Last Saturday a field of 17 golfers saw Joy Whiteman and Norm Lewis take the Christmas goodies in the ladies and men's Gerries competition. Play was in doubt due to heavy overnight rain however the course played pretty well despite some wet patches.

In the ladies competition, only four players turned up to compete for the Christmas meats. Winner of the ham was Joy Whiteman on 23 points from Marie Houghton on 22 points. No lady was successful in the NTP competition which now jackpots.

In the Men's competition there were 13 players and competition was keen as the course played long after the rain. Two tied on 21 points with Norm Lewis returning from a spell taking the ham on a count back from Bruce Mitchell also on 21.Mitchell also won the NTP with the prize being only one golf ball. About time the handicapper caught up with the winner who was on a ridiculous handicap for this competition.

Competition then turned to the pool table where only  one match was played and champions for the week were Ross King and Terry Willis who defeated Gus Smith and Norm Lewis very convincingly to take the weekly title.

A very enjoyable morning in pleasant weather conditions on a difficult course.

Next Saturday is the Gerries Christmas day with the ladies playing the back nine and the blokes on the front with the hit off at 9.00 am.Following the golf and presentations the Gerries will hold their little Christmas get to-gether  with same nibblies provided by our favourite " El Supremo" who will no doubt have some surprises in store. Look forward to seeing you all on the tee on Christmas Eve.

COLES CHARITY DAY

On October 15 Coles supermarket Narromine held a charity golf day at the Narromine golf club in aid of the Narromine Cancer Support Group.

A great day was had by all those who participated and a sum of nearly $3000 was given by Coles from their fundraising efforts and approximately $800 was donated by the Golf Club from entry fees.

The team at Coles headed by Betty Green organized a monster raffle  and trophies with prizes donated by Coles and businesses from the local community and Dubbo.

The Cancer Support Group would like to thank sincerely the management of Coles but particularly Betty,Cindy Carney and Marilyn White who dedicated a considerable amount of time and effort to make this day a great success. A big thank you to the golf club also for its contribution.

This event will be run again next year and the team at Coles are hoping it will be bigger and better!

Last Saturday we had 12 starters in Irish Stableford sponsored by Phil Harding which was won by Tony Harding & Ben Rush with 79 points. Ben had a fantastic day shooting 79 off the stick off his 28 handicap giving him an incredible 55 points. Ben also teamed up with Mick McKean to have 77 points to come second. Third on a count back were Duane Mann & Bill Burke with 71 points. NTPs 9th Rob Gainsford & 10th Tony Harding.

On Sunday we had 19 players in a Foursomes Scratch & Handicap sponsored by Josh Coen & Steve Gillette. Tony & Duane Mann had 67 nett to win the handicap on a count back from Codey Anning & Toby Rush.

Tony & Duane also won the Scratch with a 68 from the sponsors Josh Coen & Steve Gillette with 73. Chris Harding won both NTPs on the 9th & 10th. On Tuesday December 13 we had had 100 starters with the best team score coming from the Double Delights who had 100 points. Best scores came from Dale Harding 27, Luke Hutchison 27, Luke Harding 27, Viv Halbisch 26, Heather Bootle 25, Codey Anning 25, Mick Harris 25, Marcus Weir 24, Greg Wallace 24, Neil Ashdown 23, Gus Smith 23 & Andy Smith 23.

NTPs 3rd Mick Harris, 9th Dudley Alcorn 10th Mal Fraser & 17th Ron Powell.

Don’t forget the Pink Pigeon 3 Person Ambrose is now going to be played 8th January followed by the Calcutta that night. Next Saturday xmas eve we have an Irish Stableford sponsored by Steve & Megan Buckley & Monday we will have a 2 person ambrose  sponsored by Michael Treseder & Andrew Hocroft. Tuesday will see the Business House Comp being played from 3.30pm.

On behalf of Golf Club I would like to wish our members & guests all the best for the festive season.

WESTERN RAMS

In a sure-fire indication Western is taking potential change in the area ahead of the 2018 rugby league season very seriously, Rams officials are turning to the game’s most important stakeholders for answers – the grassroots.

Following on from Dubbo CYMS’ audacious bid to jump ship - the club made a play to move from Group 11 to join Group 10 in 2017 - Western Rams officials have kicked off a review of its boundaries in consultation with clubs and competitions across the division, an email from Rams regional manager Peter Clarke said.

“Critical to this process is input from the grassroots,” the email added.

“The regional committee is requesting any interested officials, coaches, referees, players, avid supporters, sponsors or other persons to have your say by completing this online survey.”

Participants have until February 7 next year to complete the survey, which can be found at westernrams.com.au.

At both a junior and senior level, the Rams’ region is the single biggest geographically in Country Rugby League, including Groups 10, 11 and 14 along with Woodbridge, Castlereagh, Barwon Darling, Outback and Mid-West Cups.

Warren races by Col Hodges

Steam Machine,  winner of only 1 race from 50 previous starts, gave staunch supporters an early Christmas present when winning the Class 1 Handicap (1600 metres) before a huge crowd at the Warren (TAB) twilight meeting last Friday.

Despite the infrequent visits to the winners circle, six-year-old gelding Steam Machine had helped with the feed bills with 19 placings and now has total prize money earnings of over $63,000.

Bob Howe from Rylstone trains Steam Machine for a group of his friends who mostly work in the mines and have raced horses for many years from the Howe stables.

From amongst the tailenders in the 11 horse field, Steam Machine (Michael Travers, $4 favourite) maintained a grinding finish down the long Warren straight to arrive in the last stride and beat Our Pal Hedge (Rasit Yetimova, $9) by a nose with Awild Enemy's Pick (Kacie Chater, $6) a head away in third place.

Given a nice run behind the leaders by Kaylee Kirkwood, the Wayne Collison, Narromine trained Savannah Girl ($7) took control in the straight and won the Benchmark 50 Handicap (1200 metres) by nearly 2 lengths from Spirited Addition (Michael Travers, $12) and Elriz (Jake Pracey- Holmes, $8)

Ridden by apprentice Clayton Gallagher, Chicka's Destiny ($10) was the second leg of a double for trainer Wayne Collison when taking advantage of a good position near the lead fought on well to defeat Cheers For Ausbred (James Geppert, $13) and Not On Time (Michael Travers, $4.20) in the 1400 metres Maiden Plate.

At the first ride back after serious neck injuries suffered in a race fall, apprentice Jake Pracey-Holmes led all the way on Attalea ($1.70 fav.) to win the Maiden Handicap (1000 metres) by 7 lengths from Fine Diamond (Ken Dunbar, $14) and The Deacon, Clayton Gallagher, $6)

Pracey-Holmes is apprenticed to Brett Thompson at Gulgong who trains Attalea and the pair later combined again to win the Class 1 Handicap (1000 metres) with Leroska ($4.20). On the pace throughout Leroska finished best to beat Tully Ho (Ken Dunbar, $8) and Bit And Bop (James Geppert, $10).

Racing in good form the Garry Lunn, Dubbo trained Oskastar (Chris Williams, 1.80 fav) led for home and lasted to win the Benchmark 60 Handicap (1400 metres)by a short head from Sweet Feet (Ken Dunbar, $9) with Double Halo (Clayton Gallagher, $2.60) finishing third.

Upcoming race meetings:

Wellington (Boxing Day)

Macquarie Picnics at Trangie (Thursday, December 29)

GIlgandra  (Saturday, December 29)

GIlgandra  Cup (Sunday, January 1)