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SPORTS

Pattaya 9-Ball Pool League

Results & Standings Sept. 19 (week 15)

Team
Played Won Lost Pts.

Cheers 15 13 2 40

Buddys Bar 14 11 3 35

Simple Simon 15 11 4 33

Irish Rover 14 7 7 25

Rioja 15 7 8 25

The Ranch 14 7 7 24

Roxy 15 7 8 23

George n Dragon 14 7 7 23

Queen Vic. 15 5 10 23

Hotties 15 6 9 22

Moonshine 15 4 11 14

FCUK 15 3 12 10

Results: Queen Vic. 13 v 12 Cheers; Roxy 13 v 10 Hotties; Rioja 6 v 13 Buddy’s Bar; Moonshine 13 v 5 FCUK; Irish Rover P v P The Ranch; Simple Simon 13 v 5 George n Dragon

WKD Tuesday Darts League

Results & Standings Sept. 11 (week 23)

Team P W L B/L Pts.

Londoner 23 20 3 16 40

Irish Rovers 22 18 4 19 36

Roxy 23 17 6 17 34

Fishing Gallery 23 16 7 15 32

Mee Chew Sports Bar 23 14 9 9 28

Nervous Wreck 23 13 10 14 26

Jantha Coffee House 23 12 11 9 24

Crazy Eddies 23 11 12 12 22

Yates Bar 23 11 12 11 22

Mai’s Bar 22 10 12 8 20

Shoot Pool 23 10 13 8 20

Bernie’s Bar 23 3 20 10 6

W. Tankies 23 3 20 4 6

Buffalo Jack’s 23 2 21 8 4

Results: Bernie’s Bar 2 v 8 Nervous Wreck; Buffalo Jack’s 1 v 9 Crazy Eddies; Irish Rovers 8 v 4 Mee Chew Sports Bar; Jantha Coffee House 1 v 8 Fishing Gallery; Mai’s Bar 2 v 8 Londoner; Wanky Tankies 0 v 9 Roxy; Yates Bar 3 v 6 Shoot Pool

British Bar Snacks Friday Pool League

Results & Standings Sept. 14

Division 1

Team P W L +/- BP Pts

Crazy Eddie’s 4 3 1 16 0 9

TJ’s Bar 4 3 1 4 0 9

Pook’s Bar 4 2 2 6 2 8

Sweethearts Bar 2 2 0 4 0 6

The Butchers Arms 4 2 2 0 0 6

Nicky’s Bar 4 1 3 -7 1 4

Shoot Pool 2 1 1 0 0 3

Links Bar 3 1 2 -2 0 3

FCUK Inn 3 0 3 -21 0 0

Results: Crazy Eddie’s 7 v 10 Pook’s Bar; TJ’s Bar 10 v 7 Shoot Pool; FCUK Inn 3 v 10 Nicky’s Bar; Butchers 7 v 10 Sweethearts

Division 2

Team P W L +/- BP Pts

Biggyz Rest 3 3 0 15 0 9

Offshore Bar 4 3 1 9 0 9

Old Thai Angle 4 3 1 4 0 9

The Irish Rovers 3 2 1 9 1 7

The Queen Vic 3 2 1 0 0 6

Mata Bar 3 1 2 -2 1 4

The Stag’s Head 4 1 3 -12 0 3

Mai’s Bar 2 0 2 -5 1 1

The Ranch 4 0 4 -18 1 1

Results: Biggyz Rest 10 v 3 Old Thai; The Ranch 9 v 10 Queen Vic; Mai’s Bar 6 v 10 Offshore; Stags Head 6 v 10 Irish Rovers

Division 3

Team P W L +/- BP Pts

Easy R-Con Bar 4 4 0 18 0 12

Tie’s R Us 4 3 1 14 1 10

Hotties 4 3 1 4 0 9

Dean’s Bar 3 2 1 8 0 6

Punch & Judy 2 1 1 3 0 3

Jolie Bar 2 1 1 -6 0 3

Connections 3 1 2 -8 0 3

Buffalo Jacks 4 0 4 -16 1 1

Rabbi’s Elephant 4 0 4 -17 1 1

Results: Buffalo Jacks 9 v 10 Hotties; Rabbi’s 5 v 10 Punch Judy; Connections 5 v 10 Easy R-Con; Tie’s R Us 10 v 3 Jolie Bar

Monday Double-in Darts League

Results & Standings Sept. 17 (week 6)

Team P W L +/- Pts

Taffy’s Bar 6 6 0 32 12

Dang’s Bar 6 5 1 26 10

Mai Roo 6 3 3 -8 6

Load Out 6 2 4 4 4

Double Top 6 2 4 -12 4

Jantha Coffee 6 0 6 -42 0

Results: Dang’s Bar 9 v 0 Jantha Coffee; Load Out Bar 4 v 5 Mai Roo Bar; Taffy’s Bar 6 v 3 Double Top Bar

John Keppler Cider Pool League

Results & Standings Sept. 20 (week 34)

Team Pts. For Against Diff.

Brasshouse 60 175 84 91

Barking 51 161 103 58

Panitas 36 144 120 24

Mulligans 36 123 141 -18

Rendezvous 33 125 139 -14

Lucky 33 123 141 -18

Pats 21 98 166 -68

NaNa 0 36 91 -55

Results: Brasshouse 10 v 1 Nana; Lucky 5 v 6 Rendezvous; Panitas 5 v 6 Mulligans; Pats 3 v 8 Barking

Pattaya 8-Ball Monday Pool League

Results & Standings Sept. 17 (week 2)

Division 1

Team Played Won Lost For Agst Diff. Pts.

Shoot Pool B 2 2 0 21 9 12 6

Biggy’z Rest A 2 2 0 20 10 10 6

Crazy Eddie’s 2 2 0 17 13 4 6

Dean’s Bar 2 1 1 20 10 10 4

San Snack Bar 2 1 1 14 16 -2 4

Phimai Geordie 2 0 2 13 17 -4 2

Old Thaiangle 2 0 2 8 22 -14 2

KiK Bar 2 0 2 7 23 -16 2

Results: Biggy’z Rest A 11 v 4 Old Thaiangle; San Snack Bar 5 v 10 Shoot Pool B; Crazy Eddie’s 8 v 7 Phimai Geordie; Dean’s Bar 14 v 1 KiK Bar

Division 2

Team Played Won Lost For Agst Diff. Pts.

Mee Chew 2 2 0 23 7 16 6

Biggy’z Rest B 2 2 0 21 9 12 6

Shoot Pool A 2 2 0 20 10 10 6

Joy’s Paradise 2 1 1 14 16 -2 4

Connections 2 1 1 11 19 -8 4

Parrot Inn 2 0 2 12 18 -6 2

Rising Sun 2 0 2 11 19 -8 2

Buffalo Jack’s 2 0 2 8 22 -14 2

Results: Shoot Pool A 10 v 5 Buffalo Jack’s; Parrot Inn 6 v 9 Biggy’z Rest B; Connections 10 v 5 Joy’s Paradise; Rising Sun 6 v 9 Mee Chew

Crumpton Oaks Wednesday Darts League

Results & Standings Sept. 12 (week 7)

Team P W L B/L +/- Pts.

Mee Chew Sports Bar 7 7 0 4 37 14

Irish Rovers 7 6 1 7 29 12

Yates Bar 7 3 4 2 -5 6

Jantha Coffee House 7 2 5 3 -9 4

Offshore Bar 7 2 5 3 -9 4

W. Tankies 7 1 6 2 -43 2

Results: Irish Rovers 5 v 4 Offshore Bar; Jantha Coffee House 4 v 5 W. Tankies; Mee Chew Sports Bar 8 v 1 Yates Bar

Bernek blitzes Bangpakong

PSC golf from The Growling Swan

Peter Blackburn

Tuesday, Sept. 18, Khao Kheow,
A & B – Stableford

There had been lots of rain in Pattaya over the last few days and it was fingers crossed for our first event of the week. Regardless of the weather forecasts we were just 1 short of a full field of 24 as we assembled at The Growling Swan in readiness for the trip to the popular Khao Kheow.

Stephen Newton & Ken Bernek.

We welcomed back Martin Todd’s big boy Brad from Ferndale in Western Australia and also Peter Bye from Karratha in Western Australia.

As everyone was keen and early we departed the G.S. 10 minutes ahead of our scheduled 8.30 am departure time in 2 min vans and after not encountering any rain during the journey we arrived at the course 39 minutes later. We were allotted the A & B nines and told to tee off at our leisure as we practically had the place to ourselves and our first group teed off at 9.28 am, 32 minutes earlier than our booked time.

It was obvious that there had been lots of rain recently, especially overnight and sensibly there were no carts allowed on the fairways which meant winter rules through the greens were applied. It was of course fairly soggy under foot but other than the few patches of G.U.R. the golf course was in fine shape with excellent greens that were fairly slick at times.

The weather was good although very humid and rain clouds were amassing overhead and we managed to complete the front nine, A, in fairly good time before the heavens opened and the storm hit us. Not to be deprived of our full game of golf we patiently sat it out at the half way mark for about 45 minutes until the storm had passed and commenced the B nine which although was fairly wet was completely playable and the greens had drained remarkably quickly.

