After hosting the men’s version of the NSW Sand Greens Championships on October 12, a week later 15 Nyngan female golfers jumped in the car and headed to Grenfell for the women’s event. Travelling for sport is just part of life in Nyngan, so the 308-kilometre one-way trek was no concern, with a strong contingent tackling the hilly and tricky Grenfell course on October 19 and 20. Solid rain pre-event made the par-68 course even more challenging.
Deanna Stephens was Nyngan Golf Club’s best across the weekend, winning the division two 36-hole nett title comfortably. Stephens, a 42-marker, finished with a nett score of 131 to win the division two nett title by 10 shots from June Shields (Coleambally, 141). Nyngan Golf Club’s team of ‘Dee’ Stephens, Mandy Martin, and Ali Morriss also won the RLGA Jug (nett) teams event. Their combined average nett score was 142.
This came a week after overall NSW Men’s Sand Greens Champion David Rose also took out the NSW Sand Greens Teams Event title for Nyngan GC, teaming up with his son Shane and Mitchell Williams on their home course at Nyngan Golf Club. The resident golfing scribe for Nyngan Golf Club, Brendan Smith, pondered that it could easily be the first time one club has taken out both the men’s and ladies nett titles in the same year.
“The trophy will sit nicely with the trophy the boys collected for winning the teams event at Nyngan the week before,” he wrote on the club’s Facebook page. “I’d be very, very surprised if the same town has held both trophies simultaneously in the past. A huge thanks to all the ladies who represented our club. From all reports, everyone had a great weekend and enjoyed the Grenfell hospitality.”
Scoring low was no easy task at Grenfell. Dunedoo’s Sharon Nott won her fifth Women’s NSW Sand Greens Championship with a combined 36-hole score off the stick of 162. Nott has previously won the Women’s NSW Sand Green Championships in 2007, 2008, 2011, and 2012.
“With such a competitive field of 80 players from 26 different clubs, the 2024 championship provided plenty of highlights,” Golf NSW wrote on its website. “As the dust settles, all eyes now turn to the 2025 Women’s NSW Sand Greens Championship, set to be held at Nyngan Golf Club on October 18-19.”
