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Bualong and Paenyaem star at
Thai National Laser Championships
Chris Dando
Strong winds and rough seas greeted the 26
competitors as they rigged their boats for the 2010 Thai Laser
Nationals at Royal Varuna Yacht Club over the weekend of
February 20/21. This was the first of several National and
International Laser events being held at Varuna from February to
April.
Keerati Bualong, the National standard rig Laser Champion 2010.
From March 6-12, the 2010 Asia Pacific Laser
Championship, combined with the 2010 Asia Pacific Laser Masters
Championship, will be sailed. This event has already got 74 entries from
over 11 countries including America, Australia and Europe as well as
Asia.
After this there is the 2010 World Laser 4.7 Youth
Championship from March 31 to April 8. This is one of the premier World
Championships for competitors between the ages of 12 and 18. So far this
has attracted 112 of the world’s top youth sailors from 27 different
countries.
There were several nervous faces amongst the sailors
as the fleet set off from the beach for the first of 4 races of the
Nationals on Saturday, Feb. 20. The south-easterly wind was opposed by a
strong tide kicking up some big waves.
Race 1 was started promptly just after noon with the
first of a series of excellent courses set by Varuna’s resident race
officers Visanu and Sukit. The reigning Thai Laser National Champion,
Keerati Bualong, showed his intention from the start by leading the
fleet home in the standard rig class, followed home by Philippe
Narbonne.
In the radial rig class, Natthawut Paenyaem dominated
his competitors with an easy win. In fact he was quicker with his
slightly smaller radial rig than almost everyone except Bualong. In the
4.7 class for the competitors under 18, Chaichunawut Deenak also opened
his score with an excellent first place.
Despite the tide doing its best to force everyone
over the start line before the start signal, the following 3 races got
underway without any false starts. The conditions continued to provide
challenging but superb sailing for all. Bualong, Paenyaem, and Deenak
continued as in the first race and won all the races in their respective
classes on the first day.
In the standard class, Narbonne picked up a further 2
second places but suffered in the third race of the day, when a
significant wind shift on the last beat favoured the opposite side of
the course to the one he was on. This allowed the scribe (Chris Dando)
and Chualapong Chanyim to slip though to claim second and third
respectively.
After the first day’s racing, although the respective
leaders were dominating, there was all to play for to secure second in
all the fleets. There were also many very tired faces ashore after 4
hard very competitive races.
Sunday dawned with a repeat of the previous day’s
conditions, although possibly the wind was even slightly stronger!
Bualong and Paenyaem continued their dominance. In fact they probably
enjoyed themselves by racing more against each other than against their
competitors in the respective fleets!
The fight for second place in the standard class was
still open amongst 5 competitors. Eventually Kevin Whitcraft, the
Commodore of RVYC, pulled through to secure the runner up slot by
sailing an excellent 4 races on the Sunday. He managed just to triumph
over Narbonne – in fact they ended up with the same number of points but
under the rules to resolve ties, Whitcraft was given second.
Royal Varuna Yacht Club, venue of the 2010 World Laser
4.7 Youth Championship in April.
In the radial class, Kamolwan Chanyim scored 3
further second places and a third to pull through to second over Oat.
This was a great performance especially as she also finished the leading
female competitor, and was sailing superbly in the very testing physical
conditions. Also in the radial class, Malcolm Humphreys finished as the
winner of the Great Grand Master category for those over 65 years old.
Again, what a great performance in the rough conditions!
In the 4.7 class, Deenak didn’t have everything his
own way as he had on the Saturday. Supakon Pongwichean won both the
first and last races of the day. Sittisart Ponpun sailed a great second
race to score his first victory, with Deenak winning the third race.
Overall for the weekend, Deenak had done enough to win fairly
comfortably from Pongwichean in second.
It was an excellent weekend of sailing and everyone
knew they had sailed a tough but memorable 2010 Thai National
Championship!
It was also excellent preparation for the coming events in Thailand
at Varuna. Please join us in supporting and wishing good luck to the
Thai teams competing in both events! Sponsorship/advertising packages
are still available for the 4.7 Worlds; please contact RVYC (generalmanager
@varuna.org) for details.
More than 400 youngsters attend
Pattaya United selection camp
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
In response to the new Asian Football Confederation (AFC)
regulations, Pattaya United will field a team in the Thai Premier Youth
League this coming season with five players from the youth team being
eligible for selection by the senior squad each week.
Some 400 young soccer players attended the Pattaya United youth team trials.
A training camp was held last month at the Nongprue
Municipality field with the first selection round on February 13 and 14,
and the final round on February 21. More than 400 local youngsters and
those in areas nearby attended, all with the dream of forging a career
in the Thai Premier League or beyond. The last selection process
whittled the numbers down to a final 25 who will make up this year’s
youth team roster.
Wisut Wichaya (Head Coach of the youth team and
Former Assistant Coach of the Pattaya United first team) said that all
the youngsters who presented themselves for selection had good personal
ability and football skills and he wanted to thank everyone for coming
down to try out for the team.
The Thai Youth Premier League has 10 teams in participation with all
the players having a maximum age of 22 years. The youth league kicks off
this month in parallel with the Thai Premier League.
