The competition on Saturday was the Deacon Dwyer 4BBB Stableford Medley, sponsored by Rod Besgrove, in which 63 players relished the conditions.

The winners for the day were Rod Besgrove and Barb Drabsch with a score of 47 points. Runners up were Frank Hanns and Kim Herbert with 46 points.

The ball sweep went to 742 nett on count back, going to: 47 – B Drabsch/R Besgrove; 46 – F Hanns/K Herbert; 44 – R Nixon/N Duncan, M Haley/J Haley; 43 – R Webb/P Tisdell, A Dukes/P Maher, J Betland/P Dawson and 42 – M Cahill/M Spice.

The NTP’s went to: 9th – A Dodgson (Condo); 18th – R Smith.

On Sunday, the club ran this year’s Scramble event, which is now sponsored by Volkswagen and co-sponsored by Callaway, who provided prizes for the winners and balls for each player. This is a 4-person Ambrose, nett competition.

An early group, comprising A Dukes, P Maher, M Cahill and M Spice, set the clubhouse lead with a Nett 553/4, off a scratch score of 62. They anxiously awaited the day, checking often to see the scores returned.

But in the end it was in vain as they were relegated to runners-up. The winning group included Ian Bown, Paul Kay, Sally Crosby and Steve Grallelis, and these players combined well all day.

For example, Stevie G teed up on the 18th, somewhat under pressure, and promptly put his shot only four feet beside the pin. Playing partner Sally Crosby slotted the putt for a ‘2’.

The prize winners were:

• Best nett – S Grallelis, P Kay, S Crosby, I Bown on 55.5

• Runner-up – A Dukes, M Cahill, P Maher, M Spice on 553/4

• Third place – A Cogswell, B Thomas, M Watts, P Nixon on 583/4

• Best scratch – A Dukes, M Cahill, P Maher, M Spice on 62

• NTP’s – 9th: A Dukes; 18th: S Grallelis.

By Short Putt

In an engaging performance, Peter Nixon scored 69 nett to take out the ‘Medal of Medallist’ honours for 2018. Pete turned square with the card and finished square for an all par performance.

The Saturday Men’s competition was an Individual Stroke, sponsored by Loomzy’s Fish n Fix. The field of 59 players enjoyed sunny conditions across a green course.

Cam McMillan, a young player also in form, took out the A-Division with a very good round of 74, nett 67. He got there on count back from Stuart French and powered his way out of trouble to score his 67.

In the B-Division, it was Ethan Gaffney who finished with 69 to take the honours. In a classic display of playing to his handicap, Maurie Westwood took runner-up with a fine 70 nett.

The ball sweep went to 72 nett on count back, going to: 67 – C McMillan, S French; 69 – E Gaffney, P Nixon, B Hodges; 70 – T Callaghan, P Grayson, R Nixon, M Westwood; 71 – P Maher, B Chandler, W Judge; 72 – K Sanderson, N McMillan, R Morris.

Alongside the comp NTP’s there were additional sponsored NTP’s. The comp NTP’s went to: 1st – P Pymont; 9th – P Nixon. The sponsored NTP’s went to: 3rd – B-Grade W Judge, and nil for both A-Grade and C-Grade; 18th – A-Grade P McDade, B-Grade G Webb, C-Grade B Chandler.

The Medal of Medallists was held in conjunction with the stroke event. Of the 32 eligible medallists, 22 were able to participate. They generally produced good scores with players across all grades contributing well and seven producing sub-par rounds.

Peter Nixon’s 69 nett pipped Richard Nixon, P Grayson and T Callaghan on 70, and too good for Warwick Judge and Bruce Chandler on 71.

There was no Sunday Stableford Medley, with instead the Forbes Rotary Charity Day being held.

This Sunday, Forbes will be holding its VW Scramble, previously known as the Holden Scramble. There is still plenty of opportunity to register, either online or at the Pro Shop.

By Short Putt

Once again the annual Forbes Classic, sponsored by Frank Spice Nissan, was a success with over 150 players competing on each day of the weekend. Players from 37 clubs participated, with some coming from Queensland and West Australia to enjoy the course.

The crowning glory was the win by local player Peter Nixon, the defending champion from 2017’s event. Peter finished the Individual A-Grade Stroke event, held on Sunday, with 71 scratch, skipping ahead of another local Steve Betland (72) and Graham Howland (73) from Dunheved GC in Sydney. Peter turned square with the card and finished his round with a ‘2’ on the last hole.