Kae, Max Bracegirdle & JJ Harney.

One of our groups, a three-ball, had continued through the very heavy rain and several groups that were sheltering & they arrived at the half way mark drenched to the bone (one of them had no umbrella) and decided that a hot shower & several Heinekens in the restaurant was much more appealing to them.

It ended up being a very long round, just on five hours in fact but taking out the 45 minute rain stop and it was about the same time as a normal round. Very enjoyable day despite the weather and regardless of the necessary course maintenance that is in progress and some golf other outlets have been complaining about this is still one of the region’s premier venues.

We were able to have 2 grades with five podium spots in each. A Grade was for handicaps 0 to 18 and B Grade for 19 and over. We had nearest the pins on all the par threes which were sponsored by The Growling Swan, Mike Gosden, Paul Quinn & Peter Bye. We also had longest first putts on the A9 & B9 greens which were kindly sponsored by Martin Todd & Mandurah Country Club in Western Australia.

Of course the going was tough on the day due to the adverse weather conditions which was proved by the fact that no-one was able to play to their handicap. It was a very close finish at the top of A Grade with 3 golfers on 35 points. The count-back that was necessary saw J J Harney (19 point back nine, 14 points on the last 6 holes) take out first spot with Ken “Let’s hear it for” Bernek (19 point back nine, 13 points on the last 6 holes) finishing second and third place went to John Pierrel (19 point back nine, 12 points on the last 6 holes). In fourth place was Martin Todd with 32 points and in another count-back on 31 points it was Stu “Heineken” Rifkin (17 point back nine) taking fifth spot from an unlucky Mike Allidi (15 point back nine).

In B Grade it was Duangjai Tusagad (Kae) who was victorious with 32 points and in yet another 3-way count-back on 29 points it was new arrival Brad Todd (13 point back nine, 10 points on the last 6 holes) who finished second from Alain “Inspector Clouseou” Taddei (13 point back nine, 9 points on the last 6 holes) in third place. Thientong Charoenrung (13 point back nine, 7 points on the last 6 holes) ended up in fourth spot with Wendy Bernek on 28 points completing the podium.

A Flight (0-18)
1st J J Harney (11) 35pts
2nd Ken Bernek (16) 35pts
3rd John Pierrel (12) 35pts
4th Martin Todd (8) 33pts
5th Stu Rifkin (15) 31pts

B Flight (19+)
1st Duanjai Dusadad (34) 32pts
2nd Brad Todd (23) 29pts
3rd Alain Taddei (19) 29pts
4th Thientong Charoenrung (19) 29pts
5th Wendy Bernek (32) 28pts
Near Pins: A3 – Stu Rifkin; A5 – Wendy Bernek; B3 – John Pierrel; B8 – Mike Allidi
Long Putts: A9 – Roy Dayton; B9 – Max Bracegirdle

The Compass Cap (awarded for the worst score on the day) was well won by Max “Two Corsets” Bracegirdle and once more the award was received in good spirit and the cap was worn for quite some time afterwards. Deefa the Dog was of course present and paraded by his master, Hunter and several donations to charity were collected from the ever generous Growling Swan Golf crew.

Thursday, Sept. 20, Bangpakong – Stableford

There were 20 starters on the sheet for the trip to Bangpakong but that was reduced by 1 after a late inclusion the night before failed to show. Thankfully everyone else was early so after a quick free coffee we were able to depart The Growling Swan 10 minutes earlier than our scheduled departure time of 8.20 am.

We welcomed big Chris Stewart from Mandurah in Western Australia and also Jim Reid from Pattaya, formerly from London, UK. It was Bon Voyage to J J Harney who is off to Ireland for a couple of weeks and Peter Bye who is returning to his work in Karratha Western Australia.

It was a good run along No.7 for our 2 mini vans until things slowed down dramatically about two thirds of the way there due to a truck accident and what is normally a 65 minute drive turned into a 95 minute journey. We had encountered some fairly heavy rain en route but by the time we arrived at Bangpakong it was cloudy but fine.

Our late arrival of course delayed our tee off time but our first group managed to get away 22 minutes after our scheduled 10.00 am tee spot. We were told at check-in that carts were not allowed at all which displeased some of our members but of course later in the round there were plenty of carts being used, by Thai golfers! T.I.T.!

As mentioned earlier the weather was fine but humidity was very high and although winter rules through the greens were applied there were relatively few soggy fairways, particularly on the back nine. The golf course was as usual up to its high standard and the greens, although a tad slower than normal were in beautiful condition.

We breezed through the front nine in just over 2 hours but slowed down somewhat on the second nine due to the inevitable slow Thai group that had appeared in front of us. There were several hold-ups which stretched our round to four hours & twenty five minutes but once again we were thankful to finish the day completely dry. As the scores came in afterwards it was apparent that the going had been fairly easy for many and anything less than 36 points was not going to gain a place on the podium.

We were able to have 2 grades with four podium spots in each. A Grade was for handicaps 0 to 18 and B Grade for 19 and over. We had nearest the pins on all the par threes which were sponsored by The Growling Swan, Dave Neal, Stephen Newton & Kevin Waycott. We also had longest first putts on the A9 & B9 greens which were kindly sponsored by Martin Todd & Mandurah Country Club in Western Australia.

There was an absolute “bolter” in the A Grade as Ken “let’s hear it for” Bernek carded 45 points to finish first, 7 points clear of Chris Stewart in second place. In a four-way count-back on 36 points for third & fourth it was the consistent Martin Todd (20 point back nine) who prevailed over Ebrahim (18 point back nine, 14 points on the last 6 holes). The ones just missing out were Peter Bye (18 point back nine, 10 points on last 6 holes) and J J Harney (17 point back nine).

In the B Grade it was a very good 41 points from Stephen Newton that enabled him to finish first with Jim Reid (18 point back nine, 12 points on the last 6 holes) finishing second from Wendy Bernek (18 point back nine, 9 points on the last 6 holes) in third place with both on 38 points. Brad Todd took the last spot on the podium with a fine 37 points.

A Flight (0-18)
1st Ken Bernek (16) 45pts
2nd Chris Stewart (3) 38pts
3rd Martin Todd (8) 36pts
4th Ebrahim (16) 36pts
B Flight (19+)
1st Stephen Newton (29) 41pts
2nd Jim Reid (29) 38pts
3rd Wendy Bernek (32) 38pts
4th Brad Todd (23) 37pts
Near Pins: 4th – Ken Bernek; 7th – Peter Bye; 13th – Chris Stewart; 16th – Alain Taddei

Long Puttss: 9th – Stephen Newton; 18th – Ebrahim

The Compass Cap (awarded for the worst score on the day) was won by Dave Neal with probably the highest “worst” score ever to win the award and once more it was received in good spirit. Deefa was not present but the Compass Cap was handed around by Big Ken and several donations to charity were collected from the ever generous Growling Swan Golf crew. At The Growling Swan afterward Mike “Hunter” Gosden celebrated his birthday in fine style by ringing the bell. Another great day out thoroughly enjoyed by all, particularly Big Ken Bernek who had his best ever gross score – well done mate.

Note: Growling Swan Golf welcomes golfers of any persuasion – low & high handicappers alike, female golfers and beginners. We generally play Mondays & Thursdays, meeting at The Growling Swan (formerly The Bunker Bar) in Soi Chaiyapoon at 8.00 am with transport departing at 8.30 am. For bookings or more information please contact Peter on 0806 351 386 or email to [email protected].

Phil Page takes Road King title

PSC golf from The Golf Club

Report & Photos - Steve Ellison

Monday, Sept. 17, Green Valley (White tees) – Stableford
1st Jeff Cordeiro (9) 39pts
2nd Mick Beresford (16) 36pts
3rd Phil Smedley (13) 34pts

Remember the skies last week? It was dark and drizzly this Monday morning and there were many phone calls to cancel, in spite of our insistence that rain should never make you stay at home here in Pattaya. Still, we had four groups that hung in there and four groups that had their reward.

J.J. Wright with coach Nim.

While raining in town, Green Valley was dry and a perfect day of golf was on the cards with cool weather and overcast skies. It did not rain on Jeff Cordeiros’ parade as he marched to victory with a three stroke win over second place Micky Beresford who was also the best-dressed golfer on the day.

Golf Captain Phil Smedley finished with a dry 34 for third place to finish off this week’s leaderboard.

Back to the rain, September is the month for the heaviest rainfall in Pattaya, but that said, we rarely get rained out. Most courses around here are sandy based and are designed for spurts of heavy rain, and when it rains it pours!

Beautiful Alpine Golf Club.

Fortunately we have drinks stands that double as rain shelters for protection every 3 holes, so you can usually hide out in comfort (proximity to beer = comfort). And if you do get wet, at least it’s warm and not the bone chilling freeze out we have back in the U.K. It would be a shame not to use that 900 baht graphite shafted Titleist brolly, wouldn’t it?

Wednesday 19th – Lam Luk Ka – Stableford,
White tees.
1st J.J. Wright (13) 36pts
2nd Phil Page (10) 35pts
3rd John Baxter (15) 33pts

The semi-regular road trip took us to 2 fabulous Bangkok golf courses; first Lam Luk Ka then Alpine CC. Today was squishy underfoot, so a low-impact round of golf was on the cards. We were treated to the Championship A & B nines at Lam Luk Ka, and were sent out right on time.

