Vets Golf: Intersales Cup Not since Bobby Barnes left the vets have we had anyone coming close to equalling or bettering their age. Bob was phenomenal; more times than not, he would post a score lower than his age. We still think of Bob, and we miss him out on the golf course. Last Thursday, we had Ray Jennings (9) roll in a birdie putt from off the green on the 8th hole to equal his age. The 8th ended up being our last hole for the day. We started play from the 9th, if you need to know. That birdie ensured Ray of a milestone he will remember forever. When the celebrations concluded and the champagne ran out, Ray’s playing partner confirmed a score of 74 off the stick, a net 65 for the day. Ray was born in April of ‘52. That makes Ray 74 years young. He still swings a golf club like he is still in his twenties. Congratulations Ray, on a magnificent effort. We both know the opportunity was there to go one better, but at times that little white ball just didn’t want to behave. Here is a good example of what I mean: putting on the 6th green, Ray strokes the ball nicely towards the hole. The ball catches the right lip, rolls around the hole and stops on the back edge, defying gravity, defying physics as we know it. On the 7th hole, Ray is putting for another birdie but kisses the right lip again, with the ball stopping a couple of centimetres behind the hole. Every great round involves its fair share of good and bad luck. Ray definitely had his fair share of both, and I don’t think he would deny that fact. How he dealt with the bad luck paved the way for his exceptional round of golf. Instead of letting those near misses frustrate him, he refused to let those close shaves rattle him. I hope Ray can go one better before the year ends and create another little bit of history for himself by beating his age. It’s on the cards, so any bets? Ray was our runaway winner, no doubt about that. Gavin Holt (10) was the runner-up with a net 75. Ball winners were: Col McCrone (14) net 76, Phil Bleyer (14) nett 77 c/b, Warren Bremer (34) net 77, Di Starling (17) net 78, Graeme Eyles (16) net 79. Intersales points: Ray Jennings 6 Gavin Holt 5 Col McCrone 4 Phil Bleyer 3 Warren Bremer 2 Nearest the pins: 7th Ray Jennings 7.9 metres 12th Phil Bleyer 2.95 metres 16th Simon Eyles 6.1metres The drive and chip on the 3rd was won by none other than Trevor Jose with a neat shot of 1.7 metres, the 8th went to Mal Krause with 3.4 metres. A big thank you to Mick Reardon for getting the barbeque up and running. Those sausage sandwiches do go down well. Not only can he build a decent shed, but he also knows his way around a kitchen. A man of many talents. Well done to the vets who attended the golfy on Friday night to witness Hugh Block receive his sponsorship, which will financially assist him with his upcoming NSW School Boy’s Tournament, to be held at Tamworth. Give’em hell, Hugh. We also congratulated Zali Sinclair, Harper Block, and Charlie Watson for their outstanding efforts at the recent NSW Combined High School’s Golf Championships, which were held at the Magenta Shores and Shelly Beach Golf Clubs. In response, Zali, Harper, and Charlie took to the floor and thanked the relevant sponsors and Pam Rees for their assistance and generosity. I mentioned Pam because she donated golf balls, golf tees, and ball markers to the juniors. Something she didn’t have to do, but it was something she wanted to do. Pam often mentions our juniors and says how nice and respectful they are. She does add that the mums and dads need a good pat on the back too. So well done to the parents. Four talented golfers standing proud, and who knows what level they can achieve. Going by their excellent manners, their golfing skills, and their respect for others, I’d say a long way. I would personally like to thank Anthony Abra for making the effort to thank and support our juniors. He is a good man and has my respect. Mark Wells, Mick Reardon, Mark Graham, Phil Bleyer, and Barry Flakelar were also present. If I’ve left someone out, I’m very sorry. No skins again this week, so once again the money that was allocated for the skins will be banked into the barbeque fund. Shot(s) of the day: Ray had seventy-four; take your pick. That’s it from me. I’ll sign off with a big well done to Ray, and I wish young Hugh Block all the best on his quest to win the School Boy’s Tournament at Tamworth. Sunday Golf On Sunday we hosted a Single Stableford Medley, 25 players took part including two ladies, three juniors, and two visitors from West Wyalong, Chris Flack and Andy Taylor. I hope both of you enjoyed your time here. The overnight rain dampened the course and some spirits. Winner of the day and continuing his purple patch after winning an event the day before was Anthony Abra with 37 points. Runner up was our visitor Chris Flack with 36 points. NTP: 3rd: Untouched 7th: Paddy Alchin 6.30 metres 12th: Adam Phillips 6.94 metres 16th: Scott Sinclair 0.59 metres Gazannes Drive n Chip was on the 14th, Steve Block was smart enough to put his name on there (sorry Macca) with 11.30 metres Ball comp: Di Starling (34) Ryan Pike (33) Steve Steinhardt (33) Steve Pike (31) Darren Starling (30) Bill Ingram (29) Bradman award went to Phil Lee. Special thanks to the eight players that trialled the new Golf Genius app for scoring, from all reports it was a resounding success. This Sunday is a 4BBB