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SPORTS

John Keppler Cider Pool League

Results & Standings Dec. 6 (week 3)

Team Pts. For Against Diff.

Brasshouse 9 27 12 15

Lucky Bar 6 21 18 3

Rendezvous 6 20 19 1

Panitas 6 20 19 1

Barking Frog 6 19 20 -1

Pats Bar 3 20 19 1

Mulligans 3 19 20 -1

Outback 3 16 23 -7

Smarty’s 3 16 23 -7

Neena 0 17 22 -5

Results: Panitas 8 v 5 Rendezvous, Mulligan’s 5 v 8 Smarty’s, Neena 5 v 8 Pats, Barking 3 v 10 Brasshouse, Luck7 9 v 4 Outback

Jomtien 8-Ball Pool League

Results & Standings Dec. 5 (week 5)

Team Played Won Lost Bonus Pts.

Buddy Bar 5 5 0 0 15

Shenanigans 5 4 1 1 13

Winners Bar 5 4 1 1 13

Country Road 4 4 0 0 12

Simple Simon 5 3 2 2 11

Woaw’s Bar 5 3 2 2 11

Flying Dolphin 5 2 3 3 9

Take Care Bar 5 2 3 3 9

Windmill Bar 5 2 3 3 9

Minny’s Bar 5 1 4 4 7

Anzac Bar 5 2 3 0 6

Wombat Bar 5 0 5 4 4

Lion Pub 5 0 5 3 3

Results: Wombat Bar 5 v 10 Flying Dolphin, Take Care Bar 7 v 8 Buddy Bar, Woaw’s Bar 9 v 6 Minny’s Bar, Shenanigans 11 v 4 Anzac Bar, Windmill Bar 12 v 3 Lion Pub, Simple Simon 7 v 8 Winners Bar

Crumpton Oaks Dry Cider Wednesday Darts League

Results & Standings Dec. 5 (week 19)

Team P W L Diff. Pts.

Mee Chew Sports Bar 19 18 1 95 36

Irish Rovers 19 15 4 79 30

Yates Bar 19 11 8 13 22

Biggy’z Rest 19 7 12 -13 14

W. Tankies 19 4 15 -89 8

Jantha Coffee House 19 2 17 -85 4

Results: Mee Chew Sports Bar 8 v 1 Jantha Coffee House, W. Tankies 0 v 9 Irish Rovers, Yates Bar 2 v 7 Biggy’z Rest

Pattaya 8-Ball Monday Pool League

Results & Standings Dec. 3 (week 11)

Division 1

Team Played Won Lost For Agst Diff. Pts.

Biggy’z Rest A 11 9 2 96 69 27 29

Shoot Pool B 11 8 3 104 61 43 27

Dean’s Bar 11 6 5 89 76 13 23

San Snack Bar 11 6 5 82 83 -1 23

Crazy Eddie’s 11 6 5 81 84 -3 23

Phimai Geordie 11 3 8 80 85 -5 17

KiK Bar 11 3 8 68 97 -29 17

Old Thaiangle 11 3 8 60 105 -45 17

Results: San Snack Bar 6 v 9 Biggy’z Rest A, Old Thaiangle 9 v 6 Crazy Eddie’s, Shoot Pool B 13 v 2 Dean’s Bar, Phimai Geordie 10 v 5 KiK Bar

Division 2

Team Played Won Lost For Agst Diff. Pts.

Shoot Pool A 11 9 2 108 57 51 29

Joy’s Paradise 11 8 3 93 72 21 27

Mee Chew 11 6 5 84 81 3 23

Biggy’z Rest B 11 5 6 86 79 7 21

Buffalo Jack’s 11 5 6 78 87 -9 21

Parrot Inn 11 4 7 71 94 -23 19

Connections 11 4 7 67 98 -31 19

Rising Sun 11 3 8 73 92 -19 17

Results: Parrot Inn 3 v 12 Shoot Pool A, Buffalo Jack’s 9 v 6 Connections, Biggy’z Rest B 9 v 6 Rising Sun, Joy’s Paradise 10 v 5 Mee Chew

Crumpton Oaks Cider Monday Pool League

Results & Standings Dec. 3 (week 14)

Division 1

Team P W L F A +/- BP Pts.

The Irish Rovers 13 12 1 127 77 50 0 36

Links Bar 13 11 2 120 98 22 0 33

Sweethearts Bar 12 8 4 108 90 18 1 25

Pook’s Bar 13 7 6 115 108 7 1 22

The Butchers Arms 13 6 7 106 107 -1 0 18

Nicky’s Bar 13 4 9 101 116 -15 2 14

Easy R-Con Bar 12 2 10 87 116 -29 2 8

The Caddyshack 11 0 11 58 110 -52 1 1

Results: Pook’s Bar 8 v 10 Nicky’s Bar, Sweethearts Bar 10 v 3 The Butchers, Caddyshack 8 v 10 Easy R-Con Bar, Irish Rovers 10 v 4 Links Bar

Division 2

Team P W L F A +/- BP Pts.

TJ’s Bar 13 11 2 123 78 45 1 34

Hotties 13 10 3 118 74 44 0 30

The Stag’s Head 13 8 5 109 102 7 1 25

Mai’s Bar 12 7 5 91 95 -4 1 22

Offshore Bar 13 6 7 110 102 8 2 20

Eor’s Bar 13 6 7 99 99 0 2 20

Rabbi’s Elephant 12 3 9 74 109 -35 1 10

The Drunken Duck 13 0 13 65 130 -65 0 0

Results: Hotties 10 v 8 The Stag’s Head, Offshore Bar 10 v 6 Eor’s Bar, TJ’s Bar 10 v 6 Rabbi’s Elephant, Drunken Duck 5 v 10 Mai’s Bar

WKD Tuesday Darts League

Results & Standings Dec. 4 (week 8)

Team P W L B/legs Pts.

Irish Rovers 8 8 0 6 16

Mee Chew Sports Bar 8 7 1 4 14

Nervous Wreck 8 6 2 3 12

Biggy’z Rest 8 5 3 6 10

Crazy Eddies 8 5 3 4 10

Yates Bar 7 4 3 5 8

Londoner 8 4 4 4 8

Shoot Pool 8 4 4 4 8

Mai Roo Bar 8 3 5 6 6

Vip House Bar 8 3 5 4 6

Bernie’s Bar 8 2 6 3 4

Jantha Coffee House 8 2 6 0 4

Mai’s Bar 7 1 6 3 2

W. Tankies 8 1 7 2 2

Results: Bernie’s Bar 2 v 8 Mee Chew Sports Bar, Biggy’z Rest 7 v 2 Mai’s Bar, Crazy Eddies 7 v 6 Mai Roo Bar, Irish Rovers 10 v 6 Londoner, Vip House Bar 4 v 5 Shoot Pool, W. Tankies 3 v 7 Nervous Wreck, Yates Bar 7 v 2 Jantha Coffee House

Morel edges it on count back

Jomtien Golf with the IPGC

Jomtien Golf boys - winners in division 1 at the IPGC charity scramble on Friday: Neil Gamble, Tom Novak, Ian Speirs and Willy van Heetvelde.