The B-Grade Scratch winner was Josh Coulthurst (Forbes) who blistered around in 81, off an 18 handicap. He was three shots ahead of Ken Sanderson and Scott Kirkman, both from Forbes. The C-Grade Scratch winner was Tony Stevens (89) from Palm Meadows, near Surfer’s Paradise in Queensland. Runner-up was our own Bruce Squires on 93.

Prizes were awarded to Handicap and Stableford winners and runners-up, as well as the popular NTP’s and Long drives. Peter McDade (Lismore) nearly had the perfect shot on the 9th when his ball finished only inches from the hole.

On Saturday the Classic comp was a 4BBB Stableford. The winners there were Peter Sinclair (Nelson Bays) and Keith McCulloch (Riverside Oaks) with 48 points. Runnersup, sadly on count back, were Phil Duke (Forbes) and Tim O’Malley (Tumut). The full prize list is available in the Pro Shop.

Generally though, Forbes players had success at the top of the grades while many of the visitors scored better than the locals through the body of the grades. All players enjoyed the course and the greens, with acknowledgement to Jack and Darren Clarke and the volunteers who got the course ready.

By Short Putt

Last weekend was the November Monthly Medal, sponsored by Jelbarts Tyrepower, contested by a field of 46 players.

The A-Grade players were really good, with Todd Callaghan declared the winner after his round of 66 nett. Runner-up was Digit McAuliffe with an impressive 69.

The B-Grade contest was close, with Doug Churchill producing a 69 nett to finish ahead of Paul Kay on 70 nett. The C-Graders also did well, where Frank Donohoe led the way with a 70 nett, ahead of Richard Smith on 72 nett.

The ball sweep went to 73 nett, going to: 66 – T Callaghan; 69 – D McAuliffe, D Churchill; 70 – P Kay, F Donohoe; 71 – N McMillan, A McDonald; 72 – W Judge, S Kirkman, R Smith; 73 – P Nixon, B Slack-Smith. The NTP’s went to: 9th – T Callaghan; 18th – S Sallaway.

On Sunday there was a charity day to aid the Currajong Disability Services. This had players from Parkes, Condobolin and Forbes, with many Forbes businesses donating prizes.

The field comprised 56 players making teams for the 3-person Ambrose. The nongolfer teams played 9-holes while the golfer teams played 18-holes.

Prizes were awarded for scratch and handicap scores for the 9-hole and 18-hole players, as well as for NTP’s. The major winners were:

• 9-Hole Scratch winner – M, J and S McGlashen 36 on c/b

• 9-Hole Nett winner – N Hamilton, N Hamilton, M Ruskiss 31.5 nett

• 18-hole Scratch winner – J Kemp, F Latu, M Wood with 65 on count back

• 18-hole Nett winner – J Cutler, G Hooper, T Callaghan 57 nett

By Short Putt

The Men’s Individual Stableford on Saturday, sponsored by a franchise of Grayson, Earl, French and Haley was contested by a smaller field of 50 players but did not lack in hot scoring.

In the A-Division, Phil Duke and Laurie O’Connor both finished on 40 points, with Phil Duke declared the winner on count back. The B-Division was hotter still, with Bede Tooth producing a scorching 46 points and well ahead of runner-up Steve Grallelis on 42.

The ball sweep went to 37 points on count back, going to: 46 – B Tooth; 42 – S Grallelis; 40 – P Duke, L O’Connor, F Donohoe; 39 – A Rees, D Rhodes, T Callaghan; 38 – D Bernardi, B Parker and 37 – R Smith, B Carpenter.

The NTP’s went to: 9th – P Kay; 18th – B Carpenter, where only Bruce converted for a ‘2’. We extend a warm welcome to a new arrival in Forbes, Royce Rutland. He enjoyed his golf but still could not finish without a ‘miss’.

Bob Borger played the shot of the day. His drive on the 11th was so low that it hit the Ladies tee marker in front of him, bounced skywards and only just made the mown fairway.

In Sunday’s Stableford Medley, a small group battled for the honours. The winner was Robert Hey (Parkes) with 40 points, closely followed by Greg Webb on 39 points. The NTP’s went to: 9th – R Hey; 18th – nil. Alas, not a ‘2’ in sight.

Forbes golfer, Digit McAulliffe competed in the NSW Senior Open, held at Thurgoona Club, in Albury. His day 1 score of 76 was quite competitive but his day 2 was ten shots worse, where his 86 dropped him back in the field.

Forbes welcomes its new Golf Pro, Ben Gear, due to start on 26th November. He shall be here to ‘meet and greet’ players during the Nissan Classic.

By Short Putt