The rain was welcome by many, but was not so enjoyable for the golfers at Forbes. Very wet conditions before the weekend caused the cancellation of Saturday competition golf, but a sunny Saturday afternoon enabled some play on Sunday. On Saturday it was quite disturbing to see golfers yelling “I want to play” being dragged off the course, but they were very keen. I am careful to add that no children or animals were harmed during those events. The scene
across the course was one of casual water in many places and a very soggy ground. Best to wait until it improved.

Saturday’s competition was to be the first round of the Mens Foursomes Championships. These will now be held on 29-30 August, replacing a stroke competition. This may not suit all, but with other commitments this is the next available weekend. Sunday’s 18 hole Stableford Medley was like a godsend to those who need their weekly dose. A field of 35 players was a testament to the desire by all to enjoy some wonderful balmy conditions. The winner on the day was Steve Uphill, with 40 points, on count back from Laurie O’Connor (40). It was interesting that groups in which these front runners played had difficulty in identifying their own ball.

The Ball sweep went to 35 points and included: 39 – A Dukes, B Carpenter, 37 – B Webb, 36 – P Dawson, 35 – B Shine, P Maher, P Nixon. Yep, it was certainly a day for the big hitters!

The NTP’s went to – 9th: P Grayson, 18th: R Williams. There were only two 2’s, one on the 3rd and one on the 18th. I presume that despite the sun the air was pretty heavy and there was very little run, thus making it difficult to judge the correct shot. Any excuse to help out a golfer.

This week the schedule is for a 12-hole event at Parkes, on July 23. It is the usual gathering at 12:30 am for a 1:00 pm start. Bring your snorkel and flippers, just in case. In November Forbes GC holds the Nissan Classic weekend, with this year being the 25th staging of this event. This has become a primary calendar event, with many players
from a range of clubs stencilling this into the diaries. To ensure continued success we need to have a vibrant Committee.

The Classic organisers have scheduled an open meeting to garner support to organise this event. The meeting will be held on Thursday 30 July at the Sportsman’s Hotel, commencing at 6 pm. If anybody is interested in helping out, or just interested to find out more, please attend the meeting. Our golfer’s ability spreads far and wide.

Not only does King John ply his golf skills in Pennants in Sydney, but other members cast a shining beacon wherever they go. Sue Shine recently had some time at Port Stephens, and enjoyed some golf. Every course Sue played she easily scored 35 points or more. Such versatility and consistency was marvellous. In order to keep up, Barry Shine had to do something spectacular, as his golf was pretty ordinary. And that he did – he scored a Hole-in-One at the Palms course. It was a classic controlled shot against the breeze, always on target, and judged to perfection. Forbes players shine again.

It’s crystal ball time: Saturday 25 July is the 4BBB Stableford Multiplier, sponsored by Ace Machining. Choose a steady partner with plenty of patience as this could be quite traumatic. In fact it would be ‘real ace’ to score points on
every hole. Sunday 26 July is the Stableford Medley.
By Short Putt.

Contributed by Short Putt
The weekend did not promise much from a weather viewpoint, and thus players either shied off, or raced around to stay warm. In surprisingly good conditions some players excelled, none more so than the grandfathergrandson
pairing in this weekend’s comp.

There were 45 paired up players who contested the 4BBB Aggregate Stableford Medley, sponsored by Forbes TV and Video Repairs. Many players hoped they could replay their shots, while others knew they had vision impairment. But can you credit the participating sponsor not realising it was his event until well into his round?

The eventual winners seemed to really enjoy the conditions. They were towards the tail of the field. Early in the afternoon the clubhouse leaders were Morgan/Cogswell and Dawson/ Herbert, each on 72 points and trading innuendos with each other. But they were well and truly thumped. Grandfather Geoff Coles was his ever reliable
and steady self, playing his sneaky long drives well down the fairway with few exceptions. He provided a steadying influence to grandson Gus Coles, who used his height to generate a huge swing arc and pound the ball into the distance, often beyond Geoff’s eyesight.

Their 78 points included one complete wipe hole where neither player scored a point. Gus’s ball striking is a serious challenge to King John. That is, if he can get it straight. His drive off the 16th tee finished on the edge of the practice fairway close to the 17th fairway, and was almost blocked out by the big gum tree there. But his six pars and one birdie teamed well with Geoff’s four pars to earn huge points.

