Winchester Club and Three Sisters tied for first

Pattaya Sports Club Friday Bowling League

After two weeks of the new PSC Friday Bowling League season, Winchester Club and Three Sisters are tied for first place.

In the battle of Soi Batman, Three Sisters came out on top, winning three points from Shakey Pete’s. Udom bowling as a spare for Shakey Pete’s bowled a very good 557 series and Morn with Three Sisters had a 505 pin count.

Best games of the week were bowled by Tue 206, Tony 234 and Kran 209.

Cafe Kronborg’s captain, Kran bowled a 209 game and 555 series but it was only good enough to win one point from balanced bowling by the Winchester Club.

New comer Nice & Sleazy took three points from Cafe Ole behind Tony’s 234 game and Tue’s 206 game and 590 series to even their league record at four-four. Captain Jeed rolled a 544 series for Cafe Ole.

VFW Post 9876 is hanging back waiting for the final run in the 30 week league and let House of the Golden Coin win all four points in their match.

Team	Standings	Points May 17
Winchester Club Three Sisters House of the Golden Coin Cafe Ole Nice & Easy Shakey Pete’s Cafe Kronborg VFW Post 9876	6 - 2 6 - 2 5 - 3 5 - 3 4 - 4 4 - 4 1 - 7 1 - 7	3 - 1 3 - 1 4 - 0 1 - 3 3 - 1 1 - 3 1 - 3 0 - 4

Tough times at Khao Kheow

P.S.C. Golf from the Cafe Kronborg

Monday 13 May - Nobel Place (Stroke play)

If Nobel Place was closer to Pattaya there is no doubt it would be used on a much more regular basis, but the thought of the long drive up there along a road that has to be one of the most dangerous around the area, usually means a visit to a closer, if less inspiring, course.

Mick O’Connor won the B flight at Khao Kheow on Thursday.

The answer has to be to wait until it is scheduled on the Kronborg monthly list, go to the Kronborg at 0815, get on the minibus, sleep till you get there, play golf, back on the bus, and back to the Kronborg. Transport for the price of a shared lift, no ulcers and a great round of golf with a couple of hours of sleep thrown in.

At 0815 the ‘boys’ set forth snug as a bug in a rug to zzzz away the time until they reached Nobel Place and took on the challenging course. Reaching there they set off on their round amid threatening skies and the very real promise of a free shower, but the rain held off and the brave souls managed to complete their round on this improving layout.

There was one flight and the winning scores reflected the tough course and golfers playing to their potential. Winner with net 71 was Tyrone Bridge (no relation to London), second with a net 72 was the nearly man Howie Forrest, and third with a net 73 was Big Pete Galle.

After a hot shower and a few beers in the clubhouse, it was back to the bus and a few more zzzz’s before arriving back at the Kronborg ready for a hard night on the town.

Thursday 16 May - Khao Kheow (Stableford)

There are days when giants stroll the fairways of all the courses that we play here (with the possible exception of Natural Park Hills), when choose what score you shoot, how well you play, someone always seems to play better. It doesn’t matter if the weather is foul, the course is in terrible condition, there’s always someone to have his moment of glory.

On Thursday 16 May at Khao Kheow Snow White and nineteen Dwarfs minced around a golf course that was in pretty good condition. They had the lot: Sneezy, Happy, Grumpy, Dozy, Mick & Tich, etc., and twelve Dwarfs I can’t even begin to describe. Grumpy was there telling all and sundry we should be playing off the white tees at a net of 68 and all of 5800 yards, and as the scores showed he may have had a point; however, there is no truth to the rumour that he is going to have the operation and the next competition play off the red tees, but a skirt & bra for him (but not a Yashmak which I would go for) may be more than even my imagination for Grumpy can comprehend.

This developed into a battle of the midgets, even if some of the midgets were in a different ‘fairy’ story, and all played like ‘Fairy’s, but may have seen the light, this was the essence of Stephen King.

So we’ve all played this course, and magnificent as this Pete Dye course is, believe me it’s a very fair course for a reasonable golfer, so we ‘can’ play well.