Monday, Dec. 3, Green Valley – Stableford
A 10.20 tee off time today but with groups in front not making the numbers up we teed off 40 minutes ahead of schedule with 3 divisions out and the cut at 6-15, 16-20 and 21 plus. We all hoped the prolonged rainy season had ended and we would be back to enjoying a dry round.
Jerry Sweetnam, playing off 15, recorded the best score of the day in division 1 with 39 points to finish ahead of Pete Sumner in second on 36 and Tony Kay, who beat Sid Crawley on a 19/16 back-nine count back for third after they both came in with 34 points.
There were three scores of 36 in division 2 and with count backs of 22/17/16 on the back nine; Jean Morel beat Rudi Schaefer and Walter Weber.
Burnie Sinclair won division 3 with 32 points while Paul Chabot was second one point behind and Roar Berger took third with 28.
Near pins went to Sid Crawley, Arvo Hiller, Raivo Velsberg, Mauri Friman (2), Veli Laaksonen and Rudi Schaefer.
Tony Kay and Jerry Sweetnam birdied the 12th to share the division 1 ‘2’s pot while in division 2, Veli Laaksonen, Matti Yhitalo and Rudo Schaefer split it three ways.
Wednesday, Dec. 5, Eastern Star – Stableford
It was the annual IPGC charity event on Friday at Phoenix so we were at Eastern Star today. The course had dried out considerably since our last game here and for the first time in many weeks there was no ‘pick, clean and place’ ruling.
35 points was the winning score in both divisions and Pete Sumner topped division 1 with Bill Bertram beating Chris Voller into second place on a 20/17 back-nine count back after they both scored 30 points.
Iain Walsh was the winner in division 2, beating the Welsh boy Mike Lewis 20/18 on the back nine and Joe Kubon was third on 31.
There were no ‘2’s in either division today.
Near pins were claimed by Bill Bertram, Pete Sumner, Rodney Howett, Frank Kelly, Burnie Sinclair and Terry Tucker.
There was a warm welcome back for Jill and Howard Stanley.

Hewitt’s honours

Phoenix Members Golf Society

Tuesday’s winners pose with the staff at The Relax Bar.

Mike Gerrard
At last the severe rainstorms seemed to have disappeared; well at least for the last four days. Although the fairways of Phoenix were still a little wet for our Tuesday, Dec. 4 outing, with mud collecting on the ball a little, carts were allowed on the fairways and this is a testament to the superb drainage at this course.
Mountain & Lake course was our challenge today - probably the toughest combination of the three courses. A little work has been done on the greens of Lake course and it will take a week or two for them to be back to their best, however the rest of the course is in superb condition and well worth anybodies money to play at present.
The usual rule of thumb is that if carts are allowed on fairways there should not be any winter rules implemented. However, we did allow ‘lift clean and place’ due to some of the approaches to the greens still being a little too wet. (Carts are not allowed that close at Phoenix). You know what it’s like here in Thailand. There is a person paid to water the fairways and greens during late afternoon and even if we have had torrential rain he has to do it. In his words, “It’s my job.”
On to the days scores and due to the ‘lift clean and place’ rule some of the scores were quite good. Our winner today, receiving the first prize, plus the Ann’s Salon voucher, was Billy Hewitt with a superb back nine of 23 points to give him a total of 39. Second was yours truly, Mike Gerrard, with the same score, but with only 18 points on the back nine (including 1 blob). In third place was Patrick Browne who scored 36 points and in fourth was Paul Taylor with 35 points, who just edged Stuart Gordon out of the prizes.
Only two of the near pins were claimed today and they went to Goort Gelten and Stephen Lewis, which meant that we had 5 lucky draw prizes to award. These went to Alan Blakie, Richard Baldwin, John Bartley, Stuart Gordon & John Kelly. Amazingly enough, Joris did not win a lucky draw prize today for a change.
Our usual thanks go to the management of The Relax Bar for their support and concessions with prices and lucky draw donations. Next week we play for the KPK Food Services Ltd. voucher under Stableford rules.
Anyone interested in joining our little group (6 groups maximum), or if you like sea fishing, should call me on 087 091 7565.

Soggy golf

IPGC golf from The Haven

Mike Hill.

Monday, Dec. 3, Khao Kheow - Stableford
CSS 75
1st Shuichi Kodaka (15) 34pts
2nd Don Everett (22) 32pts
3rd Hal Hart (24) 31pts
4th Al Rolnik (18) 30pts
5th Phil Groves (7) 28pts
Continuing wet courses, although there were no stops for rain this week, meant another week of fairly static handicaps with nobody moving in or out even a shot as the day’s CSS climbed to 75. And it was hardly surprising to find the usual suspects at the top of the list, headed by Shuichi Kodaka whose recent cut in handicap has not stopped him continuing to win as his very careful approach and sensible course management carries him through. This day it was a two over handicap return that was enough to win by two from fellow regular podium visitor Don Everett, who started with an excellent two under front nine but faded a little on the way back.
Hal Hart took third after a very quiet outward half but started the back nine with ten points from the first three holes but then tired, gleaning a meager four points from the last three holes and had to settle for third when a win was in his sights after twelve holes.
Al Rolnik did not win a prize but slipped onto the podium a couple ahead of Phil Groves after a slow start meant that he would not be among the front runners for the day, while Phil had a very quiet day apart from a birdies on a par three and a par five - the latter for four points which brightened his day up considerably.
Considering how difficult the course was it was surprising that there were so many 2’s with Hal Hart getting one in the second division to sweep the pool and Shuichi Kodaka, Phil Groves and Rainer Helling sharing the first division.
Before the presentations were made there were welcome backs for Rainer Helling, Rodney Nabbe, Dan MacCarthy, Rick Schramm, Khun Arai, Wilf Wellman and Alan Pilkington.
Wednesday, Dec. 5, Eastern Star – Stableford
CSS 74
1st Mike Hill (23) 34pts
2nd Shuichi Kodaka (15) 33pts
3rd Rodney Hayes (15) 29pts
4th Hal Hart (24) 28pts
Another wet course saw the CSS move up two strokes to 74 and it was another day with the regular faces to be found at the top of the results sheet, this time headed by Mike hill winning with a two over return which was just sufficient to stop Shuichi Kodaka taking his second win of the week by a single point.
Rodney Hayes has been struggling of late to return to his old form but was happy enough to a least be figuring in the podium names, even with a score that he would not be talking about for too long at the bar. Once again Hal Hart was among the contenders but once again slipped badly nearing the end and so let another chance to top the list slip away.
There were no 2’s in either division.
Prior to the presentations there were welcome backs for Garry Warren and Oili Helling.
Friday saw everyone involved in the Santa Scramble in aid of the Baan Jing Jai children’s Christmas presents, a report of which can be found on other pages.
Note: If you would like to play with The Haven group, you can contact mobile 082 219 0965 or call in to The Haven Hotel, at 185 Soi 13, between Beach Road and 2nd Road. All transportation to the course is arranged and you do not need to sign up prior to the day, but you should be there by 8.15 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on the days that you wish to play. A schedule of courses to be played can be found on our web site at www.thehaven-hotel.com.

O’Keefe back with a bang at Green Valley

PSC golf from The Outback Golf Bar

(From the left) Peter LeNoury, Peter Eriksen, Suzi Lawton and Jon Welch.