What a great track this is, and the sports day rate of 1,500 is tremendous value, so take advantage of this special summer offer while you still can. Roger Packard designed this course, and his company also did the redesign of Medinah, this week’s Ryder Cup venue. He and his father Larry have 260 golf course projects worldwide under their belts!

Twenty-one brave souls took to the links and all finished high and dry with not a drop of rain. J.J. Wright was the best on the day, beating several other Siam C.C. members and many single digit handicappers on this beautiful course. Phil Page just missed out by a point to take 2nd slot and John Baxter shot a 33 for his first round on this tremendous track for 3rd place honours.

Also, Jeff (antihistamine) Calrow got cozy with the 12th hole flag for his near pin win. I hear the shot was made between sneezes, poor dear.

Thursday, Sept. 20, Alpine G.C. – Stableford
White Tees
1st Phil Page (10) 38pts
2nd Jim Dundon (13) 34pts
Blue Tees
1st Martin Rock (11) 35pts
2nd Jon Lay (8) 34pts

Alpine Golf Club is one of those few iconic golf courses in Thailand that are the stuff of legend. It is a must-play course for the visitor or resident (if you can get on!). Host to the Johnny Walker and many more, the course also gained notoriety by being the brainchild of controversial former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. It is a lovely golf course with half of the holes being “signature” quality and a delight to photograph with its undulations in the fairway and a great deal of earth moving for elevation changes.

Ron Garl from Florida designed this course, and was given the task of creating a hilly terrain from rice paddy fields out near the old airport. This was his first project in Asia, and the results of his efforts are truly superb. It is a very unique golf experience and most certainly a first-class venue. Alpine G.C. will always be rated in the Top 5 courses in the Kingdom.

Today’s golf was divided up with a Blue Tee group and a White Tee group, just for a bit of fun. We were all playing under the same conditions, that is, recovering from a night in Bangkok! That visit to the local night market and temples certainly took its’ toll.

On the first tee, it was a bit on the muggy side, but no rain touched the course so we were all semi-ready for a great round of golf. Our hosts at Alpine were fantastic to us for this special day out from Pattaya.

IPGC-ers Martin Rock and Jon Lay stole the show from the blue tees but still just missed out on shooting their handicap. Well played lads, and thanks for joining in with us. Jim Dundon had a great round shooting 34 at Alpine, but it was Phil Page who had the best score of the day with 38 points to top the leaderboard. That is a great score on this golf course, so congratulations to you Phil. Actually, with his first here and a second on the day before, Phil also took the honours as Road King for this trip!

Literally everyone commented on how well-run this trip was, and we can thank Capt. Phil Smedley for organizing and running a silky smooth road show once again. Co-pilot Oddvar Rykke must also receive our thanks for being the human GPS to weave our way through the Big Mango and get everyone back safely. Thanks to all who joined in for another great golf trip!

Note: The Golf Club is located on Soi LK Metro. We usually play on Monday, Wednesday and Friday so come join us for a seriously fun day out. Just call 085 434 3377 or see our website www.golfclubpattaya.com and for more information mail us: [email protected] and see updates at www.facebook.com/golfclubpattaya.

Hart hits form at Khao Kheow

PSC golf from The Outback Golf Bar

Monday, Sept. 17, Burapha – Stableford

With so much recent heavy rain, General Jack, who was running today’s competition in the absence of the Capt’, gave the guys a break by nominating the white tee as the tee of the day. One of the regular Monday players, who shall remain nameless, has always pressed for the whites instead of the long blues, normally played on A & B. Well, today he got his wish but scored less points than he usually does off the blues; Som Num Nah!

Remarkably, the course was quite playable, although no carts on the course, so preferred lies in force and somehow everybody got round with minimal rain. Jim & Pete were the stars of the show, playing partners and both scoring 40pts; Pete lost on count-back but he really lost it on the 18th when he three putted from 8ft.

There were five ‘2’s; three on hole 12 (B3) from Paul Bourke, Jim Brackett & Pete Stonebridge and two on hole 17 (B8) from Greg Hill & Rosco.

1st Jim Brackett (5) 40pts
2nd Pete Stonebridge (14) 40pts
3rd Greg Hill (17) 38pts
Monday, Sept. 17, Khao Kheow – Stableford

There were understandably some late withdrawals after more heavy overnight rain leaving only 8 Outbackers playing A & B at Khao Kheow.

We teed off 30 minutes early with a gentle start on A to get us on our way; and as with Burapha we decided to play off the whites today as there would be no run on the ball and ‘lift, clean & place’ on the fairways because of all the rain they have had.

The course was in fair condition and they are working on a lot of fairways with GUR coming into play and the greens were in good condition if a little slow; but there’s every indication that this course will be much improved by the start of the high season.

Welcome to Steve Kerr, Vince and Norman; all having their first game with the Outback - Vince hailing from the UK and a member of one of General Jack’s former golfing society’s near Reading.

John O’Keefe’s 38pts would normally be enough to win round here any day of the week but John had to settle for second place as Muzza (Murray Hart) beat him by three, to post an amazing 41pts.

Our thanks to Suzi for organising the day so ably and there were no ‘2’s.

1st Murray Hart (14) 41pts
2nd John O’Keefe (17) 38pts
3rd Martin Kingswood (13) 35pts
Tuesday, Sept. 18, Pattaya C.C. - Stableford

Thirteen players at Pattaya Country Club this week, 12 of them in the regular competition and Alfie, a good friend of Chad’s, having virtually his first taste of a golf course.

The girls continue to stay away with the exception of Seesa as they find the white tees (played on their back nine) too long for them and the men don’t fare so well either playing their back nine off the blues which does make for some very tough holes. Not too tough for the Turnip though, with 36pts with Dave Earthrowl in second on 34.

Jim Payne had the only ‘2’ on the fifth.
1st Dennis Persson (20) 36pts
2nd David Earthrowl (19) 34pts
3rd Martin O’Neill (28) 32pts
Tuesday, Sept. 18, Laem Chabang – Stableford

After a couple of weeks of a poor turnout at Laem Chabang, blamed mostly on the slow pace of play, it was nice to have almost a full complement of 5 groups on the B & C nines today. We were promptly away at 11a.m. and after the overnight rain the course was bound to be wet, so with no carts on the course the usual winter rules were in effect. To everybody’s delight, the round was faster than average with the front groups back in under four hours bringing back some good scorecards with them, given the wet conditions.

Kissy just got the better of Lumpy with 20pts on the back compared with his (Lumpy’s) 19; both scoring 39pts for the whole round and newcomer to the Outback, Sid Crawley took third, only one shot back with 38.

Good to see Brad Sproxton back having a hit, taking fourth with 36 and a couple of Lumpy’s mates, Bob & Don, were too embarrassed to show anybody their cards and chose to NR.

There were no ‘2’s.
1st Keith Buchanan (15) 39pts
2nd Lumpy Russell (13) 39pts
3rd Sid Crawley (16) 38pts
4th Brad Sproxton (12) 36pts
Wednesday, Sept. 19, The Emerald – Stableford

Another 13 Outbackers travelled today to a wet, muddy Emerald. I’m not sure how to say this but the course is undergoing major works to the aprons of the greens i.e. GUR on nearly every hole and even to the side of GUR, the ground is wet and muddy with very little grass.

Very, very sad to see, as the course has a good layout and is a challenge to all golfers; the only good news is that the greens were in fine condition. Let’s hope the course can get in some kind of shape before the high season arrives and it can be restored to its former glory.

Welcome to David Coller and Brett Robinson having a hit with the Outback for the first time and welcome back to Tony McDonough.

Steve Milne did the business, winning with only 34pts from Sel Wegner on count-back; newcomer Dave Coller took third with 32.

Paul Greenaway had the only ‘2’ on the 7th.
1st Steve Milne (15) 34pts
2nd Sel Wegner (12) 34pts
3rd David Coller (26) 32pts
Wednesday, Sept. 19, Siam Plantation – Stableford

Plantation seemed busier than usual this morning but our four groups (13 players) were away on time, if not slightly early, to enjoy a comfortable round of golf on this excellent track (B & C) which stands up extremely well in the rain. Today was no exception and remarkably the groups were finished before the heavens opened again, causing some heavy flooding down near the bar.

Two visitors stole the honours, with Allan Murdoch get the nod by a short head from, racehorse owner, Phil Williams, both on 36; regular member, big Steve was third on 35.

Rosco had the only ‘2’ on B3
1st Allan Murdoch (22) 36pts
2nd Phil Williams (11) 36pts
3rd Steve Poznanski (13) 35pts
Friday, Sept. 21, Green Valley – Stableford

As many regulars were playing in the special PSC monthly at Siam Plantation, we were reduced to a field of 19 at our regular Friday venue. The scoring was not that brilliant with 35pts being the top score by Phil Williams, who picked up his second win of the week; and he was followed home in Div A by Lumpy Russell, who picked up his second runner-up spot this week.