I had a stinker of a day and as we do we had a friendly 4 ball better ball, and my partner & I drew our match, I only had 26 points & Howie (the nearly man) had only 28 points, but ‘ever improving’ Mick O’Connor had a meagre 33 pts.

Having run competitions here for a long time this was a blip on realism. As I sat there with only one score to come in, with a magnificent score of 26 points I was in third place in A flight. Back to the midgets, but a really great golfer with 31 points, last in, knocked me out of the first three. I was really heartbroken after such a ‘great’ round.

Embarrassed as I am, I have to say this is the second worst set of results I have ever seen, the worst for the record being at Natural Park Hills when it was won with 30 points and we won’t talk about the rest. The results are as follows:

A flight winner (by default) with the best score of the day, with 35 points Arthur Hancock, second with 32 points Ebrahim and third, and very surprised, Jerry Jellison with 31 points.

B flight was won by the ever smooth and improving Mick O’Connor with a pretty pathetic 33 points (but if this is pathetic what does it say about the rest); second was our version of Snow White Maria Rowles with 31 points, and third was the only man I know who can three putt from 3 feet (apart from Phil Michelson) my partner and the ‘nearly’ man, Howie ‘Phil’ Forrest with a stupendous 28 points winning on count back from Grumpy.

I would like to say this result has left me speechless, but we know better, till next week TTFN.

Bob pushes out the boat in style

IPGC TAGGS Golf from The Haven

Monday 13th May 2002 - Green Valley (Stableford)

1st: Doug Campbell, 37 points
2nd: Trevor Schirmer, 33
3rd: Derek Reaper, 32 cb9 18
4th: Mike Dabanovich, 32 cb9 16
5th: Klaus Schackt, 32 cb9 15
6th: Malcolm Clare, 32 cb9 14

A large contingent of golfers set out for the always-popular venue at Green Valley in the middle of a thunderstorm in the firm belief that everything would work out fine in the end. They were not disappointed as the weather cleared up almost as soon as the first group teed off.

However, the heavy rain had left the course in a very soggy state and with the tees placed in the old yellow positions (nearly back to the blues) it made for a very long course. This was reflected in the scores that produced only one player at par or better. Doug fired a creditable one under his handicap to lead the rest of the field by four clear shots and deservedly took home the honours on the day.

Trevor, who once again appeared in the winners’ list even though he could not quite match his recent rounds, followed him. And he in his turn was closely trailed by a gaggle of golfers that needed to be separated by several count backs.

The twos were shared between Darrell Paull and Klaus Schackt. Prior to the prize giving, Richard Livingston the resident PGA professional welcomed new member, Stefan Marquez whilst welcoming back Dan Hastings, Derek Reaper, Mark Gorda and Ken Cooke.

Wednesday 15th May - Burapha East (Stroke Play)

Ladies Division

1st: Lamud Chaidara, 66
2nd: Saranya Chaiyanont, 68

Gentlemen

1st: Bob Lindborg, 71 cb9 33
2nd: Jay Nakagawa, 71 cb9 34.5
3rd: Doug Campbell, 71 cb9 35
4th: Russell Finch, 71 cb9 36.5
5th: Harald Cranz, 72 cb9 35.5
6th: Mike Dabanovich, 72 cb9 36

Near pins: #3 Doug Campbell, #6 Russell Finch, #12 Phil Groves, #17 Phil Groves

Long putt: #18 Doug Campbell

The day was a celebration of Bob Lindborg’s 37th (sic) birthday and he kindly donated several additional prizes for the entrants to vie for over the East course from the blue tees.

Once again the competition was played in conditions that were very wet underfoot and again this kept the scores higher than would normally be expected from such a large field.

The exception was in the Ladies division that found Lamud right back to form after a spell in the doldrums, scoring a six under and taking the trophy plus the bottle of bubbly gifted by Bob. This turned out to be an unexpected additional expense on the day for the “birthday boy”, as her handicap dropped another shot to 15. She was followed home by Ya, who is now beginning to see the rewards of Wee Harry’s personal tuition.

