The winners of this year’s Hawke Trophy were Paul Pymont and Frank Donohoe, who scored 47 points. They won on count back from Bruce Carpenter and Libby Godden. It was the better ‘back-9’ that got Paul and Frank their win.

The event for the day was a 4BBB Stableford Medley, won by a visiting pairing of Rob Rogers and Grant Goodman, both from Castle Hill, with 48 points. They were lucky to win that for not only were there the two pairings above in hot pursuit but a bundle of players close behind them.

The ball sweep went to 43 points on count back, being distributed to: 48 – Rogers/ Goodman (Castle Hill); 47 – P Pymont/F Donohoe, Carpenter/Godden; 46 – Rhodes/ Zannes; 45 – Tisdell/R Webb, F/R Smith, Dukes/P Nixon; 44 – Hopkins/ Herbert, Little/Westwood; 43 – B Slack- Smith/H Steel Park and Dukes/Maher.

The NTP’s went to: 9th Alf Davies and 18th Alf Davies. His putt on the 9th was very short as it stopped short of going in by only a foot. Among the 81 players on the field were visitors from Castle Hill and Matt Donohoe from Royal Sydney.

The need for teamwork and consistency was on display by Les Little and Maurie Westwood. They each took turns in scoring 3- and 4-pointers but they messed up with both wiping on a couple of holes.

The Stableford Medley on Sunday, 22nd April had 20 players in the field including the visitors Helen Robinson (South West Rocks) Patricia Young (Howlong) and Janeace Owen (Callala).

It was Ash Tucker’s day finishing ahead on 38 points, keeping runner-up Max Haley (37 points) at bay.

The ball sweep went to 36 points, being picked up by Ray Taylor and Scott Kirkman. The NTP’s went to Ethel Coombs on the 9th and to Phil Maher on the 18th NTP.

A very important notice to all golfers. The 27-Hole Mixed Foursomes Championship that was scheduled for Sunday, 27th May will now be held on Sunday, 3rd June. This will avoid clashes with other events.

The Winter 3’s commences play next week, 30th April. If you rush in and see Simon he may be able to get you into a team or something.

By Short Putt

Saturday’s event was an Individual Par competition, during which the wind had a big effect on the scores for the field of 67.

The A-Division winner was Scott Kirkman, who finished 2-up and got there on count back from Phil Duke. Scott’s better back-9 gave him the edge. The B-Division also was decided by count back, with two players finishing on 4-up. Stuart Gordon with a very good back-9 got the nod ahead of Clayton Alley who had a strong front-9.

The ball sweep went to All Square on count back, being distributed to: 4Up – S Gordon, C Alley; 3Up – J Coulthurst, B Hodges; 2Up – S Kirkman, P Duke, M Cahill; 1Up – G Webb, G Newport, M Haley, G Drane, R Taylor, P Pymont, J Zannes, P Maher; Square – D McAuliffe, L O’Connor.

The NTP’s went to: 9th – Brett Thomas; 18th – Denis Culley.

On Sunday 15 April there was the regular Stableford Medley, with a good band of Forbes and visiting players enjoying calmer conditions.

Ray Taylor was swept to victory with 39 points, just edging out a visitor Vivienne Sulejmani from Mt Warren Park, on 38 points by count back. The ball sweep went to 38 points, giving Jill Cripps a ball.

The NTP’s went to Bess Shields, who got both the 9th and 18th NTP, but unfortunately no 2’s.

Our Club Pro Simon played in tournaments held in Canberra last week, hoping to earn points for his PGA ranking. At the first one-day events held at Yowani (73) and Federal (73) Simon finished in the top- 20 each day.

Then, at the 2-day event held at Murrumbidgee, Simon scored 71 and 69 to finish second overall, beating a field that included players from the US and European Tours, as well as a NZ Open winner and a Vic Open winner.

The Forbes GC Veterans ‘Week of Golf’ is set to be played next week. The week starts with a 4BBB, followed by 18-hole Stableford events on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. The NSW Shield will be decided on Friday.