In Div B, 34pts was enough to win by Don Urquart, one of Lumpy’s Freemantle mates, followed home by John O’Keefe, beaten on countback.

There were two ‘2’s from Tim Knight (9th) & Paul Bourke (16th).

Div A (0-13)
1st Phil Williams (11) 35pts
2nd Lumpy Russell (12) 34pts
3rd Murray Hart (13) 33pts
Div B (14+)
1st Don Urquart (14) 34pts
2nd John O’Keefe (17) 34pts
3rd Roy Barrell (23) 31pts

Note: The Outback Golf Bar is situated about 6km from Sukhumvit Road along Soi Siam Country. Call Jack on 087 941 2474.

Millar takes rocky road to victory

PSC golf from The Blue Moose Sports Bar

Matt Millar, left, with Kenny Cooke.

Wednesday, Sept. 19, Green Valley - Stableford
Monday golf was rained out with Pattaya Country Club not letting carts on the course, and Wednesday wasn’t looking that good for Blue Moose golf at Green Valley. As we arrived at the course there were a few drops of rain and it did not look good for getting 18 holes in. The golf gods were in a good mood however and the rain held off until we were driving home.
Matt Millar was struggling off of the tee. He hit into the rocks twice with the first time bouncing from 100 yards in front of him to 30 yards behind him. The second time it went from 100 yards in front of him to 180 yards in front of him in the middle of the fairway. He birdied that hole.
Matt also took first place for the second week in the row with a score of 30 points. This was down from the 38 points he had last Wednesday. Kenny Cooke came in second with 26 points and also was closest to the pin on the 12th hole.

Cooney the conqueror

PSC golf Bunker Boys @ The Ranch

Bunker Boys at the Banyan G.C.

Eight members of the Bunker Boys signed up for the road trip to Hua Hin, and for most of them it was their first opportunity to play the excellent courses there, at discounted rates during the Golf Festival.
John Graham was forced to miss the trip after being called at short notice to return to work, and generously donated the KPK food voucher he’d won the previous week as an additional prize.
It rained continuously in Pattaya on Sunday and we set off on Monday morning under heavy skies and miserable, drizzling rain so everyone was fearing for the worst, however, as we headed south the skies cleared and the subsequent 3 golf games were uninterrupted by rain at any point - another fine example of the sun shining on the righteous!
Monday, Sept. 17, Sea Pine G.C. – Stableford
This recently opened course is owned by the Thai army, but any resemblance to the Navy course at Plutuluang, is purely coincidental as we discovered the superb clubhouse facilities, lush fairways, and a friendly staff. The course fronts directly onto the beach, and everyone commented how great it was to play so close to the sea, with the accompanying cool breeze blowing in. It makes one wonder why no one has built a course in the Pattaya area which offers such a great day out - almost resembling a links course back in the U.K.
The greens were recovering from recent coring which was the only downside of the day, and some of the hole ratings left something to be desired for the lower handicappers, leaving some players scratching their heads saying, “how can I possibly not get a shot here?”
The last three holes are played along the beach and we had the added bonus of a spectacular rainbow out at sea, as we played the 18th hole in the gathering dusk. The pot of gold wasn’t at the end of the rainbow however – it remained with Gerry Cooney as he continued his recent run of good form to finish ahead of Colin Greig.
1st Gerry Cooney (13) 33pts
2nd Colin Greig (9) 31pts
Near Pins: Geoff Parker (2) and Gerry Cooney (2).
Tuesday, Sept. 18, Banyan G.C. - Stableford

It was a beautiful sunny morning as we set off to the Banyan Golf Club which is only a few kilometers outside of Hua Hin town, but set in spectacular, hilly countryside. Once again the clubhouse facilities were superb, but as on the previous day the greens were recovering from recent coring.
We elected to play off the blue tees, which at 6,800 yards presented the toughest test of the three days. Two of the par 3 holes were in excess of 200 yards, with the first being 210 yards uphill, into the wind, over water, and playing more like 240 yards! Many players were seen opting to use their drivers, but unsurprisingly this was the only near pin that remained unclaimed over the three days.
The course was in great condition, with various types of hazards seemingly everywhere, but the caddies were superb and the GPS on the (compulsory) buggies was helpful.
Back in the clubhouse the scores on the day reflected the difficulty of the course, but Gerry Cooney came out on top (again!) ahead of Colin Greig on a count back. The after-golf refreshments in the clubhouse were extortionately priced so several of us opted to head to Hua Hin beach and chill out there.
1st Gerry Cooney (13) 30pts
2nd Colin Greig (9) 30pts
Near Pins: Paul Smith, Geoff Cox and Colin Greig.
Wednesday, Sept. 19, Black Mountain G.C. – Stableford
The visit to the Black Mountain course was expected to be the highlight of the trip, and with the combined green fee and caddy price at 1,600 Baht, it was an excellent deal. Once again the greens were recovering from recent coring, and there was some (mainly cosmetic) work being done around the course, but nothing could detract from the pleasure of playing a true championship course.
The great thing about this course is the variety of holes, not many of which are overly long, but even the shorter holes have hidden dangers. Lee Butler found the water hazard on the short par 4 seventh hole, but spectacularly played his totally submerged ball out of the water (something which your scribe thought was impossible) only to incur a two shot penalty in the process.
There are some superb views of the surrounding hills as you make your way around the course and, all in all, it was a great way to finish the three-game trip.
Geoff Parker found some form at last, to prevent Gerry Cooney from making a clean sweep of wins, but once again Colin Greig secured the second place for the third game in a row.
1st Geoff Parker (13) 38pts
2nd Colin Greig (9) 37pts
Near Pins: Paul Smith, Mashi, Geoff Cox and Gerry Cooney.
Gerry Cooney was the overall points winner for the three-game Hua Hin tour, finishing one point ahead of Colin Grieg and he collected the additional bonus of the 500 baht KPK food voucher – enjoy your sausages Gerry, you earned them.
Friday, Sept. 21, Plutuluang E & N – Stableford
Back down to earth in Pattaya for a visit to the Navy course on a dull grey morning, but in the event there was no rain and the temperature was close to ideal. The course was quiet and we had our pick of which nines to play, so we opted for the unusual combination of East and North, which we were assured by the starter were in the best condition. It was immediately apparent that “best condition” did not equate to best greens, as they probably the slowest we have played on in living memory.
It was a good day for Roger Mitchell, playing his twelfth game with the Bunker Boys, as he recorded his maiden victory by one point ahead of Peter Habgood. We welcomed back Alan Freeman who came third but missed out a prize in the small field - never mind Alan, we’re sure you’ll get plenty of presents for your birthday tomorrow.
1st Roger Mitchell (24) 33pts
2nd Peter Habgood (17) 32pts
Near Pins: Alan Freeman, Dave Ashman and PJ Redmond.
Note: The Bunker Boys are a PSC affiliated golf society who now play out of The Ranch bar on Pattaya 3rd Road (in front of the fire station, and almost opposite the Buffalo Bar). We play three times per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, so if you enjoy a fun day out, and a friendly but competitive golf competition why not come and join us.
We meet at The Ranch at 9 a.m. for breakfast and transportation, and new players are always welcome. Contact Buff on 086 046 5091 or 080 605 5663 for all enquiries. The society is also in the process of resurrecting our website which you can find at www.bunkersociety.com.

In-form Lasonder wins again at Greenwood

PSC Golf from Mulligans Lakeside

Golfers enjoy some post game camaraderie at Mulligans Lakeside.

Tuesday, Sept. 18, Treasure Hill - Stableford

First to Tuesday when we travelled up 331 to Treasure Hill, which just continues to get better -not easier mind, just better. The course has many critics, too hard, too long, but more and more golfers are coming to realise it offers a fair test at a good rate on a well prepared course.

Today the course was definitely the winner, with only Jeff Wylie (5) managing to break 30 points, just, with 31, while the in-form Willem Lasonder (20) was next best with 27.

Near pins were shared around between Willem, Frans & Jeff.

Thursday, Sept. 20, Greenwood - Stableford

Thursday was a little further up the road to Greenwood, with the C & B combination to be our test of the day.

Scores were a good deal better today, as the course, although never easy, is not the test of Tuesday. Willem Lasonder (20) again showed he is taking those tips from Jeff to good use, with some great driving that put him in good position to shoot a solid 38 points. Dave Edwards (16), returning from the UK for a few months stay, was next best with 34 points.

Jeff and Dave shared the near pins today, but no birdie ‘2’s.

Friday was the PSC monthly tournament (see page 58), with Mulligans Lakeside continuing to support the PSC, this time at Siam Plantation. Several of our golfers, Iain, Willem, Frans and Clive won technical prizes, while the others were restricted to hoping for a lucky draw. Everybody enjoyed the day and look forward to next month’s tournament at Pleasant Valley.

Note: Mulligans Lakeside plays golf generally on Tuesday & Thursday, with ML hosting prompt presentations on both days. As a PSC affiliated venue we welcome senior golfers who have opted for the “Silver” tee option. Call 089 094 1841 for scheduling or enquiries. Hope to see you there, cheers & good golfing!