aggregate and multiplier (Medley event, ladies welcome). Front 9 you will need to add your scores and back nine you multiply them. If anyone would like to trial the new scoring app this Sunday, could you please let Adam or Coddo know. You will need both yourself and partner on it. There will also be a prize for best individual score which will be done via the app. A card will be used for the 4bbb Sunday the 26 July is the Men's Foursomes Championships to be played over 27 holes. Don’t forget to register for the Temora Open weekend. Dinner is selling fast and the Ambrose on Saturday is usually a full field. Coolamon Golf By TOM GOSS There is no actual Golf report this week as I have been enduring the warm, balmy temperatures of Cairns whilst yearning for the icy freezing winds of Coolamon. In this melancholic state my mind travelled to an issue that has caused me endless sleepless nights. The following is a very real scenario that could end in an unimaginable catastrophe. It is a warning and a plea for action. There is a tree in hitting distance on the right-hand side of the eleventh fairway on the Coolamon golf course. One day in the very near future a golfer will slice (or hook if left-handed) a drive into that tree, causing the ball to ricochet sideways. A man in a car travelling along the adjacent road with the driver’s side window down will be struck in the temple with great force by the errant ball, causing the car to veer wildly. Tragically, another car travelling in the opposite direction will swerve erratically away from the oncoming vehicle, avoiding a head on but smashing into a second tree. All three occupants will be instantly killed. But that’s not the worst of it. The first driver, an epileptic, will involuntarily press the accelerator to the floor as a consequence of the seizure caused by the blow to the temple. The car hurtling through the fence at speed will crash into a train heading in the same direction causing the passenger compartments to derail. Mercifully, the train at this stage is likely to be only half full resulting in a mere twenty-five deaths. It’s far from finished though, tragic events are still unfolding. The engine of the train knocked off the tracks will speed unimpeded into the adjoining silo. Now anyone with any intelligence knows that wheat grains bloat and exude volatile gases when contained in airtight spaces. The engine, crashing through the silo will produce a shower of sparks igniting these gases and spontaneously combusting into a massive explosion, levelling the town and annihilating two thousand doomed souls. These cataclysmic events still have some way to go. Newly elected PM Pauline Hanson will sheet the blame on Indonesian terrorists and threaten to march through the length and breadth of Indonesia berating and abusing every Indonesian she comes across. Predictably, the Indonesian President will take great offence, declare war on Australia and invade the north. President Donald Trump in a wild spasm of boiling anger about being enticed from the golf course will furiously step up to the plate to defend Australia his greatest ally, making the fateful decision to nuke Indonesia. Tragically, in his befuddled state and keen to return to the golf game, he will push the wrong button, and the neutron bombs will hurtle towards Australia. You know the rest. Australia will be obliterated from the face of the earth and twenty-five million will be instantly obliterated. Ahh the humanity, the little children. Even more catastrophic, the golfer will incur a two-stroke penalty. And all because a small group of pig-headed greenie golfers refused to countenance the removal of one dangerous tree. You know it will happen, and don’t ever say you weren’t warned. A detailed report on the Foursomes Championship will appear next week, that is unless the looming unthinkable occurs. Ariah Park Aussie Rules and Netball Round 13 The Jets had their first home game in a few weeks. CSU travelled to Ardlethan on Saturday 04/07/26. No under 17s again this week in the netball. First Grade: Jets 9.8.62 CSU 10.8.68 Award Winners: Chris Ryall Harry Collis Paddy Bray Goals: Jack Harper 3, Jack Fisher 2, Charlie McCormack 1, Seth Marinkovic 1, Harry Collis 1, Chris Ryall 1 Reserve Grade: JETS 0.2.2 CSU 15.13.103 Award Winners: Ben Prentice Ryan furner Ben Dennis Morgan’s Mug: Hayden Massey B Grade came out firing on all cylinders in the first quarter but CSU soon picked up the pace and came out on top in a close game. A Reserve was a tough game with the lead changes several times during the game but the Jets held on to have a 3 point points win. A grade started strong with the score not reflecting the effort the whole team was putting in. With some position changes with Nic Fraser coming on into the defence and Grace O’Brien moving into attack in the goal circle the Jets were able to claw back some if the gap to only go down by 4 goals. The team put in a tremendous effort. A Grade: Jets 52 CSU 56 Players player: Grace O’Brien Coaches Award: Nic Fraser A Reserve: Jets 44 CSU 41 Players player: Suse Furphy Coaches Award: Lana King B Grade: Jets 41 CSU 44 Players player: Zoe Thomas Coaches Award: Sophie Noack C Grade: Jets 15 CSU 58 Players player: Georgia Smethurst Coaches Award: Nevaeh Webb Congratulation on 50 Senior netball games to Paige Hanrahan , Adelaide Gaynor, Maya Prentice and Ruby Prentice. Round 14 