By SHORT PUTT

The Saturday Mens competition was the October Monthly Medal, sponsored by Forbes Concrete, but played in September because of the clash with the Long Weekend and the start of the Champs. The field of 69 enjoyed the sunshine which helped to propel them to low scores.

The A-Grade saw Terry Griffiths emerge as victorious once again. His 68 nett meant he had won consecutive Monthly Medals with the same score each time. He was feeling good all day, with his scoring helped by a friendly putter that produced numerous pars but alas no birdies.

Runner-up was Peter Dawson, who was swinging sweetly and breathing down Terry’s neck. Ecky managed a nett 69, scoring 1-under for each half, but he also found birdies elusive, managing only two all day.

The B-Grade result was quite satisfactory for the winner, namely Peter Barnes. His 68 nett was built using a modified swing as he adjusted to compensating for a long-time injury. He managed the same score on each half, and was pleased to use a higher handicap than he usually commands.

Runner-up was Paul Pymont with 72 nett. His was a generally steady game although he did lose concentration midway through the back-9. But for a few double bogeys he would have contended more closely for the Medal.

The C-Grade had an interesting situation. The holder of the best score was however ineligible to claim the Medal. Adrian Cole had one of those days when nearly all went better than planned. He finished with a nett 67, the best score of the day, where he fired on the front-9 and played steadily on the back-9.

The runner-up, and the claimant for the Medal, was Archie Quirk. Like Terry, this was a consecutive Medal win for Archie, although not with the same score as last month. His score this month was nett 70. He was one of those rare persons who scored better on the back-9 than the front-9.

The ball sweep went to 74 nett on count back, going to: 70 – S Kirkman,S Grallelis, Alf Davies, F Hanns; 71 – J Coulthurst, S Sallaway, L Little; 72 – P Cowhan, B Ashton; 73 – C Hanrahan, D Mylecharane, B Robinson, T Callaghan; 74 – B Parker, M Watts, R Webb, M Prior, A McMillan, a Ruperto. The lone visitor was Bruce Tilley (Port Macquarie) in Forbes to visit family. He wished he had left his sticks behind.

The NTP’s went to: 9th – Steve Betland; 18th – Steve Grallelis, both of whom converted for 2’s. Despite the good conditions the 2’s were quite scarce. Only six were scored. Taking out the effort by two Steve’s, the others were scored on the 1st (two) and the 3rd (two), with each going to A-Graders. No B-Graders managed a ‘2’.

The NTP’s were contested right through the day, with many names listed on each sheet. Both winners came from some of the latter groups, but it was a steady creep and a major jump towards the hole all day.

The Pro Shop Super-Pin, held on the 3rd hole, went to Todd Callaghan. His shot finished a mere 277 cm away, and while a testing distance it proved no match for Todd as he calmly sunk the putt for a ‘2’.

It was good to see so many players doing well. Notable among the best scorers were those who had been away for a spell, or conversely needed the sun’s warmth to loosen their swing. Stevie G relished the conditions with no preconceived notions of sub-par golf. But it was the company that made it pleasant. Likewise for Dave ‘Mully’, who did well among his usual crowd. Alex McMillan was well pleased with his efforts, as was Brian Everest who emerged from his winter hibernation.

Archie Quirk did well to earn the Medal, but it was a close thing. He nabbed the Runner-up by count back over Stevie G and Frank Hanns. But Stevie had a good response when he knocked Archie off the 18th NTP, and managed to convert.

Ben Robinson started well with two pars and a birdie. He was cruising along, being all square after six holes. Then he hit a road bump on the 7th, losing control and crashing into the trees with a ‘9’. But like a true determined sportsman he dusted himself off and completed his round thereafter with bogeys to finish the front-9. His back-9 was so much better, but alas what could have been.

Some players were lucky they were in a cart. Timmy and Marty Duke shared a cart, and almost sat on the side as befitting their orientation – left and right handed. Unfortunately both had bouts of chronic slices, which meant that off the tee they only saw the fairway when they crossed from side to side to find and play their balls. They almost ran out of ‘juice’ they covered so much extra mileage.

There was some variable play on the greens. Matty Duke hit the pin on three occasions with his chip, while his brother Timmy had three lip-outs which did not help his score. And Ecky Dawson could have streaked away with the Medal if only his putter had worked.

Speaking of putters, Terry Griffiths is using a different putter now after his Initial Medal winning putter came off second best with a cart recently. It shows that personal skill has more influence than the equipment used.

And then there were the calamity stories. Brett Thomas ‘came in hot’ like the Swans did in the Grand Final, and like the Swans he did not fare well. His front-9 was not pretty but he did improve on the back-9 where he doubled his number of pars, to two.

And what of Mark Watts? He was looking at a sub-70 nett score, but only if you looked away from his score on the 2nd. This hole can damage a round so early, with 8’s and 9’s quite common. But there are not many who managed double-digits on this hole. But now Mark has joined them. When asked about what had happened, he merely hung his head and stared into his fresh orange juice, or something similar.

Surprisingly the bogey holes, 7th and 15th, were quite benign this week. There were a few 8’s on the 7th hole, but then there were two shockers. Jake Banks managed an ‘11’, although he was playing in an unhealthy condition, and regular Junior Liam Fraser somehow racked up 12 shots there. On the 15th, Greg Webb’s ‘9’ was outdone by Richard Smith’s ‘11’. Reflecting on all of that, maybe these holes were not as benign as first thought? Hmm.

There was no play in the Stableford Medley on Sunday.

The re-furbished 3rd and 14th greens are playing well, but you are reminded to fix the pitch marks on them, even if you did not cause them. And the work on the 18th tee will soon settle, enabling us to play off a non-Himalayan surface.

Here is the news:

Not much to report here other than a few reminders.

The first is to get your Team Nominations in for the Summer Sixes comp. The Round Robin series will commence after the Champs are finished, but this gives the chance for the non-golfers to get some cards in beforehand for handicapping purposes. Check with Head Pro Wil for further details.

And remember also the Individual Championships. Some players are keen to defend their titles, while others are dismayed that they are being dragged away by family affairs. Whatever happens, we are sure to see some good scores and some very tense final rounds.

Being October the Pro Shop opening hours will adopt the Summer Time mode. These are generally 7am to 6pm, except for Monday and Tuesday when the Pro likes to sleep in.

It is crystal ball time:

This Saturday, 5 October, is a Canadian Foursomes. Check in your programme book to see how to play this, or ask at the Pro Shop. This is a Stableford Medley on both Sunday and Monday if you want some extra competitive forays.

Then the Champs begin on October 12.