Monday, Dec. 3, Burapha - Stableford
Twenty-five players were at Burapha to take on the A and B courses from the blue markers on a perfect Thailand day for golf - sunny with a light breeze and no rain. The course was in good condition and will get better as the fairways continue to dry out. The greens were great, very fast but still true.
The course was heavily booked but we still got off early and finished in under four hours, and we welcomed two new starters with the Outback, Peter Erikson and Chris Smart.
Two divisions plus the ‘2’s and winning Division 2 with the best score of the day was Andy Butterworth with 36 points off his 13 handicap, from Pete Stonebridge (15) with 35 points and third was Bob Lindborg (19) with 30 points, beating Chris Thompson on a count back.
An unusually high standard Division 1, all single figure handicappers bar two, was won by John Cunningham with 35 points off an 8 handicap from Stephen Mann (9) with 34 points and in third was Ron Dickie (8) with 33 points.
There were three ‘2’s from Paul Bourke, Mark McDonald and John Cunningham all on A3.
Div A (0-11)
1st John Cunningham (8) 35pts
2nd Stephen Mann (9) 34pts
3rd Ron Dickie (8) 33pts
Div B (12+)
1st Andy Butterworth (13) 36pts
2nd Pete Stonebridge (15) 33pts
3rd Bob Lindborg (19) 30pts
Tuesday, Dec. 4, Khao Kheow – Stableford
With Wednesday having no organised golf, as the 5th Dec was the King of Thailand’s birthday, we might have expected a slightly larger field than normal at Khao Kheow today but only ten Outbackers made the trip to play A & C off the yellow tees. However, for those who did and who hired a cart today, there was the added bonus of a voucher for a free beer to use either in the restaurant or in the first kiosk. So much for the drink driving!
It is pleasing to report that the course is finally coming back to its former self again as there were only a couple of holes on C where there were GUR patches and the greens were in good condition and fast.
The scoring remained fairly ordinary as Dick Hobson won the day with just 34pts from Capt’ Steve with 33; and Steve got the only ‘2’ on A5.
1st Dick Hobson (23) 34pts
2nd Stephen Mann (9) 33pts
3rd Chris Thompson (23) 33pts
Friday, Dec. 7, Green Valley – Stableford
A special welcome to the guys from Headland Golf Club, Queensland, who arrived Thursday and many of whom today were to enjoy their first taste of golf here in Pattaya, only sorry Dalby that you were too busy to come along as well, maybe next time. Peter Jason also returned for a couple of games as did Mick Indge & Woolley and John Hartigan & Paul Housin also joined us for the first time.
So all in all, despite a few of our regulars marshalling at Amata Springs, we had an excellent turn-out of 35 players; the course was in good condition, although the extended wet season has appeared to have damaged some of the greens slightly and carts were only allowed to do 90 degrees across the fairway to the rough on some holes, whilst other holes were cart path only; however, we did ‘lift clean and place’ on the fairways thinking that the course was wet. Only told by my caddie that after their weekly meeting that the 90 degree rule is to protect the course and will be implemented at all times.
The course was heavily booked, our first group managing to get round in 4½ hours but at the back of the field it slowed to nearly 5 hours. It just goes to show what a popular course this is now.
The best score of the day came from a resurgent John O’Keefe, with a fine 40pts to win Div B from one of the Headland crew, Jon Welch with 37, and third place going to a distant Suzi on 32. Div A went to Peter LeNoury on count back from Peter Eriksen, both on 37, and Div C was won by Fordy with the modest score of only 33pts from a surprised David Davies on 32 and Andy Makara with 29.
There were four ‘2’s from Peter Erikson, Mick Indge & John O’Keefe on the 4th and Bob Finley on the 12th.
Div A (0-14)
1st Peter LeNoury (10) 37pts
2nd Peter Erikson (5) 37pts
3rd Dennis Pelly (10) 33pts
Div B (15-19)
1st John O’Keefe (16) 40pts
2nd Jon Welch (16) 37pts
3rd Suzi Lawton (19) 32pts
Div C (20+)
1st Robert Ford (20) 33pts
2nd David Davies (26) 32pts
3rd Andy Makara (29) 29pts
Note: The Outback Golf Bar is situated about 6km from Sukhumvit Road along Soi Siam Country. Call Jack on 087 941 2474.

Pattaya Sports Club Bowling League

League Winners (from left to right): 1st Place: Ooy, Tue & Pao; 2nd Place: Konrad, Tue & Wade; 3rd Place: Aht, Ken & Leo.

VFW Post 9876 upset Brother D taking three points to win the first place trophies. Brother D will be awarded the second place trophies. Tui Amphanon bowled games of 198, 194 and 167, 559 series and Ooy Pluemkamon had a 512 series for VFW. Tue Pettae bowled a 526 for Brother D.
Bavaria upset Green Tree taking three points and they win the third place trophies. Aht Johansson bowled a 210 game and 527 series for Bavaria. Tukata Thompson bowled a 205 game for Green Tree.
Canada won all four points from Café Kronborg. Lek Reaper bowled a 520 series, Antero Ronkainen had a 514 and Dave Dolle rolled a 505 series for Canada. Kran Nielsen had a 533 for Kronborg.
Nok Ostbo bowled a 201 game and 544 series to lead Mitt in 2012 to a four point win over Indiana. La Montgomery had a 509 series for Indiana.
PSC Friday Bowling League will be moving to Tops for the new league after bowling at PS Bowl every year since the league was formed over 30 years ago. We hate to leave PS Bowl and really appreciate all the help from the friendly staff over the years. The new league will start in about two or three weeks with friendly bowling starting on 7 December 2012, so if you would like to join us just show up at 1300 on Friday.

Final Standings Nov. 30 (week 30)

Pos. Team Score Standings

1 VFW Post 9876 3-1 71 - 49

2 Brother D 1-3 70.5 - 49.5

3 Bavaria 4 - 0 65.5 - 54.5

4 Green Tree 1-3 63.5 - 56.5

5 Canada 4 – 0 59 - 61

6 Café Kronborg 0 - 4 52.5 - 67.5

7 Indiana 0 - 4 50.5 - 69.5

8 Mitt in 2012 4 – 0 47.5 - 72.5

McVey takes the Medal

PSC golf from Lewiinski’s Golf Society

Robert McVey (right) with Colin Davis.

Sunday, Dec. 2, Green Valley - Monthly Medal
A Flight
1st Pat Reagan (11) net 67
2nd Mark Wood (9) net 71
3rd Bob Newell (8) net 71
B Flight
1st Robert McVey (15) net 66
2nd Maurice Thurnherr (29) net 67
3rd Jim Bell (15) net 68
Red Flight
1st Yui Bietry net 74
Near Pins: No 4 Dave Stockton, No 9 Vic Hester, No 12 Gareth Gill, No 16 Jim Bell
In this multinational community in which we find ourselves members, we had Robert McVey (USA) win B Flight and the monthly medal for December 2012 with a faultless net 66. Robert who hails from Corpus Christi in the great state of Texas won a lead cut glass whiskey goblet and a bottle of Jameson’s Irish whiskey; he also gets an invitation to play in the year end gold medal to be held later in the year, but more importantly gets his name etched on the Lewiinski’s wall of shame.
Robert was closely followed by Maurice Thurnherr a (Swede) and Jimmy ‘AK47’ Bell (Aussie) stringed out in one stroke increments in that order.
Patrick Regan (Ireland) took the top spot on the podium in A Flight with a sparkling net 67. Pat left Scotland’s favourite son Mark Wood and Nice Guy ‘Broad more’ Bob (Walsall, England) four shots back. But nice guys finish last, especially when you’re up against the guile of Mark on count back. (Ah you can hear One Ball from here).
Dropping down to the Red Flight we saw Yui Bietry (Thailand) win by a street with a net 74 as this was 14 strokes clear of Sim ‘card’ Davis. Sim found the par fives impossible as she carded a nine on each.
Bob Newell, Dave Stockton, Gareth Gill and Patrick Kelly shared the 2’s pot.
Back at the presentation Robert cracked his bottle of whiskey and shared it with his new found friends.
Tuesday, Dec. 4, Burapha A&B - Stableford
A Flight
1st Bob Watson (5) 38pts
2nd Thierry Petrement (12) 36pts
3rd Max Scot (3) 35pts
B Flight
1st Serge Straeten (18) 41pts
2nd Reg McKay (15) 37pts
3rd Colin Davis (16) 36pts
C Flight
1st Keith McLachlan 0 37pts
2nd Peter Henshaw (20) 37pts
3rd Barry Oats (25) 34pts
The story of the day was Monsieur Serge Straeten and his sparkling 41 points, which topped his B Flight playing friend Reg ‘Buckie boy’ McKay by four clear points. These two fine efforts made the Donkey’s even par round inconsequential, but mark my words the Donkey never takes things lying down.
Bob Watson topped the premier flight with a fine 38 points, two clear of everybody’s nice guy Thierry Petrement and a further stoke clear of Max Scott.
Aussie Keith McLachlan tied with Irishman ‘Peter Don Corleone’ Henshaw for the C Flight top spot but prevailed in the count back. The Donkey’s pal, Barry Oats (just mention oats to the Donkey), rounded out the flight on 34 points.
John ‘the big easy’ Hartigan was the sole heir to a very healthy 2’s pot.
Thursday, Dec. 6, Treasure Hills - Stableford
A Flight
1st Pierre Bietry (13) 39pts
2nd Kevin McEntee (8) 35pts
B Flight
1st Donal McGuigan (23) 41pts
2nd Colin Davis (17) 36pts
As our regular Wednesday fixture fell on the King’s birthday, the organizing committee decided to move it to Thursday. This suited Irishman Donal McGuigan just fine as his delightful 41 points took top spot in B Flight and the man of the match honours. The Donkey moved up a step to the silver from Tuesday’s third place. (Who mentioned oats?)
Pierre ‘the magician’ Bietry shuffled his clubs and carded a magical 39 points for the top spot in the premier flight. Kevin ‘the clean up guy’ from Co. Offaly took the silver four strokes adrift.
Tore Eliassen, Ed Wyckoff and Nigel Jones shared the 2’s pot.
Friday, Dec. 7,
Crystal Bay B&C - Stableford
A Flight
1st Kevin McEntee (8) 38pts
2nd Peter Hynard (13) 36pts
3rd Dave Shelton (7) 35pts
B Flight
1st Colin Davis (17) 43pts
2nd Brian Cooper (28) 37pts
3rd Mick Pikos (18) 36pts
Yet another 40 plus round as the Donkey galloped away with B Flight and the match honours at Mountain Shadow’s more forgiving sister course, the Thai Takenaka designed Crystal Bay. The Donkey must have got his oats and a sack of his favourite carrots, as his outstanding 43 points was by far the best score on the day. A distant second to the Donkey was Brian ‘mini’ Cooper whose 37 points was one clear of third placed Mick Pikos.
I am not going to mention who was top in A Flight with a rock solid 38 points, you will have to use your imagination. ‘You know who’ was two clear of Peter ‘the right honorable’ Hynard. Peter in turn was a shot clear of a triumvirate of Dave Shelton, J-P Maffray and Reg McKay. After the count back Dave took the high road to the podium while Reg took JP down the low road all the way to sea level.
Kevin @#%&#!!, Pat Reagan and Colin the Donkey shared 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 0898260764. Transport is provided.