Pattaya Wednesday Quiz League

Results & Standings Sept. 19

Pos. Team B/F 5-Sep 12-Sep 19-Sep Total

1 Rest Stop 9 1 3 3 16

2 Palmers 8 3 1 3 15

3 The Londoner 7 3 3 1 14

4 Offshore 3 3 3 3 12

5 Queen Victoria 6 1 1 3 11

6 Nervous Wreck 5 3 1 1 10

7 Cheers 6 1 1 1 9

8 Shagwell Mansion 4 1 3 1 9

Results: Cheers 92 v 106 Palmers; The Londoner 104 v 106 Rest Stop; Nervous Wreck 82 v 92 Offshore; Queen Victoria 96 v 92 Shagwell Mansions

Matthews mauls the field at Pleasant Valley

PSC golf from Tropical Bert’s

Derek Brook

Tuesday, Sept. 18, Green Valley – Stableford

Of the three courses running from this clubhouse, this is my own favourite and also of most of our players. So it was that on this day we had more players than we expected but luckily we got to the course a bit early and arriving on the first tee we were able to get away, thus solving the problem of the extra players.

Max Matthews.

This is a fairly busy complex, looking after more than one course, however the booking in is usually simple, and so it was on this day. One thing that was noticeable was that since I last played here they have changed the starting holes around. Again, I am not sure I like it because getting between some of the holes is a long haul, however the play seems to run smoothly, so who am I to complain?

The course on the day was not at its best, probably because it has rained so much for so long. The fairways were soggy and the greens also and were slow as well, mind the bunkers were dry, and bone hard. So, not the best of conditions but we still had a great day.

The sky was grey and like my stomach, constantly grumbling, and on the last few holes it (the sky) looked like it was going to open and dump its contents on us. So we sped up and finished before the downpour. Lucky us!

Back at Bert’s it was soon time for the results. In the A Flight, 0 to 18, the winner was Brian Parish with 38 points ahead of Robin Peach with 37 points. We then had a count back between our 3 handicappers on 36 points that saw Seil Revels in third and Bob Watson just losing out.

Tuesday’s winners with one of Bert’s finest.

In the B Flight the winner was Joel Flor with 38 points ahead of Don Carmody in second on 37 points and Tom Cotton in third with 35.

Near Pins: Derek Brook, Joel Flor, Barry Elphick

Long Putts: Graham Buckingham, Bob Watson

Friday, Sept. 21, Pleasant Valley – Stableford

Normally we would attend the PSC Monthly Tournament on this Friday of the month, but with it filling up early we decided to have a day out from Bert’s and as Pleasant Valley was not on the list, it seemed a good idea.

With all the rain about we know that the courses are going to be very wet, and so it proved with P.V. The entrance was pretty waterlogged, and it was no surprise when we were informed that there were no buggies allowed on the course. So of course ‘lift, clean and place’ came in and a good job it did. The course was in fact better than we thought, but generally the ground was soaking and there was little run on the ball.

Anyway, off we went and it was one of those days we have seldom in the ‘Low Season’ and often in the ‘High Season’, it was wait for every shot. Although we had a two -ball in front of us, they had many balls in front, not saying of what sex, from places that do not let anyone through. So it was a bit of a crawl, however it gave us a chance to get a few winks in, and at the end of the day we were not as late as I expected.

The Course itself was in reasonable condition, despite the water, and as we had time to smell the roses we came upon one of those things that add to ‘legend’. Onto the back nine and waiting for every shot we were held up by a work crew that went onto the green ahead of us and proceeded to dump barrow loads of sand on the front half of the green. Ever tried to chip through sand 6 inch deep for half the green you are chipping onto. Then once past it the ground was so hard you putted way past the hole! Such is life and all adds to the sense of well-being.

Back at Bert’s we were soon into the presentation, to learn that although there were some good scores, one man had destroyed the field and was due for the big chop. The winner by a street was Max Matthews with 47 points. Max played well but it must have been the new sartorial elegance of the shave! In second with a fine 39 points was Andre Van Dyk and we then had a four-way count back on 37 points that saw Mike Gaussa in third, Takeshi Hakozaki in fourth, Daryl Evans in fifth and Dick Warberg just losing out. Max then bought the beers. T.T.F.N.

Near Pins: Alan Sullivan, Mike Gaussa, Mike Williamson, Dick Warberg

Pattaya Sports Club Bowling League

200 Bowlers: Noodle and Kran.

Konrad Foerg returned from vacation in Germany to inspire his first place team Brother D to a four point win over Café Kronborg. Tue Pettae led Brother D with a 515 series and Kran Nielsen was best for her Kronborg team with a 559 series which included a 201 game. Café Kronborg dropped from third to fourth place.
Noodle Russell bowled a 204 game and 516 series to lead her Green Tree team to a three point win over Canada. Green Tree moved up from forth place to third.
Second place VFW Post 9876 is keeping the pressure on Brother D, winning three points from Indiana. La Montgomery was best in this match with a 519 series for Indiana.
Bavaria and Mitt in 2012 split their match with each team getting two points. Scores were not good on lanes 9 and 10.

Results & Standings Sept. 21 (week 20)

Pos. Team Score Standings

1 Brother D 4 – 0 49.5 - 30.5

2 VFW Post 9876 3-1 46.5 - 33.5

3 Green Tree 3-1 42 - 38

4 Café Kronborg 0 - 4 41.5 - 38.5

5 Bavaria 2-2 40 - 40

6 Indiana 1-3 38.5 - 41.5

7 Canada 1-3 34 - 46

8 Mitt in 2012 2 – 2 28 - 52

Pattaya Monday Quiz League

Results & Standings Sept. 17

3-Sep 10-Sep 17-Sep Total Total

Pos. Team Sc. Pts Sc. Pts Sc. Pts Score Points

1 Palmers 84 8 82 5 80 8 410 37

2 The Londoner 90 10 86 6 74 5 408 37

3 Offshore Bar 80 5 76 3 82 10 406 36

4 Cheers 78 4 88 8 80 8 394 30

5 The Ranch 84 8 92 10 68 4 384 29

6 Irish Rovers 74 2 78 4 68 4 358 18

7 Nervous Wreck 78 4 74 2 48 2 330 13

Percentage correct by round this week:

Geog. Sport History Movies Science Reading General All Average Team

59.20% 75.50% 75.50% 77.60% 67.30% 65.30% 78.60% 71.40% Total: 71.4

Pattaya Sports Club Fishing Reports

Marnie with her prize catch.

Dene Mundy

Eight worried anglers set out from Khram Marine at 07:00 on Saturday 15st September, with heavy overcast skies and forecasts of showers throughout the day and winds developing in the afternoon. Some 20 minutes later our fears were realized with light rain that developed into heavy rain for the next hour. However, some 15 minutes after arriving at our usual fishing grounds, the rain decreased to a light drizzle and after another 30 minutes stopped for the remainder of the day.

Fishing was relatively slow during the morning and the skipper moved frequently to find better spots. Fast moving waters added to the problem. Nevertheless, the fish were more cooperative in the afternoon and most had bag catches of 3–5 kilos.

Nat and I were a little more successful with around 50 fish each comprising the usual grouper, yellow tail and pla dang. Several good sized snapper were caught but the champ of the day was Marnie with the only large grey caught for day which was over 2 kilos in weight.

We were somewhat late, around 18:45, in returning that evening as we fished a little longer to compensate the delay in starting fishing while we were waiting for the rain to cease.

Fishing trips for October are scheduled for as follows: Saturday 6th, Thursday 11th, Saturday 20th, & Thursday 25th. Please contact me on 081 862 6279 for bookings.

A return to Navy

Jomtien Golf with the IPGC

Jeff Cordeiro and Paul Hartley - Div 1 and 2 winners at Phoenix.

Monday, Sept. 17, Plutaluang – Stableford

Our first trip here for probably six months and we were allocated the West and North courses today. As we drove into the course is looked like a caddies’ competition on the South and East Nines with each group as a six-ball. We were left wondering if this would be a long day, but no, our two nines were totally deserted and there were no hold-ups and no problems whatsoever.

The cut today was 6-18 and 19 plus in division 2, and two scores of 37 won both divisions. Kari Kuparinen topped division 1 with Harry Vincenzi second on 33 and Chris Voller beat Iain Usher on a 16/15 back-nine count back for third after they both came in with 30 points.

Jerry Sweetnam won division 2 with Bob Poole second five points behind and Peter Grant beat Alan Duckett on a 10/8 back six count back after they both returned scores of 29 points.

Near pins went to Iain Usher (2), Harry Vincenzi (2), Lee Casey (2), Heikki Tehro and Matti Yitalo.

There were no ‘2’s in division 1 so a rollover to Phoenix on Friday, but Peter Grant birdied the 8th on the West course and with two rollovers we all think he was more happy here than working in the Falkland Islands.

Many thanks to Anne Marie and Iain Usher for ringing the bell back at Siam Cats at the presentation.

Wednesday, Sept. 19, Eastern Star - Stableford
Division 1
1st Aki 36pts
2nd Mikael Andersson 36pts
3rd Mike Missler 33pts
Division 2
1st Harry Vincenzi 32pts
2nd Uli 31pts
3rd William Chang 31pts
Division 3
1st Adrian Shelley 30pts
2nd Glyn Evans 30pts
3rd Mark Armstrong 30pts

Today and next Wednesday our Eastern Star agenda was moved from our normal Friday schedule, but the numbers were still up with nine groups out and so we had three divisions; 6-14 in division 1, 15-20 in 2 and 21 plus in division 3.