Runners-up on 72 points were Ted Morgan and Tony Cogswell. Ted seemed to be the steadier player, with Tony showing too many 1s and wipes on his card. They edged out Ecky Dawson and Kim Herbert, also with 72. Both players were steady, but some unfortunate 1s and a wipe by Kim pulled them down. Neither did well on the 17th, which was almost the cause of the outbreak of a major war. The ball sweep went to 71 points. Winners
included those above and Dawson/Herbert, Carpenter/Bayley and Squires/Donohue. Nearest the pins were: 9th – Men B Carpenter, Ladies B Drabsch; 18th – Men T Morgan, Ladies nil. Undoubtedly the conditions contributed to the low 2s count with only one being scored. That was by Ecky Dawson on the 3rd hole. He was very pleased at that stage, but he did develop a grumpy phase the further the round went, perhaps a result of playing under trying conditions.

There was one visitor, that being Stuart Hayes from Murrumbidgee GC. He was escorted around the course by Verna Lane who must have shown him ‘how not’ to play the course as they finished last. Welcome Stuart, you shall do better next time. And perhaps the field was the lesser for the non-appearance of maestro Ray Taylor and his sidekick King John.
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Sunday’s 18-hole Stableford Medley was a prelude to the British Open Championship, or so it seemed with the way the weather presented the course. In cold and squalling conditions four ladies competed in the Sunday comp – thus perhaps making it a prelude to the Ladies British Open. The four combatants made a real fight of it. The Winner was Barb Drabsch with 31 points, but on count back from Fran Smith (31). The other players were Jill Cripps (26) and Ethel Coombs (24).

With such a small field there was no ball sweep or NTPs. But we must congratulate the four ladies for their intrepid contest. And for those interested, there were no 2s, although Fran Smith came close on three holes. And where were the men?
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On Thursday 9 July, the Vets played a 12-hole event at Forbes. There were 34 brave players, with once again heavy representation by Forbes (25) as compared to Parkes (9 ) and one Peak Hill-ite. The winner was David Williams (F) with 28 on countback from Geoff Coles (F) and Peter Unwin. The Bradman Award went to Jim Maloy (F) who undoubtedly was exhausted after his journey from Eugowra way. But he did score more than one point per hole.

The NTPs were: 9th – A Grade: J Davies (P), B Grade: R Baker (F); 18th – A Grade: R Bell (PH), B Grade: J McLuckie (F). The ball sweep went to 24, and was enjoyed by thirteen players. I here tell that Jim McLuckie has benefitted from his overseas trip where some of the conditions he encountered on the courses were very similar to Thursday’s conditions. No doubt that will change in the summer. The Mick Miller Shield was most undeniably
and emphatically won by Forbes with 165 points from Parkes 132. The larger numbers certainly helped, but so too did the fact that 80 per cent of the Parkes players returned scores below the mode. I had to fit some statistics in there somewhere!
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The next game is an 18-hole event at Parkes on 16 July. It is the usual gathering at 9.30 am for a 10am start. Let us hope the ‘Antarctic Vortex’ has subsided by then.
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The Winter 9-Hole Comp was contested by many players this week, who braved the harsh conditions or found some sunshine intervals. Nevertheless, the results are a credit to those who played in the more difficult conditions.
The results for Week 10 are: Winner Bess Shields (32 nett) from runner-up Bob Grant (34). Ball winner was Graeme Howe with 35 points. Hopefully the weather will pick up and the field will swell with the throngs of happy players.
And they will all see how well Grant Howe is enjoying his golf.
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Here are some other items: All players should be aware that the Local Rules now include ‘Preferred Lies through the
Green’. With the negligible grass growth and frosted ground cover it is very difficult to distinguish the fairways from the rough – thus the Local Rule. The rule will stay in place until the spring growth kicks in and the fairways can be better defined. We are into the 3rd round of the Wallace Cup now. Only three matches remain to be played before 26 July, so everything is running to target.
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It is crystal ball time: Saturday and Sunday 18, 19 July is the Mens Foursomes Championships, sponsored by S&S Welsh Transport. This is a two-day event on the weekend. There will be an Individual Stroke event on Saturday for those who cannot commit to the two days of play. At this stage the Sunday is free. Saturday 25 July is the 4BBB Stableford Multiplier. Choose a partner who can consistently get at least a point on each hole. Sunday 26 July is the Stableford Medley. Saturday 1 August is the 18-hole Monthly Medal, this month sponsored by Bernardi’s Supa IGA. Sunday 2 August has the Stableford Medley. Saturday 8 August is the very contestable American Foursomes, sponsored by Milton Cartwright. This format tests not only your partnership pairing, but also your consistency in play, and is a load of fun.