Double joy for Owen, but Clive the big winner

PSC Golf from Mulligans Lakeside

Clive in his marshalling gear – ready to take home his trophy(s).

Tuesday, Dec. 4, Pleasant Valley – Stableford
Tuesday was a return visit to Pleasant Valley, where we had played only 2 or 3 weeks ago. The course was in good condition, although the greens were not rolling quite as well as they have done on some visits. That is to be expected as the courses leave them a little longer to protect them in the High Season.
Another good turnout meant a top 3 today and it was Owen Walkley (12), who has been struggling of late, who hit some quality shots to record a day’s best of 40 points. Willem Lasonder (19) did well to sign for a solid 36 points, with Martin Hayes (13) picking up the bronze with 34.
Near pins were shared between Jonathan, Martin & Owen picking up 2.
Thursday, Dec. 6, Treasure Hill – Stableford
Thursday was Treasure Hill, where we played from the white tees, so good scores were at a premium on this, one of the sternest tests we play.
Again it was Owen Walkley (12) leading the way with 35 points, while K (28 silver) & Mam (31) had to be separated by count back after both signed for 33 points. K got the nod with his 19 points back 9, to Mam’s 17.
Near pins were truly shared around today with 1 each to Clive, Jeff, K & Willem.
Friday & Saturday some of the ML crew marshalled up at Amata Springs, as you can see by this weeks pic., Clive was the big winner for the week, on ya Clive!
Note: Mulligans Lakeside plays golf generally on Tuesday & Thursday, with ML hosting prompt presentations on both days. As a PSC affiliated venue we welcome all golfers, including seniors who have opted for the “Silver” tee option. Call 089 094 1841 for scheduling or enquiries. Hope to see you there, cheers & good golfing!

JJ signs off in style

The Billabong Golf Group

Friday’s top three, John Locke, Bob Pearce and Greig Ritchie.

Monday, Dec. 3, Mt. Shadow – Stableford
Mountain Shadow was our venue for today and it was in great condition as usual we were off on time. We only had two groups and as it was JJ Harney’s last game for this trip (he went home on Wednesday) there were some laughs out there and some very good shots.
Kiwi Bill Marsden was one roll short of his first ever hole in one on the 17th, while John Ronson, his playing partner ran his ball across the hole also. Great shooting lads! These greens are probably the quickest you can putt on in this area - they are like lightning and there were a few three putts out there today.
The scores today were ordinary in most cases but there were a couple of exceptions, namely Kiwi Bill with 33 points coming in second and the winner JJ Harney with a magnificent 34 points.
There were two ‘2’s today, both on the same hole the 17th, which Bill Marsden and John Ronson both birdied, well done lads.
Friday, Dec. 7,
Pleasant Valley - Stableford
Pleasant Valley was on the cards for today and as it has been a while since we played this course it really was a pleasure to be here. The course was in magnificent condition and to make it a good day out it was decided that we play from the white markers, it does make the course easier for the old boys as even the short hitters can make the greens in regulation as you will see by the unbelievable scores.
There was a good day out for all but 3 players who scored under 30 points. First place went to John Locke with 42 points ahead of second placed Bob Pearce with 39 on a count back from Greig Ritchie, then came Kev Wild and Gary Bolger with 36 points and Brian Maddox and Scotty Eaton with 35’s. I think everybody had a day to remember.
There was only one 2 and that went to John Locke, all in all John had a great day.
We will be coming back as all enjoyed themselves even though it was a little slow with the round taking over 4½ hours.

Ken Aihara takes the week

PSC golf from The Golf Club

Michael Hastie being marshaled by Amata Springs’ finest.

Steve Ellison
Monday, Dec. 3, Green Valley (White tees) – Stableford
1st Ken Aihara (5) 35pts
2nd Michael Hastie (18) 31pts
3rd Peter LeNoury (15) 31pts
4th Keith Warboys (10) 31pts
Firstly, a big thanks to all the guys who turned up in support of the Amata Spring Thailand Golf Championship. It was hot and dry out there and a few of the lads had dehydration issues, so remember to keep taking those electrolytes and lots of water on the course.
Another big turnout for the Monday regular Green Valley venue and today we were finally starting to experience proper high season weather. It was a beautiful day for golf and the course was in outstanding condition once again.
Ken Aihara was back in form and while he is not a long hitter of the ball, he has a very steady game and is deadly from 100 yards out. Today was not his best effort with only 35 points but enough to grab the top spot by 4 shots! A trio of our regulars were stuck at 31 - Michael Hastie, Peter Le Noury and Keith Warboys all came back tied up so the scoring was a bit below par, so to speak.
Thursday, Dec. 6, Silky Oaks (White tees) – Stableford
1st Michael Hastie (18) 37pts
2nd Ken Aihara (5) 35pts
3rd Steve Little (6) 31pts
A bit of a change of plans to our regular schedule as we changed the Wednesday to a Thursday to avoid the holiday rate surcharges. We played Silky Oaks just a couple of weeks ago and as everyone had such a good time there, off we went again to try and crack this great little golf course.
The last time here it was Ken Aihara who took first and Michael Hastie on second, but this time they reversed places and with 37 points and Michael Hastie ended up on the top of the podium.
If you haven’t played this course before, give it a chance and decide for yourself as it plays to a very enjoyable golf experience, although different. Golf course evaluation encompasses many criteria and the best way to judge any course is to go out and play it for yourself.
Steve Little rounded off the leaderboard with 31 points for third place, but I am sure we will be seeing his name up there many more times in the next 3 weeks of his holiday. Thanks also to Pete Hynard for filling in and escorting the gang in his usual unique style.
Friday, Dec. 7, Treasure Hill (White tees) – Stableford
1st Ken Aihara (5) 28pts
2nd Dave Edwards (11) 28pts
3rd John Bassett (16) 25pts
If it’s Friday it must be Treasure Hill, so off we went down the 331 to this Yoshikazu Kato track that gives most of us one of the best golf challenges in Pattaya. This was one of the most improved golf courses in the past 2 years and they are making it better all the time.
We did not have some of the best scores today, as just 28 points were enough to claim the win. There were 2 golfers, Ken Aihara (once again) and Dave Edwards who tied for the top spot with John Bassett on third place with 25. Well, I did say it is a challenging golf course! Thanks for joining us for another week of millionaire’s golf in Pattaya!
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.