There was heavy rain overnight here in Jomtien and early morning and we were not sure what to expect when we arrived here today. The leading group went out and the first three holes there was no problem but as we went down the fourth fairway it was very sodden with worm mounds, so ‘pick clean and place’ came into the reckoning on the 5th tee onward for all groups.

Near pin prizes were picked up by Mikael Andersson, Grenville Hill (2), Harry Vincenzi, Ian Plummer and Bob Poole.

Aki birdied the 3rd and Chris Voller the 13th to share the ‘2’s pot in division 1 in there were none in division 2.

It was Bon Voyage today to Lindsay Phillips , in the next month all nearest the pin markers will be on the green now.

Friday, Sept. 21, Phoenix - Stableford

Torrential rain overnight here and early morning yet again, but upon arrival after a quick inspection of the fairways and greens we decided not to give relief on the fairways.

Another 33 out today with 3 divisions again with almost a similar cut in the three divisions; 6-15, 16-21 and 22 plus in division 3.

Playing off 8, Jeff Codeiro won division 1 with 38 points while Chris Voller, also off 8, beat Paul Butler on a 19/18 back nine count back for second after they both came in with 36 points.

We were on the Mountain and Lake Nines today and it was the busiest we have seen for many months considering all three nines were open today, but as always the Marshalls got it right and there was no congestion at all.

Paul Hartley topped division 2 with another 38 points ahead of Harry Vincenzi in second on 36 and the Bristol/ China boy Bob Poole in third with 34.

There were four returns in division 3 with 35 points, an 18/16/16/16 back-nine count back and then a 12/11/9 back six count-back saw Sid Ottaway come out on top, Marty Aronson in second and Mark Armstrong in third place. Sorry Rod Howitt!

Tony Kay and Harry Vincenzi both birdied the 4th on the mountain course to share the rollover ‘2’s pot in division 1 and Marty Aronson and Glen Martin did the same in division 2.

Finally, the near pins went to Jeff Cordeiro (2), Tony Kay, Mark Armstrong and Karl Flood (2).

Joris joins the winners’ circle at last

Phoenix Members Golf Society

Tuesday’s winner Joris Goetschalkx, center, with the staff at The Relax Bar.

Mike Gerrard
Friday, Sept. 14, Phoenix – Stableford
We had three teams of 3 players today so we decided to have a ‘2 out of 3’ best scores for the teams and an individual prize as well. Two players managed to score 36 points and Peter Harris had the better back nine from Richard Baldwin to claim the individual prize.
Sadly for these two players (both in the same team) they had myself as the third player and our combined best two scores could not match the team score of Clive Robinson, Colin Gregg and Bill Hewitt, who returned a score of 82 points to claim the team prize. In fact, although Richard and Peter Harris had the best two individual scores our team was third.
The team of Peter Rawling, Mukesh Thakker & Patrick Browne came a very close second with 81 points. We could only manage 74 - or should I say my two playing partners could only manage 74. Not much help from me!
Tuesday, Sept. 18, Phoenix - Stableford
We had decided to have a pairs competition today and the teams were all sorted out one week in advance. However, with two players dropping out at the death we had to abandon this idea. So it was back to a singles day.
Our winner today (as shown in the photo) was very pleasing for all the group to savour. Joris Goetschalkx, who has been working very hard at his game to get his handicap down to the acceptable level for the group, finally managed to finish on the winner’s podium with 35 points (his real score would have been 37 points, but we only allow 28 handicap).
In second place was the man himself, ‘Big’ Eamon Murtagh with 33 points and in third place was Peter Harris with 32.
You might wonder at the low scoring this week. Well I can tell you Phoenix have all three nine’s open now and the greens are up to superb condition, but very tricky and difficult to read. Most of the caddies do well to earn their money with green reading here.
Near pins today went to Eamon Murtagh (2), with the other two par three’s not being hit today so we put the prizes into the lucky draw. Winners of the lucky draw (sponsored by The Relax Bar) were newcomer Gerry Hughes, Sergio Volpi, Peter Rawling & Patrick Browne.
Two weeks ago I managed to win the Ann’s Salon voucher, kindly donated by Richard Baldwin and his lady Ann. So I went along for my free treatment and after a very close shave, hand and feet manicure, hair cut and wash (yes, and a colour), I felt a new man. All I can say is this prize is well worth winning every first Tuesday of the month.
Every second Tuesday of the month we play for the KPK Food Services voucher and every last Tuesday of the month we play for the Trattoria Italiana voucher, so if anyone would like to donate something for the third Tuesday of the month let me know.
Next week it is the Trattoria Italiana voucher we play for under Stroke Play rules.
Finally, as stated above, the greens are now very tricky at Phoenix and thanks to Paul Sharples we now have two new mickey taking statements after your first putt. The first is a “Roy Orbison” - this is when your first putt has been over hit and “It’s Over” the green. The second is “Dead Sheep”. This is because with the greens being so fast you do not quite play the stroke with confidence, hence leaving your putt well short. Of course “Dead Sheep” translates to “Still Ewe!”

Stop-press: Reid all about it

PSC golf from Lewiinski’s Golf Society

Sunday’s winners, Pat Regan, left, with Jimmy Day.

Sunday, Sept. 16, Green Valley - Stableford
A Flight
1st Pat Regan (12) 35pts
2nd Bob Newell (7) 34pts
B Flight
1st Jimmy Day (18) 33pts
2nd Lou Szigligeti (18) 30pts
Near Pins: No 4 Mike Thompson; No 9 Yui Bietry; No 9 Yui Bietry; No 16 Tony Huxtable
Having been on the injured reserve list for approximately fourteen months, Co. Wicklow’s Jimmy ‘good’ Day used his first outing to lead the B Flight charge with 33 points on a blustery and rain affected day at Green Valley. Aussie ‘traffic Warden’ Lou Zig-Zag edged one of the nicest people you will ever meet, Barry ‘the boot’ Copestake, for the silver with a bogie free 30 points.
Co. Dublin’s Pat ‘the Irish rover’ Regan completed an Emerald Isle thrashing as he showed he has a great deal of upside potential even though he is currently off a very creditable 12 handicap. His man of the match 35 points in these conditions bears testimony to that. ‘Broad more’ Bob kept his head bent as he accepted the second place prize for his less than memorable 34 point total.
Tony Huxtable was the sole recipient of ‘2’s pot.
The society welcomed back Christy and Mango Knight today.
Monday, Sept. 17, Pattana C&B - Stableford
1st Jim Reid (29) 41pts
2nd JJ Harney (11) 32pts
Well here’s the reason for this week’s headline; Jim Reid, who has never before won a Lewiinski’s competition despite numerous attempts, showed that he might have solved the plot as he put together a 42-point haul that was a massive nine points clear of JJ Harney. Jim also received his first invite to the handicap sectary.
Just to rub it in, Jim won a half share of the ‘2’s pot with Espen Kristoffersen.
Wednesday, Sept. 19, Bangpra - Stableford
A Flight
1st John Pierrel (12) 34pts
2nd Billy Briton (16) 34pts
B Flight
1st Lou Szigligeti (18) 35pts
2nd Peter Henshaw (20) 32pts
Bangpra was the task in hand for the midweek bash as the overnight rain left the course in a very wet condition. It did not seem to deter Aussie Lou ‘the Traffic warden’ Szigligeti however. He has yet to hit a consistent stride this visit but is sending out seismic signs that an explosion may be in the offering as he was man of the match and top in B Flight with 35 points. Peter ‘Don o Corleone’ Henshaw, who is always around the podium, continued this way with 32 points and the Silver.
John Pierrel needed summation of the last three holes, the third level of count back to edge Billy Briton for the A Flight toast. The highlight of the day was Eddy ‘the Eagle’s’ third shot on the eleventh hole par-five, as Eddy let go of his club during his swing which resulted in it landing in the middle of the lake. Eddy had no option but to go in and retrieve his wedge and play out the game in his bare feet.
Colin Davis and Jim Reid split the 2,s pot.
Note: Lewiinski’s is situated on Pattaya Land Soi 1, Beach Road Soi 13/3 near to Walking Street. Anyone wishing to play with us, just pop in and add your name to the list or call Colin on 089 826 0764. Transport is provided.