Bob very uncharitably won the honours in the Gentlemen’s division, although he was as surprised as anyone when Richard announced the results. He thoroughly deserved the win on the day by virtue of his back nine, which saw him zoom back in 3 under his handicap, to leave the rest gasping in his wake. The minor placings were all settled by count back with Jay leading the chasing pack.

The twos were shared between Doug Campbell (2), Jay Nakagawa, Russell Finch, Neville Steward, Joe Sebastian, Fred Streeter, Arthur Hancock and Jimmee Little.

Prior to the prize giving, Richard welcomed back Stefan Hoge.

Thanks to Bob’s generosity, there were many other prizes on offer and together with the twos presentations, this extended the prize giving a little longer than usual before the days honouree blew the horn to set the evening’s celebrations on their way.

A Noble victory for Ken

IPGC Pattaya Golf Society at the Bunker

On Tuesday, 14th May, the Bunker Boys braved the elements yet again and took the long road to the beautifully presented Noble Place Golf Club, near Chonburi. The foreboding skies remained with them all day but the imminent rain somehow kept itself at bay as the players got to grips with Peter Thompson’s bunker-strewn fairways and undulating greens.

The day was to be successful for Ken Ince, who usually plays out of the Sugar Shack. His sweet drives and honey-smooth putting helped him to his first victory when he shot a net 67 to easily head division two. Joint second, a long way behind, were Bryn Jones, Sunny Ruthsip and Norman Brooks, all firing net 78’s.

Division one saw a closer contest with Alan Alexander, net 74, just heading off the challenge of Per Aschan on net 75 and Roy Mitchell with net 77.

Bill Jones and John King both managed to birdie the short par-three sixth on the A course and thus shared the Bunker Super Sawng award, whilst the hapless Len Jones suffered the indignity of the Bunker Banana Booby when he tore up his card after another of his stroke play disasters.

But for King Ken it was a day to remember at Noble Place, his first Bunker victory.

Find out more at http://www.thebunkerboys.com

Gordon gets his due

PSC Three Sisters Golf

On Tuesday the 7th of May, the Three Sisters Golfers met at Siam at the usual time. Last week the weather threatened as the thunder and lightning swirled around the golf course. This week the heavens opened up and poured down on the golfers as they made the turn.

As the waters rose in puddles and flooded the fairways, up floated Gordon McKnight to the top of the heap. Gordon, who was at the bottom of the pile just a few weeks ago, showed the rest of the field how to be a mudder. While the rest of the field floundered on the back nine or quit, Gordon got down to business and went right on passing the rest of the field coming in with 37 points.

Both Ian Edwards and Doug Powell floundered on the back nine and came in just short of Gordon - both came in with 36 points.

As the soggy cards arrived it was noted that some players did not complete their rounds and some did not turn in their cards. Due to this fact, no one could be found who actually held the bottom spot for the week. As it was, Gordon got the bragging rights and the rest of us got to eat ham sandwiches chased by cold beer. Next week Monday will be the golfing day as no holiday has been declared. See you all then.

Sofitel and Thai-Golf Dot Com sponsor charity golf

Tournaments to benefit HM Queen Sirikit’s charities

Accor’s premier Sofitel Hotel brand and Thai-Golf.com have launched a series of charity golf tournaments with the next event set for 24 May at Natural Park, Ram-Indra Golf Course near Bangkok.

This unique partnership will sponsor a total of five tournaments, under the Thai-Golf Sofitel Charity Tournament banner, during 2002. A five-year agreement between Sofitel and Thai-Golf.com means the concept will continue to grow and develop in coming years.

The 2002 tournament series will end with a prestigious Pro-Am tournament at Springfield Country Club in Hua Hin on 13-14 December, with the gala dinner and awards ceremony held at Sofitel Central Hua Hin Resort after the event.

The winner will be given the honor of personally presenting a check from the charity events to HM Queen Sirikit. A target of 300,000 baht (US$7,000) has been set for the first year.

