PARKES GOLF By PETER BRISTOL On Saturday we played an 18 hole Stableford event sponsored by Coates Hire. We are happy to have the association with Coates Hire and look forward to their ongoing support. Unfortunately, the player numbers were down due to the inclement weather conditions leading up to tee off and which remained threatening all day. We had 34 brave but enthusiastic golfers teeing off knowing full well this was the last round of Handiskins competition and chasing qualification. Winner on the day was Chris Downes picking up his maiden 1st prize after just joining and getting his handicap. His handicap was the perfect size as he scored a par stableford round giving him 36 points. Chris had 7 pars in his round so will be looking to build on that form for future events. Second in on a countback was Aaron Gaffey a point behind the winner. Aaron shot a great 81 off the stick in the trying conditions and took the minor podium finish off the ever-present Luke Clyne with Dustin Littlewood also having a 35. Trevor Chatman managed a birdie on the par 3 4th as he scrounged out a 34 point haul trying to increase his Handiskins lead. The Handiskins preliminary event ended with the top 4 players set to play off in the final later in the year. Trevor Chatman maintained his lead adding another couple of points to his final tally to end on 108 points. Aaron Gaffey with his solid round jumped into the final with an improvement to his last week score, which had just him missing the final, and had a total of 106. Mel Matthews didn’t improve on her final tally of 104 and nor did Richard Hutchinson improve his 103 but they still qualified for the final. Unfortunately, Col Braeden didn’t play on Saturday and slipped out of the finals. The Nearest The Pins winners were – Bridgestone Mining 1st not won, Griffins Leading Edge by Trevor Chatman at 212cm, Parkes Ready Mixed Concrete 9th by Mitch Cambourne at 194cm, the Westlime 11th by Mark Kelly at 224cm, the Gulf Western Oil 17th by Rob Hey at 85cm. The lucrative money hole was won by Rob Hey at 85cm. Ball winners were Luke Clyne, Dustin Littlewood 35, Trevor Chatman 34, Nick Morrison 34. This week is the clubs August Telescope Tyres / Hankook Masters Monthly Medal. VETERANS GOLF By BARRY SHINE First of all the date for the Bogan Gate Veterans Masters has been released, Tuesday, August 12. While it is common knowledge that some of the past players are up north chasing the sun or overseas spending excess cash, hosts at BG, Roz and Steve Edwards feel an earlier date is best suited for one reason, and that is not having to play fairways covered with the yellow daisies. Remember last year, lost balls aplenty. Steve said all will be in place from fairway to greens presented in prestige condition while caterer Roz guarantees morning tea and lunch will be as good as you will get at any sporting tournament. How much will this cost? Only $30 - $15 to play, $15 to eat. How good is that? Everyone’s a winner, more so if able to pick up one of the valued prizes on offer. For catering purposes numbers are needed, please contact one of the following at vets golf, Barry Shine 0409 718 004 or Gordon Pritchard 0428 635 739, or by phoning Steve 0415 665 925. If not answering leave a message. Don’t forget your GOLFLink number for handicap purposes. Non vets are most welcome. Everyone is invited to play, including ladies. Nominations and morning tea are from 9.15am, shot gun at 10am. For the record those from Parkes who have had the pleasure of playing the BG Masters include Peter Bristol, Joe Davies, Tom Delmenico, John Dwyer, Nym Dziuba, Phil Bishop, John Fowler, Richard Hamilton, Robert J Lea, Rod Luyt, Michael Lynch, John Pearce, Garry Phipps, Gordon Pritchard, Rob Staples, Dale and Chris Stait. Twenty-nine twin-town vets took to the Forbes course last Thursday including a new member in the Forbes ranks, Trevor Williams, who showed form in his first outing. And with coaching from Kim Herbert it won’t be long before he is in the winner's circle. It is hoped the trend of more new members continues from both camps. Welcome back after holidays to Forbes’ Ken Walton who showed the break did him good winning with 39 points from the evergreen Parkes ace Gordon Pritchard scoring 35 points. Forbes’ Steve Rodgers went home with the encouragement award while nearest the pins were won by Steve Uphill (F) 9th and Gordon Pritchard 18th. In the twin-towns shield Forbes (best six scores from 19 players) 207 to Parkes’ (10) 175. Ball sweep to 31 points - 35 Allan Rees (F), 34 Bruce Chandler (F), Les Little (F), Kim Herbert (F), 32 Garry Phipps (P), 31 Steve Uphill (F). Parkes this week for twin-towns vets with nominations from 9.30am for a 10am shot-gun start. It will be a good opportunity to get in a bit of practice before Parkes hosts the next Lachlan Valley 18-hole comp on August 21.