A long day at soggy Pattana

The Pattaya Golf Society (IPGC) at Rabbi’s Elephant Bar

Whilst Pattaya was experiencing its second successive miserably drizzly day on Monday, 17th September, the Pattaya Golf Society travelled to an equally sodden but rain free golf course at Pattana to play a stableford competition on the C and B nines. As usual the course showed little run and the group deferred to the yellow tees for the day.
The cool conditions, whilst comfortable for golfers, meant the organiser’s round finished early when a back muscle strain after three shots cut short his round. Of those who continued, the longer hitters held sway with Robbie Taylor and Haru Kato sharing second place with 34 points, both achieving birdie ‘2’s on the B3 hole and Robbie adding to it on B7.
The winner was Dave Edwards with 35 points and a sub-par round was denied him only by some erratic putting, the only real weakness in his game.
Rabbi’s free beer draw was won by Bryan Barrell and an enforced seven day rest has denied Mr Len of some scintillating golf for the next few competitions. What else has Pattaya to offer? Ah well, never mind!
Tananusorn at home at Greenwood
An early morning telephone call to Greenwood on Friday, 21st September, confirmed the course was open after the heaviest rains of the year so far and the Pattaya Golf Society travelled to enjoy a testing stableford competition on the B and C nines.
With very little run the course was to suit only the longest hitters and, with one exception, the results followed the handicap rankings. The exception was Jeff “Rabbi” Cohen whose produced one of his better rounds of the year to share second place with Tony Thorne and the in-form Dave Edwards, on 31 points.
On his “home” course Wichai Tananusorn can often be the man to beat and this day his game contained all the elements for victory, with long drives and accurate irons helping him to accumulate 35 points for the win, even with two scratched holes on his card.
There were no birdie ‘2’s and the Booby Bevy went to Gubbi Innvaer on his first round back with the group, whilst Rabbi’s free beer draw was won by Mike Ensor. Even dismal and damp days can be enjoyable on a good golf course such as Greenwood.

Neal edges Richardson in battle of the 2 Dave’s

PSC golf from Café Kronborg

Monday, Sept. 17, Pleasant Valley – Stableford
1st Dave Neal (23) 40pts
2nd Dave Richardson (26) 40pts
3rd Mike Winfield (21) 38pts
4th Daryl Evans (21) 38pts
5th Tientong Charoenrung (19) 37pts
It was Pleasant Valley today after a very wet weekend in Pattaya, the trip there taking 43 minutes and after checking in the starter put us off the 10th tee as the first hole had about 2 groups waiting and this saved us 25 minutes of hanging around for our tee time.
The weather was overcast and humid and the course was wet but very playable as the scores reflect.
Dave Neal was the winner on a count back from Dave Richardson in second, both with 40 points, while Mike Winfield took third on a count back from Daryl Evans, both on 38 points and the lady Tientong Charoenrung came in fifth with 37.
Once back in the clubhouse, after a quick round of 4 hours, welcomes went out to Eddie Kost from Australia, Oddur Olafsson from Iceland and Marco Beer from Switzerland.
Thursday, Sept. 20, Plutaluang W&N - Stableford
1st Mike Winfield (21) 38pts
2nd Doug Maiko (17) 37pts
3rd Kristin Helgason (17) 33pts
4th Oddur Olafsson (12) 30pts
The Royal Thai Navy’s Plutaluang west and north loops were the challenge today and we teed off 35 minutes early on West 1 under partly sunny skies and in humid conditions.
The course on the day was very tidy despite the wet conditions of the past week.
Mike Winfield was the winner today with 38 points ahead of Doug Maiko in second on 37 , Kristin Helgason third with 33, and Oddur Olafsson fourth on a count back over Dave Richardson, both on 30 points.
After a round of 4 hours and 35 minutes, escaping the rain once again, we welcomed back Walter Baechli from a bicycle trip of the UK and Ireland.
Note: If you are looking for a game of golf, call Dave on 083 602 2117 or email [email protected].

British ex-pat takes on tough challenge for Thai children

Matthew Springall competes in the 180km cycling leg of the Challenge Henley triathlon on Sunday 16 September, Oxfordshire, England.

A Bangkok-based British man has pushed himself to the limit with a grueling triathlon to raise money for disadvantaged children in Thailand.
Matthew Springall, 44, took on the Challenge Henley triathlon, in Oxfordshire, England, on Sunday 16 September. For the challenge Matthew swam 3.2 kilometres in the Thames, cycled 180 kilometres and ran a marathon – all in aid of the Thai Children’s Trust. The UK charity supports a number of projects for disadvantaged and disabled children in Thailand - including the Father Ray Foundation in Pattaya which looks after 850 orphaned, disadvantaged and abused children.
He was inspired to raise money for the Trust after visiting the Father Ray Foundation Children’s Home in July. Matthew was very impressed with how the children were being looked after and educated at the Children’s Home but noticed some of the facilities were dilapidated and wanted to help raise funds so that improvements could be made.
He says: “I had already signed up to do the triathlon and was looking for a charity to support. By chance I found out about the Father Ray Foundation and went to visit. What I was really impressed with is the emphasis on the children receiving a good education.
“The fact that kids from the home are now going to university is fantastic because that shows that the Children’s Home is really making a difference and giving these children a better chance in life.”
Thanks to taking part in the challenge Matthew is now set to raise £1,500 (around 75,000 Thai Baht) for the Trust which will be used to make improvements to the Father Ray Children’s Home’s kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms. He also performed his personal best by completing the triathlon in 13-and-a-half hours.
Ruth Flanagan, Fundraising Coordinator at Thai Children’s Trust, says: “We are so appreciative to Matthew for doing such a tough challenge to raise money for the charity. He can rest assured that his efforts will help improve the lives of the children at the Father Ray Foundation, many of whom have come from incredibly tough and disadvantaged backgrounds.”
Donations are still open for Matthew’s triathlon – visit: www.justgiving.com/Matthewspringall. For more information about Thai Children’s Trust visit http://thaichildrenstrust.org.uk.

Crashes curtail Stuvik’s challenge at Zandvoort Circuit

Sandy Stuvik is forced out of Race 2 at the Zandvoort Circuit in the Netherlands, Saturday, Sept. 22. (Photo/Chris Schotanus)

The Dutch Trophy of the Dunes races held Sept. 22-23 at the historic Zandvoort Circuit in the Netherlands turned out to be quite an eventful race weekend in the Formula Renault Northern European Cup. The track is located just 200 meters from the beaches of the North Sea, so rain and strong winds would be part of the package.
Thai driver Sandy Stuvik again worked closely with his racing coach, former F1 Red Bull test driver Neel Jani, who would provide the up and coming young star with valuable experience from the track.
For Stuvik it would be a challenging start to the race weekend as the first free practice session was lost due to an electronic gearbox problem and it would be catch up from there on.
During the first of the 2 qualification runs, Sandy was hampered by 2 successive red flags on his first fast laps, but he still managed a P11. A different set up was tried for the second qualification session, but this time the Thai driver could only manage a 13th position.
Race 1 of the 3 for the weekend got off with a very good start, but with the cars coming 3 wide into turn 1, Stuvik backed off to avoid car damage and dropped a place. By lap 2 he would be back up to his starting position and started chasing forward. However, the damp track with a single dry line was a challenge and he would finish the race where he started in 11th position.
Race 2 started with a new set up and hopes for a much better running under a sunny sky, the first glimpse of sun this weekend. Stuvik again had a very good start and moved up a place as he raced down the start straight. Then coming into the breaking area a car in front was pushed into the wall, spun around and flew directly into the young Thai driver’s car. Sustaining only minor damage to the front wing, Sandy took avoiding action onto the grass, but was unable to stop the car before the turn and got stuck in the soft gravel area.
The third race of the weekend on Sunday started for the first time this weekend with a completely dry track. Stuvik had a good start and immediately started pushing forward gaining one position on the first lap. However a series of accidents led to the safety car being called out on two occasions, the second of which led to a red flag after 70% of the race had been completed and signaled an end to the proceedings with the Thai racer finishing in 10th place.
The final race of the 2012 season will run at the famous Spa Francorchamps Circuit in Belgium during 13-14 October. Stuvik has previously both tested and raced at Spa and is looking forward to again be racing at this awe inspiring circuit.

McNally the cream of the crop at Plantation

PSC 118th Monthly Golf Special Charity Tournament

Tony Oakes and Joe Mooneyham welcome the players at Siam Plantation.

Report by Nigel Cannon/ Photos by William Macey

Golf Chairman Joe Mooneyham scored a great success in securing the prestigious Siam Plantation for this month’s PSC Monthly on Friday, Sept. 21, which was also a charity event. This was Joe’s 25th tournament as Golf Chairman and a day to remember, not only for the quality of the course but also this being the first outing with our latest sponsor – Singha. The final total raised for charity was 150,000 baht and the PSC express their thanks and appreciation to Siam Plantation for making this possible and to Singha for their major contribution to the day’s success.

Paul McNally returned an excellent score of 74 gross.

It was a full complement of 120 players taking part; with a shotgun start at 1230. Welcoming players for registration were Joe and PSC President Tony Oakes.

Plantation showed their efficiency in dealing with 120 players arriving around the same time, with clubs collected and placed on carts and all labeled with their respective starting holes..

With the rain that had fallen in Pattaya in recent days all eyes were on the sky! No worry – whilst there was rain in the morning and heavy showers about 1100 – when it was time to go to the nominated tees, the sky had cleared and there was no more rain. Naturally Joe declared a ‘pick clean and place policy’ as the course was soggy in places but the greens were true and speedy. The course was in excellent condition with some wonderful panoramic views all adding to the pleasure of the day.

After only 4ฝ hours players returned to the clubhouse to hand in their cards to Joe and Tony. As the results were being calculated, and after a welcoming shower, all enjoyed the fine buffet provided by Plantation which was included in the overall entrance fee.