Robertson back in form

PSC golf from Tropical Bert’s

Tuesday’s winners.

Derek Brook
Tuesday, Dec. 4, Khao Kheow – Stableford
A regular on our booking schedule, the Khao Kheow course is always the first to be put down on the list and usually on the first Tuesday of the month. On this Tuesday we were a bit light on numbers, but quality made up for quantity and off we went.
We were soon booked in, but one of the pleasant duties had to be undertaken and the Scribe presented the manager of Khao Kheow (Khun Surapol) with a Poppy Golf medal. The manager is a big help to the Royal British Legion Thailand during the Remembrancetide period and we appreciate his help.
So onto the course, and the test for the day was to be the A & C Nines. These are probably the hardest test on this course, and although A might be nominally the ‘official’ most difficult, I suspect that the C Nine would be most players pick. So off we went on the A Nine and it was immediately seen that the decision to play ‘lift, clean and place’ on the fairway was a good one as the ball picked up mud almost on every shot. This meant little run, but with the weather fine we really enjoyed our walk around.
The fairways were a bit soggy, and the rough was hard to get out of, but the greens were fine and putted true. As I usually find, the C course proved the more difficult, however checking through the cards the two nines proved remarkably similar, so what do I know!
Back in the restaurant I decided to have my ‘Free Asahi’ as every player is given one free, as usually happens there is normally a player who is off the beer so I enjoyed a a second. Suffice to say I practiced closing my eyes on the way back, and arrived a little blurry eyed.
So to the presentation, and we had one flight. The winner with a really good 40 points was Jack Robertson, and good to see him back in form. In second was Dick Warberg with 36 points and one could also say good to see him in better health. In third was Rita Zoebeli with 35 points and in fourth was the inevitable as Mashi squeezed in with his 32 points.
Near Pins: Brian Parish, Rita Zoebeli

The Scribe presents a Poppy Golf medal to Khun Surapol.

Friday, Dec. 7, Treasure Hill – Stableford
Another trip to this course, which continues to improve, was on the agenda for this day out. With the growing reputation and reasonable green fees, this is now a regular on our list and normally on a Friday.
With a good turnout we were off on time and with the course in its normal good condition we were able to get around in good time. Greens as normal were in good condition and as the courses start to come back to normal, after all the rain of late, we were able enjoy the day,
Back at Bert’s it was soon time for the results. In the A Flight, 0 to 18, the winner was Bob Watson with 41 points, and Gross 72, ahead of Mike O’Brien in second with 33 points on count back over Noel Pittard. In the B Flight the winner was Brian Gabe with 33 points on count back over Graham Buckingham in second. In third was Andy Egolf with 31 points.
Then it was time to put the world to rights. T.T.F.N.
Near Pins: Mike O’Brien, Mark West, Noel Pittard (2).

Morris marks birthday with win at the Mountain

PSC golf from Café Kronborg

Thursday, Dec. 6, Mt. Shadow - Stableford
A Flight (0-20)
1st Ted Morris (15) 40pts
2nd Mashi Kaneta (13) 39pts
3rd Jean Morel (17) 32pts
4th Don Richardson (12) 30pts
B Flight (21+)
1st John Davis (24) 39pts
2nd Graham Buckingham (23) 38pts
3rd Ole Holst (24) 37pts
4th Elias Magnusson (21) 37pts
The game today was at Mountain Shadow, and we started on the 10th tee on time, playing the course backwards under sunny and humid conditions for the whole day. The course was in fine condition as the scores reflect.
After a round of 4 hours and 20 minutes a welcome went out to Ole Holst from Denmark and a goodbye to Richard Snellin, working for the UN in the Congo.
Two flights today with the cut at handicap 20 and some of the best scores ever seen at this course. Ted Morris, the birthday boy and 74 years young today, won the a flight with 40 points ahead of Mashi Kaneta in second on 39 and Jean Morel and Don Richardson filled the minor places.
John Davis won the B Flight with 39 points, Graham Buckingham was second on 38, and Ole Holst took third on a count back over Elias Magnusson, both on 37 points.
Note: Coming up on 24 December we have the Christmas Fayre/Alec Chilcott Cup at Bangpakong. Please sign up early. If you are looking for a game call Dave at 083 602 2117 or [email protected].

Thomas takes top spot at Century

PSC golf Bunker Boys @ The Ranch

Thomas Nyborg.

Monday, Dec. 3, Bangpra G.C. – Stableford
Some confusion today as we assembled on the first tee to find we had 3 players who had decided to go to Burapha (instead of Bangpra!) and one extra player (also suffering a senior moment) who had forgotten to sign the registration sheet in The Ranch! After some hasty rearrangement of the groups we managed to get away on schedule and the round progressed smoothly from thereon.
We’d elected to play “pick, clean and place” which proved to be a good decision as the fairways were very soft following the recent rains. Fortunately the weather stayed fine today and the sun definitely was shining on Reg Smart, who produced his best score for many a month to romp away with the top prize in the B flight (and earn himself an instant handicap cut!).
After the presentation at The Ranch, our popular host “Buff” was formally announced as the new chairman of the committee, so if you have any problems – speak to the Boss!
A Flight
1st Keith Smithson (2) 36pts
2nd Ed Graham (10) 33pts
3rd Colin Greig (11) 33pts
B Flight
1st Reg Smart (31) 40pts
2nd Bernie Stevens (18) 33pts
3rd Jack Robertson (31) 32pts
Near Pins: Mike Corner, John Hughes, Bernie Stevens and Tim Winder.
Wednesday, Dec. 5, Century Chonburi – Stableford
A public holiday today for the King’s birthday so we’d elected to make a return to Century Chonburi, which is one of the few courses charging a reasonable price on holidays. Everyone feared the worst regarding the organization, and we weren’t particularly surprised to find there were no caddies available and the first tee resembled a football crowd.
We eventually managed to get away after an hour’s delay and it must be said that the condition of the course was a pleasant surprise, with plenty of grass on the fairways and the greens in good shape, if a little slow. After a slow front nine, the round speeded up on the inward nine and we were able to finish just before the sun went down! All the golfers who braved the crowds eventually enjoyed their day, and after all, what else can you do when all the bars are closed.
Thomas Nyborg produced another of his high scoring rounds of late, to win the honours on the day ahead of Ed Graham who also had a great score. Thomas’ handicap is dropping quicker than the proverbial lead weight and we should all have a chance of getting in the frame again soon!
1st Thomas Nyborg (22) 43pts
2nd Ed Graham (10) 40pts
3rd Tony Scambler (9) 36pts
4th William Macey (20) 35pts
Near Pins: Keith Norman, Geoff Hart, William Macey and Tony Scambler.
Friday, Dec. 7, Royal Lakeside – Stableford
It seemed as if almost all the Bunker Boys visited the Thailand Golf Championship at Amata Springs on Thursday, and predictably quite a few of them didn’t fancy a return trip down the congested Chonburi by-pass the following day, so we were left with a smaller field than expected.
The course was in its usual excellent condition and those that did make the trip thoroughly enjoyed the day – at least until it was time to fight the way back to the motorway! Paul Smith and Geoff Parker both had steady rounds, but the star of the day was Ian Masterson who made his first appearance of the year on the podium.
1st Paul Smith (5) 36pts
2nd Geoff Parker (12) 34pts
3rd Ian Masterson (34) 34pts
4th Jack Robertson (31) 33pts
Near Pins: Geoff Parker, Mike Corner and Mike Grasser.
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. You can find all the news, schedules and results on our website at www.bunkersociety.com.

