The golf on Saturday was an Individual Stroke event, sponsored by LINX. The field of 69 produced a range of scores from very low to very high.

The A-Division was decided on count back. Todd Callaghan was tied with Ecky Dawson on 66 nett, but Todd had the better back-9 to take the win. In the B-Division it was a case of ‘catch me if you can’, as Brodie Hodges blitzed the field with 62 nett. Runner-up was Stuart Gordon, who had two 41’s with a nett 65.

The ball sweep went to 72 nett on count back, being distributed to: 62 – Hodges; 65 – Stuart Gordon; 66 – T Callaghan, A Dukes; 67 – B Squires; 68 – A Dukes; 69 – T Leach, B Tooth, K Herbert; 70 – A Borger, L O’Connor; 71 – S Sallaway, P Tisdell, R Morris; 72 – G Webb, G Pymont, J Maloy and T Howe. Club pro Simon played but was disappointed with his 70 scratch.

The NTP’s went to: 9th – Andrew Dukes, 18th – Richard Smith. Andy Dukes nearly had a hole-in-one, but did finish the day with three 2’s. Alas, Richard missed his ‘2’.

The Stableford Medley on Sunday had a healthy field. The winner was Neil McMillan who managed to avoid the trees and score 38 points. Runner-up was Ben Mackey (Bathurst) with 34 and who would have done better but fell victim to the 7th hole.

There was no ball sweep. The NTP’s went to Ray Taylor on the 9th and to Mark Collits on the 18th NTP. Mark scored the only ‘2’ on the day.

Please note that the 27-Hole Mixed Foursomes Championship will now be held on Sunday, 3rd June. Speak to your captains if you are seeking a partner.

This weekend will have the Forbes Ladies Open played on Sunday. This does mean that the course will be closed until 1pm. A Stableford Medley will run once the course is open.

The Forbes Open is set for 13th May. Get your name on the time sheet and also snaffle a place in the 4BBB on Saturday.

By Short Putt

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