A Flight winner Thierry Petrement, left, with Golf Chairman, Joe Mooneyham.

Prior to the presentation, Joe and Nigel moved around the members selling raffle tickets for excellent prizes, many of which were donated and thanks go to The Golf Club, Beaver Bar and Drunken Duck in this rergard.

Rotjana (Ning) Neal was the ladies’ winner.

Presentation time and Social Chairman Nigel Cannon called order and before introducing Golf Chairman Joe Mooneyham – Nigel, on behalf of all, congratulated Joe on the success of the day with particular reference to the relationship that Joe had built with the Eastern Seaboard Golf Association and to Singha who had provided a number of excellent prizes..

Joe expressed his appreciation to all 120 members playing today and to the Executive Committee for their help. Joe outlined his dealings with the ESGA and Singha and also explained the support PSC is giving to the current Caddy Golfing programme.

Nigel then announced the winners with Joe presenting the prizes.

Paul McNally (2) won the low gross with a fine 74. In ‘A’ flight, playing medal, Thierry Petrement (11) was in top spot with a net 70.

There was a count back for ‘B’ flight honours as both Michael Berisford (16) and Bob Rasmussen (13) came in with 38 points with Michael getting the nod.

‘C’ flight saw the best stableford score of the day with John Bartley (18) with 39 points, while Geoff Doody (22) was the leader of ‘D’ flight with 38 points.

Just a few ladies decided to take on this delightful course with Rotjana Neal (12) the leading lady on 38 points and the effervescent Noi Emmerson (15) runner up with 35 points.

The lucky draw then followed with a number of those in attendance winning vouchers for various eating venues in and around Pattaya. This was then followed in turn by the raffle and in addition to the prizes listed, the final ticket pulled out would receive 50% of from the sale of tickets. Nigel called the numbers and Joe and Tony presented the prizes. Lucky Eddie Beilby won both a new putter and driver!

The final ticket out was won by Maggie Fitzgerald who went home a very happy lady!

It was then good night following another excellent day’s golf from PSC.

Note: The next PSC Monthly Tournament is on Friday 12th October at Pleasant Valley – sign-up sheets are at PSC office.

A happy 50/50 winner Maggie Fitzgerald, right, with Golf Chairman, Joe.

Pattaya City lose out in five-goal thriller

Bangkok Casuals League 2012-13

Paul Frain
A new Thailand amateur football season started last weekend with Pattaya City FC opening their campaign against the French side Les Gaulois in Bangkok.
The close season has seen many changes take place with the Pattaya based team: Rick Bryant has stepped down as manager due to work commitments and a new committee has been formed, including the new coach Terry Bell, to pick the side for each match. Only six players of the successful team of last year who finished runners-up have survived the purge and new players have been brought in.
City have a wonderful record in the league, with league titles and cup wins including a double of a league and cup win in the same season, so the new look City have a lot of work to do to keep up the high standard that has come to be expected of the club.
Last weekend the French team Les Gaulois started the game strongly but City’s defence, which employed a sweeper system, kept the home team at bay. City’s new-look midfield however was still struggling to find its feet and that gave the French the advantage as they broke through a couple of times but were denied by City keeper Yoncul.
Despite Les Gaulois having much of the early possession, the first real chance of the match fell to City but Tshuma fired over the bar when well placed. Les Gaulois hit back and after seeing a shot rebound to safety off the Pattaya goal-post they eventually took the lead midway through the first half when their forward found himself in acres of space and had the simplest of tasks to knock the ball into the back of the net.
The French side continued to pile the pressure on City and after being thwarted twice more by fine saves from Yoncul, they finally forced the City defence into a mistake and took advantage to double their lead by half time.
City came out with a more resolute attitude after the break but another mistake, this time by the previously unflappable Yoncul, allowed the French side to score again and take a decisive 3-0 lead.
City had to do something to get back into the match and it was Earnest Dipita who provided the spark when he went on a dazzling run and was unlucky to see his shot hit the Gaulois post. This brought some much needed confidence back to the City team and it was Dipita, last season’s top scorer, who got City back in the match when he won a penalty following another mazy dribble. The same player dusted himself down to take the spot kick and sent the keeper the wrong way to make the score 3-1.
City’s prospects of a surprise comeback looked even brighter soon after when Dipita once again tormented the Gaulois defence before slipping a cross to Tshuma who thumped the ball home and made it 3-2.
With ten minutes left City piled on the pressure in search of an equalizer but with virtually the last kick of the game, Danny Stevens saw his goal-bound shot deflect to safety off a Gaulois defender with the keeper well beaten.
The match finished 3-2 to Les Gaulois but there were signs of an improved performance from City in the second half.
Pattaya City’s next match is this coming Saturday, Sept. 29, at the Thai polo Club against BSL Youth. Kick-off is at 4-00pm.

Thai twins through to doubles quarter-finals

Sonchat and Sanchai Ratiwatana return the ball against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Marinko Matosevic in the first round of the Thailand Open 2012 in Bangkok, Monday, Sept. 24.

Local wildcards Sonchat Ratiwatana and Sanchai Ratiwatana scored a first-round win over Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Marinko Matosevic of Australia 6-4, 6-3, and advanced into their first quarter-final at the Thailand Open since 2007.
The twin brothers kept unforced errors to a minimum and made the most of key points, as they converted four of six break-point opportunities to beat the Spanish-Australian pair in fine style on Monday.
The Ratiwatanas earned a crucial break in the ninth game of the opening set and held their next service game to take the first set.
Garcia-Lopez and Matosevic responded by breaking the twin’s first service game to go up 2-0 in the second. However, the brothers broke back immediately and snatched two more breaks of serve in the seventh and ninth games to seal the match.
The twins were due to take on either the all-French pairing of Gilles Simon and Gael Monfils or Spanish duo David Marrero and Fernando Verdasco in the quarter finals.

Sutthisa strikes as United beat BBCU

Thai Premier League Football 2012 Season

Pattaya United’s Sompob Nilwong, right, defends against BBCU’s Junior Guimaro during the second half of their Thai Premier League fixture at the Nongprue Stadium in Pattaya, Saturday, Sept. 22. (Photo/Pattaya United)

Pattaya United kept alive their slim hopes of a top six finish in the league by beating struggling BBCU 2-0 at the Nongprue Stadium in Pattaya last Saturday.
United piled on the pressure from the opening whistle and took a deserved first half lead when midfielder Rangsarit Sutthisa fired in a superb free-kick from the edge of the area that gave the visiting goalkeeper no chance.
Against the run of play BBCU had a great chance to equalize soon after but Guinean forward Moussa Sylla headed wide of the Pattaya goal when it seemed easier to score. United continued to lay siege to the BBCU goal but were unable to extend their lead before the half-time break.
The visitors reorganized during the interval and were unlucky not to get back on equal terms early in the second half when Junior Guimaro saw his excellent free kick rebound off the Pattaya woodwork with goalkeeper Narit well beaten.
Chances continued to be created at both ends of the pitch in what was a lively and entertaining second half but when the goal eventually came it fell once more to the home team as Ludovick Takam followed up to knock home a rebound and his seventh goal since his return the Dolphins after the BBCU keeper failed to hold onto a speculative long range effort.
United struck the woodwork again before the end of the match but there was to be no further addiction to the scoring before the final whistle sounded, with the home team running out 2-0 winners.
United are looking for a good return from their final seven matches of the season to give them as high a league placing as possible. The Dolphins’ were due to take on Police United in Bangkok in a rearranged match this past Wednesday and on Sunday will travel to Esan United for another tough away fixture.
At the top of the table, Muang Thong continued their relentless procession to the league title with a 2-1 win over Osotspa while Chonburi look guaranteed to finish in second spot following their 3-1 home victory against Army United.

Thai Premier League Results & Standings (Sept. 23)

Team P W D L +/- Pts

Muang Thong United 28 21 7 0 35 70

Chonburi 27 17 6 4 26 57

Buriram United 28 13 10 5 20 49

BEC Tero Sasana 28 12 7 9 0 43

Esan United 28 9 13 6 2 40

Bangkok Glass 28 9 12 7 13 39

Army United 28 9 11 8 -1 38

Osotspa 28 11 4 13 3 37

TOT 28 9 10 9 0 37

Samut Songkhram 28 9 7 12 -6 34

Pattaya United 27 8 9 10 -4 33

Wuachon United 27 7 12 8 -4 33

Chiangrai United 28 7 11 10 -8 32

Chainat 28 6 12 10 -14 30

Thai Port 28 6 9 13 -17 27

Police United 27 5 10 12 -9 25

BBCU 28 4 11 13 -17 23

TTM Chiangmai 28 2 11 15 -19 17

Results: (Sat. 22/09) Pattaya United 2 - 0 BBCU; Chonburi 3 - 1 Army United; Muang Thong United 2 - 1 Osotspa; Chiangrai United 0 - 1 TOT; (Sun. 23/09) TTM Chiangmai 2 - 3 Chainat; Samut Songkhram 3 - 2 Bangkok Glass; BEC Tero Sasana 0 - 2 Thai Port; Wuachon United 2 - 1 Buriram United; Police United 0 - 1 Esan United