Bell has a ball at Bangpakong

Travellers Rest Golf Group

Ian Bell.

Andy Rich
Last week Thailand celebrated the King’s 85th birthday and what a magnificent spectacle it was on TV, full of colour and tradition and attended by thousands. The word “magnificent” I use sparingly but it was the only word I can think of to accurately describe the condition of the Bangpakong golf course where the TRGG played on Monday 3rd December. Bangpakong is nearer Bangkok than Pattaya so it is not a course we visit very often but the reports we were getting from golfers who have played it were very encouraging so we went to see for ourselves.
I played the course about a year ago and was one of those people singing its praises and I can report it did not disappoint. Without exception all our players thought it was great and so we have made regular bookings for the next few months. It is one of those courses that seems to make every golfer play well, fairways like carpets and greens that are even paced and true means good scoring is inevitable, which gives golfers confidence rather than the normal feeling that the course has just beaten you to a nervous wreck.

Mike Rushant.

Judging by the scores returned most of the field will have left feeling good about their game, I scored 34pts and only made it into 14th position.
So the results for Bangpakong were as follows. Ian Bell (7) played more like a scratch golfer and finished in first place with 44pts followed by two golfers finishing on 41pts. Dave Edwards (11) edged out Mike Rushant (11) on count back.
On Tuesday 4th December it was the turn of Greenwood (A and B course) to play host to the TRGG faithful. Another of those courses that is usually in excellent condition but has suffered from the wet weather in November. No doubt it is getting back to normal after the excellent weather last week.
Rick Schramm (8) will have no complaints with the condition of the course, taking first place on 37pts closely followed by Phil Corbett (28) and Ian Smith (8), both finishing with 36pts, Phil taking runners up spot on count back.
It was back to two divisions on Thursday 6th December at Phoenix (Ocean and Mountain) because of the large turnout. Division One (up to 14 handicap) was headed by Fergus Brennan (10) on 39pts, finishing just ahead of wily Ito Akitoshi (8) on 38 and equally inscrutable Nick Thomas (14) on 37pts.
John Baxter (15) shooting 34pts found it was sufficient to take the Division Two (15 handicap and above) title. Michael Maguire (21) came in second on 33 and Arthur Heck (22) on 30 took third place.
On Friday 7th December a much smaller group headed off to Pattaya Country Club to complete the week’s golf. This is another course we haven’t played for a while and I am glad it is back on the agenda. Mike Rushant (11), continuing his good form of previous weeks, took first place on 35pts, winning on count back from Ito Akitoshi (8). Fergus Brennan (9) trailed in third on 33pts
Good luck to all you golfers for the coming week.

Lapsley overshadowed

IPGC golf from The Links

Sunday, Dec. 2, Green Valley – Stableford
We headed to Green Valley today in perfect golfing conditions. Although some tees were well back, with ‘clean and place’ in operation as carts were not allowed on the fairways, scores were expected to be high. However, this proved not to be the case, with the average score for the group coming in at a meager 28 points and the competition was none counting for handicap revision.
For the second week running there was a 4-way tie on 32 points, this time for second and third place, the count backs being Charlie Lapsey 13 points, Frank Mcgowan 14, Joe Mcardle 15 and Jorn Eriksen with 16.
The ever consistent Andy Galvin had his second triumph of his current visit with 32 points.
The ‘2’s were shared by Joe Mcardle & Charlie Lapsey.
1st Andy Galvin (18) 33pts
2nd Jorn Eriksen (21) 32pts
3rd Joe McArdle (13) 32pts
Tuesday, Dec. 4, Mountain Shadow – Stableford
At the behest of one of the regulars, we paid a visit to Mountain Shadow for the second week running, to test ourselves against this challenging golf course off the blue tees. The course is currently in excellent condition, with the greens getting faster every visit, and again the conditions were perfect for golf.
Andy Galvin continued his recent run of good form, taking third place with a creditable 33 points, with Charlie Lapsley second with 37, a score that is usually enough to win on this course.
The round of the day, week, month and possibly year, went to Jon Batty, who, aided by a total of 23 putts for the round, and a one under gross back nine, carded a gross 75 for 42 points, equaling his best ever round in Thailand. His handicap then took the hammering it deserved, just in time for the IPGC club championship next week.
Jon Batty and Andy Galvin shared the ‘2’s.
1st Jon Batty (9) 42pts
2nd Charlie Lapsley (9) 37pts
3rd Andy Galvin (18) 33pts
Note: The Links depart from the hotel on Soi Buakhao at 10.30am on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 9.45am for Green Valley every Sunday. Sign up at the hotel or contact Jon on 080 021 1034. A full schedule of courses can be found on the IPGC website www.ipgc.org.

Allidi’s 68 off the stick just falls short

PSC Golf from The Growling Swan

Sandy Leiper, Jerry Dobbs & Bjarne Kjaer.

Peter Blackburn
Monday, Dec. 3, Plutaluang W&N - Stableford
With a couple of late cancellations it brought our numbers down to 18 for the competition on Monday, and as we assembled at The Growling Swan for free coffee prior to our departure for Plutaluang we welcomed back Bob Akapita from Gove in the Northern Territory of Australia, Irishman Chris Walsh, and Frank Donnelly, returning from his trip to Queensland, Australia.
The weather was fine & sunny as we headed off in two mini vans right on time at 8.30 am and arrived at the course just 40 minutes later. It was not too busy and we were allocated the West & North nines amid groans from a few of our players as this is generally regarded as the most difficult combination and indeed it proved to be a challenging day for most.
We got our first group, a three-ball away 20 minutes ahead of time at 9.40 am and as mentioned earlier the skies were blue and with not much wind it was a perfect day for golf. The golf course was looking in very good shape although understandably quite wet in parts with the greens perfectly maintained although traditionally quite slower than those at most other courses in the region.
With no other groups in front of us we proceeded at a fair pace although were held up several times by having to look for golf balls that in some cases had only just strayed off the fairway. With golf carts not allowed on the fairways winter rules were in place and the order of the day was keep the ball on the fairway to avoid the very long adjoining rough. Luckily we were able to find our balls each time but not without considerable searching.

Kae, Fred Dineley & Ebrahim.

