was needed to determine the result, with Andrew Dukes victorious over Dan Bayley on the second play-off hole. Third place went to Dave Rhodes (72 nett) and fourth place to Todd Callaghan (76 nett).

Last week the Forbes Vets ‘Week-of-Golf’ was held. There were nearly 130 registered players. Forbes players collected a few prizes, with Heather Davidson the best finishing runner-up in the Vets Ladies Championship.

By Short Putt

On Saturday the men’s competition was the Monthly Medal, sponsored by Terry Bros Carpets. A field of 58 were keen to contest as best they could to be tagged ‘winners’.

The A-Grade was won by Dave Mylecharane with a 71 nett, on count back.

Andrew Duke, playing in the last group of the day, was runner-up. The B-Grade witnessed history when Doug Churchill scored 69 nett to take the winnings. Runner- up, yet again, was Michael Spice, with a 71 nett.

The C-Graders needed count backs to separate the top scorers. The winner was Bruce Squires on 72 nett with visitor, Rowan Fessey as runner-up.

The ball sweep went to 74 nett on count back: 69 – D Churchill; 71 – D Mylecharane, A Dukes, M Spice; 72 – M McGlashan, R Webb, S Sallaway, B Squires, E Gaffney, R Fessey, T Griffiths, M Cahill; 73 – N Duncan, P Dawson; 74 – H Steel-Park. The NTP’s went to: 9th – G Collits; 18th – S Sallaway.

The Stableford Medley on Sunday had a good number of players, playing among visitors and the Super Sixes grand final.

The winner was Brett Byrnes from Condo with a tidy 38 points. The runner-up was Peter Jackson of Coffs Harbour on 36 points.

Unfortunately there was no ball sweep. The NTP’s were a bit hit and miss. On the 9th it was Alf Davies, who got his ‘2’, while on the 18th everybody missed the green.

The ASI Capital-sponsored Summer

Super Sixes grand final was held on Sunday afternoon. The winners from each of the three pool finals played the back-9. In the end the winners were ‘Cobblers Crew’, ending a 30 year drought to be declared team winners. Runners-up were ‘Still Trying’ and gallant also-rans were ‘Hot to Pop’.

Assistant Golf Pro, Adrian Lees began work this week. He will primarily be based in Parkes but will be interacting with Forbes players as he develops the group coaching for juniors and ladies. We welcome Adrian as an extension of the golf expertise being developed by Head Pro, Ben.

The Winter 3’s competition commences next week, on 15th April. No doubt we have all been busy as nominations are still low but there is still time. Team nomination forms are available at the Pro Shop.

By Short Putt

The annual Sanderson Memorial Day was run by the Rugby Union Club on Saturday. This is a 4-Ball Ambrose event that brings many rugby players, some of whom are older, out for a bit of fun before the season commences.

This year, 60 players enjoyed the golf. The higher than expected scores seemed to reflect the overall skill level, with very few highlights for individual brilliance.

The winners were the team of Glasson, Matters, Haggarty and Wallder, playing off a handicap of 11 3/8 which produced a net score of 57 5/8. Runners-up were T West, C Moore, J Stewart and J Dobell with a nett score of 58 7/8. The third placed team was D Culley, B Parker, G Collits and K Sanderson (59.6), with 4th being C Alley, N McMillan, A Alley and L Alley on 60 ¼.

The organisers were a little disappointed with the numbers, although they did understand that there were many players away.This Memorial Day is an important event, held to remember those players and families who were affected by the Bali Bombings. As such it is a record in the history of the Rugby Union Club and hopefully will be supported for many years to come.

The Stableford Medley on Sunday was well supported with nearly a dozen players participating. The winner was Jill Cripps with 38 points and the runner-up was Paul Pymont on 36 points.

The ball sweep went to Neil McMillan (35 points) on count back.

The NTP’s went to: 9th – B Drabsch, 18th – M Wood. The ASI Capital-sponsored Summer Sixes Competition Grand Final will be held on 7th April, with play commencing at about 2pm.

Players and guests are invited to come out and watch the teams contesting the grand final and be ready for the presentation that immediately follows play.

By Short Putt