Chief operating officer Asia, Jean-Marc Loustalet, said Accor was proud to sponsor the event with its prestigious Sofitel Hotel brand. “We are especially pleased that the Thai-Golf Sofitel Charity Tournament will benefit Support Foundations of HM Queen Sirikit of Thailand. Accor is honored to support charities in Thailand under Royal Patronage, and we look forward to a long and successful relationship in partnership with Thai-Golf.com.”

Thai-Golf.com CEO, Mr. Hochart, said the tournament would help benefit a worthy cause and raise awareness on golf in Thailand. “This is a long term commitment to both HM Queen Sirikit’s charities and the development Thailand’s golf industry. Thai-Golf Sofitel Charity Tournaments will be an annual event that will run for at least the next five years and hopefully longer.”

Thai-Golf.com is billed as Thailand’s most comprehensive and authoritarian on-line golf community. The bi-lingual site in Thai and English offers a complete ‘golf encyclopedia’ on Thailand, featuring course and destination information, special green fees at selected courses and a calendar of major golf events. Thai-Golf.com provides players with a one-stop handicapping service to help establish a more uniformed handicap system for golfers in Thailand.

Never give up - it’s only a game!

(Part 1)

by Mike Franklin

A wayward drive at the seventeenth, only thirty-one Stableford points on the card, weather and course conditions quite good and a number of consistent ‘in-form’ players in the field competing for the division trophy, so really not worth bothering about. Wrong!

Never give up, as the other players may well have experienced the problems you had. So, you back-off, and with no shot at the seventeenth you make a double-bogey for zero points and net par the eighteenth for two, ending up with a lousy 33 points. No chance of winning? Wrong!

At the prize giving, thirty-five Stableford points won the division, thirty-four was runner-up, and you are in an ‘if only I...’ state of mind in the knowledge that you might have won at least second place had you not given up! Does that scenario ring a bell - I bet it does?

Consider another situation. A forty minute drive to the course and running late, a quick ham, cheese and egg croissant and cup of strong coffee, get to the first tee just in time with no warm-up, a couple of quick swishes with the driver, a slightly unsteady placing of the ball on the tee peg, and the finest duck-hook you ever played, straight into the lake.

Maybe a little tense then, after no points on that hole and you are thinking, “It’s a good thing it is not a medal round”. The second hole is not much better and still with zero points on the card. So, with such a bad start a “what’s the point” attitude takes over, not to mention the poor caddy who has another three and a half hours of this to go and the prospect of not getting much of a tip.

Now, you have two options. First, accept that you were in no fit condition or state of mind to tee-off successfully, forget the first two holes and start afresh with the intention of being relaxed and enjoying the rest of the round. Don’t worry about the score or what your playing partners are doing, just play the course, have fun and the points will probably come.

Second, use the rest of the round to advantage. Forget about winning, and concentrate on trying new and different shots than habit dictates. Use an eight iron around the greens instead of a wedge; putt with a three wood from off the green; try low punch shots with a seven or four iron; or play the driver in the fairway off a good lie on the par fives. Be creative, don’t be afraid to try new things and don’t get upset if it doesn’t work. The ability to ‘scramble’out of trouble on a golf course is a great asset for an amateur golfer and essential for the professionals. Who better than Severiano Ballesteros - against Tom Lehman in a Ryder Cup a few years back, and recently in April this year when he beat Colin Montgomery in his own ‘Ryder Cup style’ tournament, the Golf Seve Trophy 2002 at Druids Glen, Wicklow, Ireland.

Both were captains of their respective sides, Continental Europe vs Britain & Ireland, and theirs was the showpiece first singles match. Monty was playing his usual steady game while Seve, charismatic as ever, was all over the place off the tee but recovering well and gave a fine exhibition of professional ‘scrambling’ and exciting golf to win for the second time against Monty in this tournament.

Golf - it’s only a game, but a unique game in the sense that players of differing standards can play on equal terms due to the handicap systems that are applied all over the world.