Finishing our first nine, West, in just over two hours we commenced the North nine as the cloud cover appeared and conditions did get a little sticky but thankfully no sign of rain. After a quick drink stop before the Lighthouse hole we carried on and without too many more delays managed to complete the full round in four hours & ten minutes. As can be seen by the scores the going was tough but a very enjoyable round of golf on a good golf course was had by all.
We were able to have 2 grades with three 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 and longest first putts on the W9 & N9 greens which were collectively sponsored by The Growling Swan, Bob Akapita, Sandy Leiper, Brendan Byrne & Ken Blinco. Many thanks to these guys for their generosity.
The best score on the day was Bjarne “Mr Colors No.2” Kjaer who won the A Grade with 34 points, 2 points ahead of Ebrahim in second place. In a three-way count back on 29 points for third place it was your writer (15 point back nine) who got lucky with Bob Akapita (14 point back nine) and Ken Hole (14 point back nine) just missing out.
A clear winner in the B Grade was Aussie Jerry Dobbs with 32 points, 6 points ahead of second placegetter Brendan “Casper” Byrne (14 point back nine) who beat Max “Two Corsets” Bracegirdle (7 point back nine) who secured third spot.
A Flight (0-18)
1st Bjarne Kjaer (18) 34pts
2nd Ebrahim (16) 32pts
3rd Peter Blackburn (10) 29pts
B Flight (19+)
1st Jerry Dobbs (24) 32pts
2nd Brendan Byrne (21) 26pts
3rd Max Bracegirdle (26) 26pts
Near Pins: W3 – Bob Akapita; W8 – Roy Dayton; N3 – Ken Hole; N6 – Ken Hole
Long Putts: W9 – Ken Hole; N9 – Roy Dayton
The Growling Swan NAGA Award, (awarded to the golfer who has the worst score on the day and discreetly their score is not made public) was won by Sandy Leiper who sheepishly accepted the cap in very good spirit whilst vowing not to make it a regular occurrence.
In the absence of big Ken “Let’s hear it for” Bernek, who is holidaying in Bali, it was “Two Corsets” who paraded Deefa the Dog and collected many donations for the needy of Pattaya from our ever generous Growling Swan members. We then headed back to The Growling Swan where the beers were flowing and the post mortems of the day’s golf were conducted.
J J Harney turned up to say goodbye before returning to Ireland for a month or so over Xmas and apologies are forthcoming to Paul Hack who was wrongly accused of participating in the disappearance of Jim “AK47” Bell’s Monthly Mug which he won last Thursday. The Mug was found and all is well!
Thursday, Dec. 6, Bangpakong - Stableford
Once more we had a couple of late cancellations due to illness but still ended up with 24 players ready & keen to take the monthly trip to the classy Bangpakong Riverside Country Club. On this occasion the idea was to leave 15 minutes earlier than our normal 8.30 am departure time but unfortunately my request to our minivan organizer on the previous afternoon somehow got distorted in the “translation” and when we had no transport ready at 8.10 am some frantic phone calls were necessary.
We did manage to depart just before 8.30 am after we had welcomed Dick “Reverend” Braimbridge, back from his trip to Dubai, PSC Social Chairman Nigel Cannon and Michela Sancillo from Italy, now residing in Spain. It was also time to farewell Bob Akapita & Jerry Dobbs who are shortly returning to their work in various parts of Australia.
Proceeding up No. 7 at a cracking pace we arrived at the course in the record time of just on one hour and although the course was reasonably busy we just had to wait for a couple of groups to tee off before we were able to send our first group, a three ball away. The weather was fantastic with blue sky and just a sprinkling of clouds with a gentle breeze to cool things down a little.
I must beg forgiveness if I sound repetitious but I cannot cease to sing the praises of this magnificent golf course which is in pristine condition and somehow just keeps improving all the time. The fairways were lush and the greens perfectly manicured and of course demanded respect when faced with long putts, particularly of the downhill variety.
The groups in front of us were not wasting any time so we proceeded at an excellent pace and “flew” through the front nine in one hour & forty minutes which included a drinks stop. The pace continued on the back nine and another drinks stop was necessary but still we were able to complete the full round in the impressive time of three hours & thirty minutes. I cannot remember a quicker game of golf in 23 years of playing the game in Thailand and it enhanced the enjoyment of playing at this classy venue, which many of our 24 golfers described as being as good if not better than any course they had played before. I’m sure our numbers will swell for next month’s outing here despite the journey being a touch longer than normal – Well worth the extra 15 minutes drive.
We were able to have 2 grades with four podium spots in each. A Grade was for handicaps 0 to 22 and B Grade for 23 and over. We had nearest the pins on all the par threes and longest first putts on the 9th & 18th greens.
The winner of A Grade with a terrific 44 points was Ebrahim, closely followed by Mike Allidi who had 68 off the stick (14 pars & four birdies) for his 42 points and second place. Paul Hack was third with 40 points with Michela Sancillo 1 point further back in fourth spot.
In B Grade it was Fred Dineley who “got the chocolates”, winning with 38 points and in a count back for second & third on 34 points it was Allan “Parrot” Tranekaer (19 point back nine) finishing just ahead of Jerry Dobbs (18 point back nine) with Dick “Reverend” Braimbridge fourth with 33 points.
A Flight 0-22)
1st Ebrahim (16) 44pts
2nd Mike Allidi (2) 42pts
3rd Paul Hack (11) 40pts
4th Michele Sancillo (8) 39pts
B Flight (23+)
1st Fred Dineley (29) 38pts
2nd Allan Tranekaer (27) 34pts
3rd Jerry Dobbs (24) 34pts
4th Dick Braimbridge (36) 33pts
Near Pins: 4th – Mike Allidi; 7th – Peter Blackburn; 13th – Paul Hack; 16th – Mike Allidi
Long Putts: 9th – Ebrahim; 18th – Paul Hack
The Growling Swan NAGA Award was won by Kae who was somewhat unlucky as she was not feeling the best on the day but accepted the cap in fine spirit. “Two Corsets” again paraded Deefa the Dog and collected many donations for the needy of Pattaya from our ever generous Growling Swan members. We then headed back to The Growling Swan and continued to sing the praises of Bangpakong whilst participating in the usual fun & games. A great day’s golf with terrific company both during & after the game.
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 petermalcolmblackburn @gmail.com.

Happy as Larry

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

The Pattaya Golf Society travelled to Emerald in Ban Chang on Monday, 3rd December to play a stableford competition in two flights divided at sixteen and under. The course was reasonably well set out but the areas which had been re-turfed a few months ago still have a few weeks to go to blend in completely but at least GUR is well marked. The main disappointment were the greens which were very slow, for Emerald at least.
In the second flight Dave Wilkinson played some of his better golf with a splendid 33 points, giving him third place just two behind Ken Grimes in second. The flight winner was Margaret Wilkinson who once again emulated her husband with some solid accurate golf in her level par round.
The first flight saw Neil McIntosh and Wichai Tananusorn share third place with 37 points each but the round of the day was recorded by Larry Slattery. His rounds recently have been unspectacular but this day his putting showed a distinct improvement and he ended with 39 well deserved points.
There were no birdie ‘2’s and in celebration of his birthday Dave Wilkinson sponsored two prizes for the best totals on four nominated holes. In the top flight Wichai took the prize with 9 points on the four easiest holes on the card whilst Mr Len recorded ten points on the four hardest. Rabbi’s free beer draw was won by Alan Flynn and the Booby Bevy went to Jim Ferris for his 11 - 18 split.
Emerald had given the group a good start to the final month’s golf of the year.
Not Many happy returns
On the King’s Birthday, 5th December, the Pattaya Golf Society celebrated by visiting Rayong CC to play a stableford competition. The group found the course as “rough” as it ever has been since the Korean takeover a couple of years ago and the complete lack of caddies meant carts had to be used and they were restricted to the temporary cart paths situated at times in the neighbouring parish!
The complete lack of etiquette by those Koreans present meant a noisy round interrupted by them racing around in search of empty tee boxes from which to knock balls around at random like kids on a holiday treat. Scores were therefore academic with Alan Flynn and Neil McIntosh sharing second place with 31 points and Ray Banks taking first place with 32 points.
Ray shared the ‘2’s pot with Sam McLellan and the Booby Bevy was deservedly reserved for golf geezer Mr Len who had arranged the fixture there in the first place. He certainly won’t be winning it for that reason again. Rayong - bygone.

Ana Ivanovic returning to PTT Pattaya Open

Ana Ivanovic.

