Saturday’s Men’s comp was the 18-hole Monthly Medal. There were 61 players in the field, which was quite good when we consider the last weekend of the school holidays, the attention of Grand Finals football, and the many events occurring around the town.
It was apt that the sponsors were Robb’s Jewellers, as there was many a bright crystal among the course conditions and the scoring. The winner of the A Grade Monthly Medal (22 players) was Peter ‘Ecky’ Dawson with a Nett score of 68. To produce his par round, Ecky’s shot 2-under for the front 9 and 2-over for the back 9. A bogey-bogey start to the back 9 put the pressure on him but he recovered well. This was surely a practice round with Ecky’s eye on the Championships commencing next week.
Rob Webb did very well, shooting a balanced 41 for both 9’s to finish Runner-up on nett 70, by count back. Rob was cruising on the front nine, then really whooped up with an eagle on the 6th. In B Grade (23), Cameron McMillan played steady golf to finish with a nett 70. His score on the 11th was a little untidy, but for the other 17 holes he was always around his handicap.
Runner-up was William Gordon (71 nett) who also was tidy, matching Cameron hole by hole except on the 4th and 13th, where he was a little astray. These two Junior players are really demonstrating the high calibre and depth of our Junior members. The C Grade (16) Monthly Medal very clearly showed that you do not need to be long to be a winner.
Frank Hanns took the honours with a carefully constructed nett 70, finishing one shot better than Runner-up Craig Myers. They played at opposite ends of the day, indicating that the conditions were very fair throughout. Craig found it better to score well by playing the fairway beside where he should have been. He met many players that way, but did not see much of his playing group.
The ball sweep went to 72 on count back and was shared by those above plus: 70 – D Bayley, 71 – S Grallelis, Andrew Drane, N McMillan, R Nixon, B Shine, 72 – A Rees, A McDonald, I Bown. Well done guys. Nearest the pins were: 9th – Anthony Gordon; 18th – Ron Morris. Anthony got his ‘2’ but Ronnie missed out. There were five 2’s scored all day, with the 9th hole being most prolific.
Jack Clarke needed his ‘2’ to try to stem the flow of lost holes for the “Keno Stakes”. He hoped his ‘2’ would pressure his opponent to miss his, but Stevie G held his nerve to get his and keep the foot hard down on the Keno stakes. There was some consistent play by many players. One consistency stands out markedly – 5’s on every hole on the back-9. Brian Everest achieved this feat, thankful that he had a good front-9 to make his card look respectable. The worst of it was 3-putt on the last hole to complete the set. Sunday’s play was an 18-hole Stableford
Medley. It was a small but lively field, with many players ‘absent on Grand Final duties’. However it was a good mix of men, ladies and visitors.
The winner was Jill Cripps with 39 points, just ahead of Rob Lea on 38 points. Unfortunately the scores took a dive from there, despite the good playing conditions. The ball sweep went to 33 and included Jill, Rob, and Mitchell Andrews (33) on count back. No 2’s were recorded, so the NTP’s are pretty lonely – 9Th: J Cripps; 18th: F Smith. This was a good day for the Ladies.
On Monday 5 October, which was a public holiday, there was also a Stableford Medley. There were 21 players who obviously wanted some fresh air after the Grand Final television watching blitz. The Duncan family must have been really happy with the AFL result, because they all were in good spirits, although Essendon did not play.
The winner was Biana Duncan, with 47 points, and ahead of Niel Duncan on 45 points. Briana was quite tidy on the front-9 but scored better on the back-9 despite having a ‘wipe’ on one hole. Scoring ‘4 pointers’ on the 10th, 14th and
16th holes really did the job and it was good golf all around.
The NTPs went to – 9th: N Duncan, 18th: E Hush. Niel got his ‘2’ but sadly Eileen missed out. Other 2’s, were scored on the 9th by J Cripps and the 1st by N Duncan, who luckily avoided the ‘A par on the 1st hole leads to a bad round’ rule. On Thursday 1 October, the Vets played a 12-hole event at Forbes in delightful conditions. Encouraging numbers of 32 players participated, with 19 from Forbes, and 13 from Parkes.
The winner was Milton Cartwright (F), with 27 points, a little lower than the conditions may have seemed likely. Runner-up on 26, by count back, was Dave Williams (F). The Bradman Award went to Allen Affleck (P) who just did not seem to get any rhythm going. He did manage more than one point per hole, just. The NTP’s went to – 9th A Grade: P Bishop, B Grade: T Edols; 18th A Grade: B Toole, B Grade L Byrne.
The Mick Miller Shield emphasised that when Forbes turn it on, they really turn it on. The field was fairly even, but it was an emphatic result for Forbes, with 151 points to Parkes 133. That was a real treat for the Forbes boys who have faltered over recent weeks. There are some very important AGM’s coming up. The Mens Committee AGM is scheduled for Thursday 15 October, at the Forbes Sportman’s Hotel. The following week, the FGA AGM is to be held on 21 October, also at the Sportsman’s Hotel.