The Jets were home in Ariah Park against Marrar for the Riverina Bluebell round. It was tough in both grades of football on the weekend with Marrar winning both 1st Grade and Reserves First Grade: Jets 11.8.74 Bombers - 13.15.93 Award Winners: Max Harper Seth Marinkovic Josh Bell Goals: Jack Harper 4, Chris Bell 2, Chris Ryall 1, Charlie McCormack 1, Harry Collis 1 Reserve Grade: Jets- 3.2.20 Bombers - 15.10.100 Award Winners: Dan Harrison Tim Haswell Riley Glasgow Morgan’s Mug: Lachie Sheather Goals: Riley Webb 2, Ryan Furner 1 In netball we had mixed results. It was exciting to see B Grade with the second win. A Res had a very close game to take out the win also. The Under 17s had a nice victory over Marrar as well. Grade are missing some players at the moment but Lana King and Ruby Prentice were shooting well against a tall Marrar defence. Unfortunately it wasn’t on the cards for the Jets on the day. The games of the day was C Grade. The Team seem to gel and some great pockets of play had the Jets in front in the last quarter. Marrar seem to find that extra push with C Grade being behind by one point at the final whistle. It was a tremendous effort by the team. A Grade: Jets 45 Marrar 55 Players player: Issy Gaynor Coaches Award: Ruby Prentice A Reserve: Jets 44 Marrar 46 Players player: Jess Zieltjes Coaches Award: Bella Fairman B Grade: Jets 48 Marrar 41 Players player: Summer Batterham Coaches Award: Tilly Matthews C Grade: Jets 19 Marrar 20 Players player: Hannah Maxwell Coaches Award: Maya Prentice U’17s: Jets 31 Marrar 24 Players player: Summer Batterham Coaches Award: Adelaide Gaynor Temora Bowling Club bowls Club Championships All of our 2025-2026 Club Championships are now complete with the finals of the minor singles and the handicap pairs being played. Jon Wilson has claimed the minor singles crown with a surprisingly comfortable 25-16 win over Rick McKinnon. Surprising because both players had been in great form leading into the final with pundits unsure who was likely to claim the title. McKinnon made his way to the final with a 25-10 defeat of Paul Cook followed by two great wins against Jake Anderson (25-21) and Don Martin (25-15). Wilson had a round one win over Peter Harpley, 25-20 and backed that up with a 25-11 win over Ross McKenzie. A semi-final walkover from Bill Moore saw Wilson through to the Final. The handicap pairs final was a fantastic game of lawn bowls. It’s a bit of a shame the weather was on the “chilly side” which prompted the crowd to watch through windows with the air conditioning cranked up to late Spring temperatures. Peter Harpley and Jon Wilson received a four-shot headstart from Greg and Rick McKinnon for the 18-end contest. For a long time it looked like Wilson was on the verge of claiming a weekend double, while Harpley sought a maiden Club Championship. After 15 ends of action, they held a five shot advantage and were looking comfortable, until the McKinnon’s picked up a four and all of a sudden it’s “Panic Stations” with three ends to play. Those last three ends were pretty good stuff from both teams. Good shot followed good shot right to the end. When the dust had settled, Greg and Rick McKinnon had claimed the handicap pairs title 17-16 to top off a great return to the game after a lengthy absence on the sidelines. Their travel to the final was easy at all. A round one bye was followed by a 13-12 win over Bert Taylor and Marcel Mouawad in round two. A 25-15 quarter-final win over Nora and Bruce Saffioti set up a semi-final showdown with Neville Elwin and Trevor Firman which they won 21-15 in very tricky conditions. All in all, that’s a pretty impressive return to the game. 2027 Calendar Bowls NSW and the Riverina/Murray Region have released their Calendars for the 2027 Season. Some players may not be aware of the change to the playing season implemented by the State Governing Body. For the last four or five years we have been playing a July to June Season. As of 2027, the season will revert back to a January-December program which means not a lot is on the table for the rest of the year. The financial structure imposed by Bowls NSW and the RMR have not changed, they remain in a Fiscal Year format of July to June. At this stage it looks like February to June next year is going to be chock full of Pennant, RMR Championships and potentially our Open Singles and Pairs as they have deadlines set by the Bowls NSW Match Committee. There will still be events to play such as BPL, the August Tournament, President’s Cup, Bing Wallder Shield etc. but you will have to keep an eye on the noticeboard for tournaments organised by Clubs throughout the RMR area. King of the Turf Hocus Pocus. Abracadabra. Hey Presto. What a magic show this was. Unbelievable is what it actually was. Peter Harpley, Lucky Pellow and Julie Firman Triple Dead-heated for first place last weekend. That’s Magic. True Magic. Making the impossible appear entirely feasible. Peter Harpley wouldn’t run out of sight on a dark night, and he’s beating the rest of the field. That’s the first magic trick we’re supposed to believe. Julie Firman hasn’t won for 44 Seasons. Here she is in a developed print and that’s the second magic trick we’re supposed to swallow. Lucky Pellow, well. We’ll lay off him a bit. He does occasionally pop up every now and then, so that’s not much of a magic trick at all. Yeah - nah. Unbelievable.