Tennis star Ana Ivanovic will be making her second appearance at WTA sanctioned PTT Pattaya Open when the 2013 edition kicks off from 27 January – 3 February at the Dusit Thani Hotel.
Currently ranked No 13 in the world, the Serbian is a former Grand Slam champion and a holder of 11 WTA titles. In 2012 she began to find the form which took her to the No 1 slot in 2008 and is hoping to add to her titles at Pattaya next year.
Another form player entering the PTT Pattaya Open is Maria Kirilenko of Russia. She reached the final of the PTT Pattaya Open this year, losing narrowly to Daniela Hantuchova, and finished the 2012 season ranked at No 14 in the world in singles and No 7 in the world in doubles. Her doubles achievements included winning the year-end championship in October partnering Nadia Petrova.
Making her 5th successive appearance in Pattaya is crowd favourite Vera Zvonareva of Russia whose 2012 season has been blighted by injury, which has kept her out of competitive tennis since Wimbledon. She has now returned to fitness and will be eager to complete a hat-trick of titles at Pattaya next year.
Also making a return to Pattaya is Sabine Lisicki of Germany, like Zvonareva her season was marred by injuries, yet despite the setbacks she ended the season ranked at No 37 in the world on the back of good performances at Wimbledon, where she reached the quarter-final and at the Australian Open, where she fell in the 4th round.
The 2013 PTT Pattaya Open will commence with the qualifying rounds on 27 – 28 January, with main draw matches starting on 28 January with play starting from 15.00 daily until Friday 1 February. For the final 2 days of the tournament, Saturday 2 February and Sunday 3 February matches will start from 16.00.
For more information on the tournament and tickets, contact Pentangle Promotions Co., Ltd at Tel: 02-3113414/5 or via the website at www.pentanglepromotions.com.

Coco Club Lawn Bowls update

Bank shows off his trophies.

Well the boys certainly took to heart their losing sequence by bouncing back to scoop almost everything in December.
First up was Thailand’s very own Bank, who won the Sunday pairs scramble playing with 8 different players. He not only won the singles element but also attained the highest bowls score.
Then up stepped Dave ‘the Pro’ and ‘Mushroom’ Ian to claim the Wednesday pairs by a 35 point bowls margin from runners up Dan and Dennis. This was followed by the Friday triples where some high class bowling had to be played by Aussie John, Dutch Dennis and Scottish Alex to catch up and eventually overtake the favourites Lek, Pukky and Tanom, but the ladies did have some success by taking the last match to take the Friday League Cup.
On the King’s birthday, a full house of 32 players in pairs competed for the King’s Cup and League with some serious combinations, but a new format kept everyone alive to the last bowl with Joe and Tanom taking the individual honours and being the only unbeaten side and highest points scorers. Then the team honours went in order of points scored to ‘green watch’ Kelvin and Coco Sue followed by Dave and Pin, Ken and Dan and Skinny partnered by new UK player Andy.
Note: Fun bowls days will be held on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays until after the Christmas break with new leagues all restarting in January. Any newcomer can call Sue on 087 135 8357 to have a go and join in while Saturdays are open for school/college aged new players to try it out with free bowls and free tuition from the national class players.

Winners and runners-up pose for a group photo.

Pattaya City fall to another defeat

Bangkok Casuals Football League 2012

Paul Frain
In their last match before the Christmas and the New Year break, Pattaya City played hosts to the Turkish side Anatolia in the League Cup last weekend.
City, after winning one and losing one, really needed to win this game to keep their hopes alive in the competition but they were without their leading player Earnest Dipita and it was the Turks who applied the early pressure by gaining three corners in which the City keeper had to make a good save from the last of these.
The Turks attacked in waves and the City defense was holding out until a mistake by one of their defenders saw him slice his clearance straight to unmarked Turkish forward, Freeboy, who made no mistake to give his team the lead 1-0.
This setback spurred City into action but for the most part they were restricted to taking long range pot shots on the Anatolia goal. At the other end, City’s captain Philip Walter saved a goal bound shot with a diving lunge to divert the ball past the post to keep the score 1-0 at half time.
At the start of the second half the Turks scored again but it was ruled offside to City’s great relief. A super run by Tshuma down the left then saw his centre totally wasted when the Pattaya forward mistimed his header and the chance was gone. The hosts were slowly getting on top and a shot/centre hit the Anatolia crossbar after their keeper got his finger tips to the ball. Then Emery headed wide moments later from a good cross.
The Anatolia left winger Adams was a constant thorn in City’s side and from one of his mazy runs he left a trail of City defenders in his wake before centering to Freeboy, who scored with aplomb to double the Turks lead.
City’s keeper was called into action again to thwart the visitors with two outstanding saves but Pattaya got a foothold back into the game when Tshuma’s darting run and center found the head of Emery whose bullet header gave the Turkish keeper no chance. There was to be no reprieve for the home team however as Anatolia tightened up their defense for the remainder of the game to run out 2-1 winners.

Rest of World rally to win Acorn Pool Challenge

The Rest of the World team: Alan, Robbie, John, Robbie, Colin, Elias, Captain Sam and Tom.

The inaugural Acorn Pool Challenge match took place on 8th December at Shoot Pool and defeat was snatched from the jaws of victory by the elite Thai pool players in this exciting sporting encounter.
A complicated scoring system was implemented in the pool challenge between Pattaya Thais v The Rest of the World and it was the same as the Ryder Cup points system, where a match could be won, drawn or lost and the first team to 13½ points would take the trophy. Basically it was a race to 27 frames. The Acorn Challenge Trophy was at stake, along with 12 winning gold medals, and 12 runner-up medals.
The match was going at a furious pace, with the Thai Elite team always ahead, and looking to show their superior pool skills. They had star player Oan, Auto the captain from Pooks Bar, with his friend Toey, Zak a top class player from Sweethearts Bar, Dang from the Links Bar, Bo from Shoot Pool with his friend Tom, plus Suntar and Tom, both pool champions.

Thai Elite players: Toey, Captain Auto, Joe, Sunta, Bo, Aon, Tom and King.

The match progressed, at a fast pace with Pattaya Thais in front all the way. In the last phase the score stood at Pattaya Thais 26, RoW 20. The Thais only needed 1 more frame to win this prestigious trophy and the gold medals. Who could predict what would happened next?
Sam Beavers the RoW captain rallied his team, and ordered them in no uncertain terms not to lose another match. It was an inspiring captain’s motivational speech. The RoW had to win all of the next 6 frames to take it to a tie. And that’s just what they did.
Young Elias from Sweden won his 2 matches; a doubles match with 2 Americans went 2-0 to the RoW and when Robbie from Ireland and John from America took the next 2 frames to level the match the Thai players were visibly shaken.
What happened next was incredible, the match stood at 26-26 in a race to 27. The two captains decided to have 5 players each side taking alternative shots to decide the final outcome. Auto, the Thai captain, chose himself, Oun, Zak, Dang and Toey, definitely the 5 five strongest Thai players and they where surely the favourites.
Sam from the USA chose himself, Elias from Sweden, Robbie from Ireland, John (USA), and Richard from England.
You could have cut the atmosphere with a knife - every shot was vital and all team members were having their in-put on how to play it. It ended with the RoW having five balls left, while the Thai team got first shot at the winning black (8) ball to win the match. It fell upon Dang from Links Bar… it wasn’t easy, but it was half a chance. You could feel the pressure as he hit it but it wobbled in the jaws of the pocket and stayed out.
The RoW stil had it all to do but under intense pressure first Robbie from Ireland potted his ball, then Richard potted the next ball, and gained good position, the Thais looked worried. John was next and after a huge debate went for a difficult shot, potted it and left decent position for the wonder kid from Sweden to do what he does naturally pot the last ball and leave his captain with a shot on the final 8 ball. Wow the pressure was on. Sam Beavers would get this ball 9 times out of 10 but this was going to be one hell of a pressure shot. Did he make it? You bet he did. Shoot Pool erupted from the RoW side and the Thais where devastated.
But we move on and hope next time more people can join us to watch some of the finest pool players in Pattaya playing this beautiful game.