Whatever stroke concession you receive as your handicap, it is that number of ‘free’ golf shots that is intended to position you at level par against the golf course you are playing. This is especially true and fair, and works best when playing the home course from where your handicap originates.

In Thailand, we play many fine courses of different standards and levels of difficulty and do so applying our lowest current handicap, from whatever source. So, it is likely that the potential for a good score is greater at say, Phoenix or Pattaya Country Club than St. Andrews 2000, Laem Chabang B & C courses, or Khao Kheow A & B.

All enjoyable nonetheless, and aren’t we lucky (title for a future article about the courses) to have so much choice and top quality golf less than one hour drive away.

House of the Golden Coin wins PSC Bowling Championship

The House of the Golden Coin resided in pole position at the end of season party for the Pattaya Sports Club Friday Bowling league. Captain Mio Aamlid led her team to victory after staying atop of the league table for most of the season. Notably, Mio also received the award for ladies highest series for her magical score of 666.

All the winners and friends of the Pattaya Sports Club Friday Bowling League at the end of season awards presentation party last week.

Next on the prize list was VFW 9876 team in second spot followed by the Sultans of Swing falling into third place.

The traditional end of season party, held the Mai Kai Restaurant on Tuesday May 14th, once again proved be the highlight of the year for the PSC keglers, as the Friday bowling squad celebrated in style.

PSC Bowling chairperson La Montgomery had run another great season and all bowlers and spouses were full of praise for her efforts. La also received an award for the rolling the league’s high game with handicap for the season, a 266.

The new Bowling season began last Friday May 17th.

Results

Season Winners 2001-2002 PSC Friday Bowling
House of the Golden Coin: Mio, Otto, Porn and Supman

Second Place Team
VFW Post 9876: Morn, Lek, Ooy and Jim

Third Place Team
Sultans of Swing: Dang, Ken, Tony and Peter

High Game Men Scratch
Bill - 256

High Game Women’s Scratch
Nual - 245

High Game Men Handicap
Jon - 253

High Game Women Handicap
La - 266

High Series Men Scratch
Tony - 616

High Series Women Scratch
Mio - 666

High Series Men Handicap
Hartmut - 674

High Series Women Handicap
Porn - 687

Malcolm Clare wins Shenanigans Combined Stableford with - Guess Who?

by Mike Franklin

Yes, and still desperate for press coverage, George Jackson had the good sense to pair with Malcolm Clare and take podium spot again in the 14th May Shenanigans Combined Stableford competition. George’s modest contribution of 35 points, combined with Malcolm’s 39 points, was enough to take first place with a team score of 74 Stableford points.

Cool George “I Wear My Sunglasses At Night” Jackson (left) and amiable and much-improved golfer Malcolm Clair (right) get congratulations from Mike Franklin (center) for winning the Shenanigans Combined Stableford competition at Eastern Star on Tuesday, May 14.

This is a game where you never give up and, whilst the Woodruffes returned a score of 71 points - in their view not enough to be in the frame - it was enough to claim the runners-up spot.

Near pins went to Im Woodruffe’s very close shot on the fourth, and to Malcolm Clare, Maren Panthong and Philippe Berra on holes eight, twelve and fifteen respectively. Kim Fletcher sank the longest putt on the ninth and Steve Ryser on the eighteenth.

The weather stayed dry with plenty of clouds and a strong breeze. The course was in fine shape, with more drainage improvements made to the bunkers and the greens were good.

The conditions clearly suited Kim Fletcher who, with an excellent 44 Stableford points, returned the best individual score of the day. Obviously pointless awarding him a Shenanigans voucher so we opted to give him an extra day off instead, to go out and do it again! A good move on his handicap though.

The twenty-four players on the day included two new members, Wayne Vozia and Chris ‘C.J.’ Schwaller who were duly welcomed at the very friendly prize giving back at Shenanigans.

Next time out is on Tuesday May 28th for a Pairs Better Ball. Sign-up at Shenanigans in pairs please, or as a single and we will find you a partner.