Local players are reminded to bring a plate of food to help with the morning teas each day.

By Short Putt

Saturday’s event was the Monthly Medal, sponsored by Terry Bros Carpets. The field of 67, which included eight players from Orange, seemed to have the scoring opportunities covered but let them slip.

The A-Grade winner was Ray Taylor with a nett 66. His scratch score of 78 equalled his age, which is a major achievement for a golfer. Runner-up was Richard Nixon, who scored 75/68. He had a good start but the back-9 let him down.

The B-Grade saw Adam Borger storm home with a nett 70. Runner-up was Jeff Haley with a very handy 71 nett. The CGrade honours went to Andrew Norton- Knight (70 nett), ahead of Greg Webb with his 72 nett.

The ball sweep went to 75 nett on count back, being distributed to: 66 – R Taylor; 68 – R Nixon; 70 – A Borger, A Norton-Knight; 71 – J Haley; 72 – B Doyle, D McAuliffe, G Webb; 73 – J Davis (Orange); 74 – L O’Connor, D Churchill, L Little, Mike Wood; 75 – A McDonald, T Leach, R Morris, B Chandler and J Zannes.

The NTP’s went to: 9th – Steve Bate; 18th – P Pymont.

The Lachlan Valley Districts Golf Association annual Pennants and Championships were held at Grenfell on Sunday. There were 54 players from Grenfell, Forbes, Parkes, West Wyalong, Peak Hill and Bogan Gate clubs.

Forbes took out the A-Grade Pennants, with contributions from M Collits, A Dukes, D Bayley, T Callaghan and S Sallaway.

The LVDGA ‘Champion of Champions’ went to Mitch McGlassan from Parkes.

Many Grenfell players featured among the other grade championship prize winners but Steve Grallelis did snatch a NTP prize.

The Summer Sixes grand final was played last Sunday. The winning team was the ‘Bush Divas’, ahead of ‘Boys and Girls’, ‘Postie Top 6’ and ‘Bushrangers’.

By Short Putt

The grand final of the Forbes Golf Club Super Sixes golf comp for 2017-18, sponsored by ASI Capital, was held on Sunday, 8th April. The weather was conducive to good golf, which the players took advantage of.

The grand final for the Sixes Cup was contested by the winners of each pool, having come through the semi-final stages victorious. The contenders were Boys and Girls, Bush Divas, Postie Top Six and Bushrangers. There were almost full teams for each.

There was also a contest for the winners of the Plate in each pool. They were Drawshanks, Hit n Miss, Lost in the Trees, and Hook, Drive and Sink It. Unfortunately not all players could attend, so this group got around a bit quicker.

Following the play, participants gathered in the Golfie for the presentation dinner. After introductions by President Andrew McDonald, Jeff Herdigan speaking as the major sponsor, thanked the players for their efforts through the season, commiserated with those who missed out and congratulated the winners in all categories.

Vanessa Herdigan, ably assisted by head professional Simon Houston, presented the prizes for weekly winners, overall best performers and the Plate winners and Cup runners-up. A successful weekly winner was Lindy Cowhan, who won the non-members category on three separate weeks.

Loud cheers emanated when the winning team of Bush Divas were announced. Their 101.5 points was significantly better than the runners-up Boys and Girls (107), Postie Top Six (118) and Bushrangers (119). The Bush Divas made a colourful splash in the outfits as they received their prizes.

The Plate winners were Lost in the Trees (110.5) with Hook, Drive and Sink It runnersup.

The Best Net Individual Score in the Cup final went to Denise Squires, while the Most Improved Player for the competition was Robert Scott who halved his handicap from 18 to 9.

Another successful summer season has finished, with over 3,500 games played in the competition. A truly wonderful effort made possible by the good condition of the course.

For those wishing to continue the fun social golf, there is a Winter 3’s comp, commencing on 30th April. Details and entries at the Pro Shop.

By Smooth Swinger