PARKES GOLF

Saturday was a perfect day for golf on the pristine fairways of the Parkes Golf Course and to enjoy the Elders Insurance sponsored 18 hole event for members and guests.

Huge thanks to Elders for providing sponsorship for the day.

There were 61 golfers teeing it up for the day, this competition also doubling as round 2 of the 2026 Handiskins competition.

There were some very hot scores on a course that was playing long after some further rain through the week.

Best score on the day was recorded by Michael Riley with an excellent 41 points.

Michael played off a 19 handicap on the day but that will no doubt be heading south after this round.

He had an outward 9 of 42 with a birdie on the difficult 6th but struggled a bit on the inward 9 with a 44.

He was too strong for the chasers with the next best score in being a threesome on 39.

Tony Jackson, back on the course after a break, had a 46 outward with an inward 43, Dyllan Phillips had a 44/46 round and Justin Middleton sizzled on the outward with 37 off the stick and a 42 on the way in.

There was a further 3 points back to the next chasers.

Another highlight on the day was Trevor Chatman just missing a hole in one on the 4th hole and this follows on from Phil Bishop actually achieving his 1st hole in one on the 11th hole last Mond in the Kings Birthday competition.

In the Handiskins competition Justin Middleton was the winner of the 2nd round and has jumped to the lead albeit with 3 rounds remaining.

The Nearest The Pins on Saturday were – the Idlerite Tyrepower 1st Justin Middleton at 229cm, the Griffins Leading Edge 4th by Trevor Chatman at 7cm, the Parkes Ready Mixed Concrete 9th by Mick Dellaca at 325cm, the Harvey Norman 11th by Richard Hamilton at 21cm and the Parkes Security Storage 17th by Blake Parker at 147cm.

The Money Hole was won by Blake Parker at 147cm.

Ball winners were – Tony Jackson, Dyllan Philips, Justin Middleton 39, Robert Rea, Joe Peden 36.

On Sunday Parkes was represented in the Lachlan Valley Championships and Pennants event in West Wyalong.

This event was well supported, given the weather we’d had plus what was threatening.

There were 110 players in attendance showcasing the Lachlan Valley’s best players.

With all the strong players from Forbes in attendance and the best of Condobolin and West Wyalong, winning the A grade event was going to be difficult for a Parkes player.

Steve Betland, the LVDGA’s premier player did win the event with a 71, but not before he was pushed the whole way by our Blake Parker who failed by a single stroke of equalling Steve in this significant event.

Blake had 2 birdies and 2 bogeys on the front 9, then 1 birdie and 1 bogey on the back 9 to finish square with the card.

Parkes finished 3rd in the A grade Pennants anchored by Blake’s great round, but that was the only other collect on the day.

This weekend is an 18 Stableford sponsored by Advice4Life Financial Planning.

It doubles as the 3rd round of Handiskinsand the 3rd round of the Bridgestone Mining Handicap Shootout.

It is also the All In Cup 2nd round match.

VETERANS GOLF

By JOHN DWYER

His first time playing twin-towns vets was a winning one for Parkes' Barry Whittaker who handled the soft conditions well on the Parkes course to return a score 39 points which was three under his handicap.

Barry was one of a few welcome new faces to the Parkes ranks last week where 27 players - 15 Parkes and 12 Forbes - contested the day.

Runner-up was Forbes' Alex Mackinnon who turned in a tidy 37 points with team-mate Ted Morgan next best on 33.

Post golf the local contingent were loud in applause when club president Peter Bristol announced a rare win in the teams event.

However elation soon turned into disappointment when it was discovered - as a result of a recording error - the winners were in fact Forbes by 191 points to 185.

Only A graders featured in the nearest-to-pins - no B graders hit the greens in one - with Barry Shine of Forbes closest on the 11th hole and Peter Bristol taking the honors on the fourth.

Another first-starter for Parkes, Phil Smith, finished in a winning way at the wrong end of the field with the encouragement award going his way on a count-back from a very happy Gordon Pritchard, also from Parkes.

The ball sweep went to 30 points with winners as follows: 33 - Ted Morgan (F), 32 - Robert Rea (P), Les Little and Ken Sanderson (F); 31 - Phillip Smith (P) and Kim Herbert (F); 30 - Steve Uphill (F) and Peter Bristol.

This week West Wyalong hosts the monthly Lachlan Valley competition. Registrations from 9am for a 10am shot-gun start.