City grind out another win
MBMG International League 2009/10
Paul Frain
Pattaya City took on the German All Stars in an away fixture last
Saturday, wary of the fact that the 7th placed outfit from Bangkok has a
habit of getting good results against the top teams. City knew that it would
be a hard match and so it proved, with both sides trying to get the upper
hand from the outset but with little coming in the way of goal scoring
chances.
Eventually Pattaya began to assert their class on the
game and after Craig Banks had seen his shot superbly saved by the German
keeper, City took the lead on their next attack when Banks cleverly back
heeled the ball to Phompong Fungkajorn, whose low shot found the back of the
net to make it 1-0 to City.
The German bar and post were both hit as Pattaya piled on
the pressure and only another good save by the All Stars keeper stopped City
from going further ahead. It wasn’t however all one way traffic and the
Germans brought two brilliant saves from City’s keeper as they sought an
equalizer. With half time approaching the Germans had a couple of further
half chances but they were not taken and Pattaya went into the break one
goal up.
The second half began like the first with both teams
competing fiercely for the midfield advantage but with few chances being
created by either side. This pattern of play continued until City’s Johan
Radebach put a great ball through the middle of the German defense for
Phompong Fungkajorn to run onto from 40 yards, and he made no mistake to
score City’s and his own second goal.
Despite the two goal advantage the match was far from
over as the Germans continued looking for a way back into the game and the
Pattaya defense had to be alert to the danger posed by the All Star
forwards. As the clock ticked down however, it was City who had the best
chance to seal the game late on, but the chance was squandered.
The final whistle went with City winning 2-0 but it was a
gritty hard match in which the Pattaya players had had to work very hard to
grind out a win that puts them further ahead in the table.
MBMG International League Div. 1
Pos. Team P W D L F A +/- Pts
1 Pattaya City 13 11 1 1 48 14 34 34
2 British Club Casuals 13 8 2 3 37 24 13 26
3 Bulls Head 12 8 2 2 35 23 12 26
4 Londoner FC 14 7 2 5 40 25 15 23
5 Cosmos FC 14 7 2 5 26 21 5 23
*Top five positions shown only*
Kideada scores hat-trick in FC
Nova romp
With results going against them in recent weeks FC Nova
were looking for a maximum three points from their fixture against seventh
placed Pickled Liver last weekend, and they wasted no time in going ahead
when Makhip Kideada cross/shot sailed under the bar to make it 1-0. Nova’s
leading scorer Paul Darbyshire then made it 2-0 after a lot of pressure was
placed on the Pickled Liver’s goal.
Pickled Liver then had a player sent off and went further
behind when Darbyshire saw the keeper off his line and sent a superb long
chip over the goalie’s head and into the net to make it 3-0. Nova continued
to press but at half time they had to settle for a 3-0 lead.
After the break the Pickled Liver made an all out assault
on the Nova goal and scored when FC’s keeper let a centre slip through his
hands to make it 3-1. Liver then hit the post after applying more pressure,
but it was FC Nova who scored next when another cross/shot by Andy Robertson
went into the net to make it 4-1. Liver started wilting and it was the
stronger side FC who scored again with Kideada netting his second to make it
5-1.
FC began to overrun the Pickled Liver defense with Bjorn
Ellingsen scoring next with a simple tap in to make it 6-1. The same player
received his marching orders soon after however, so both teams were down to
ten men, but it was Aluk Pongpang who scored again for Nova to make the
score 7-1 and Kideada completing the scoring before the end to make it 8-1
and secure his hat trick.
This was a very good performance by FC Nova and gets them
back on track with an outside chance of still taking one of the promotion
places.
Note: If there is anybody who would like to join the
team and play, please give Stuart a ring on 085 287 8885. There is training
on two nights each week.
MBMG International League Div. 2
Pos Team P W D L F A +/- Pts
1 Siam Celtic FC 14 9 3 2 39 20 19 30
2 Samitivej Hospital 13 9 0 4 45 25 20 27
3 Robin Hood FC 13 7 3 3 30 20 10 24
4 Bangkok United 14 7 2 5 36 27 9 23
5 FC Nova Pattaya 13 6 1 6 29 38 -9 19
*Top five positions shown only*
Auto Alliance golf tourney raises 600,000 baht for needy children
The golfers line up for a group photo
at the start of the
inaugural Auto Alliance Charity Golf Scramble.
Two hundred and forty four golfers eagerly set off with
their caddies on Saturday, Feb. 20 to take part in the inaugural Auto
Alliance Charity Golf Scramble. First up for the golfers, however, was a
haunting performance by the musical students from Father Ray Foundation
School for the Blind, which was a great start to the day at the luxurious
Pattana Golf & Sports Resort, Siracha City.
The Directors of Auto Alliance, Rayong’s most important
spare parts supplier, and a Ford/Mazda affiliated company, had invited their
customers from all along the Eastern Seaboard to enjoy a day of golf and to
help raise funds to feed the 850 abused, abandoned children and disabled
young adults that Father Ray Foundation cares for in Pattaya.
In addition to the lure of possibly attaining that “Hole
in One” to win a bright green Mazda, the golfers were treated so some of the
most exciting entertainment in the area.
Father Ray Foundation boys from The Children’s Home
performed a memorable presentation of Thai Boxing. The youngsters, oldest 14
and youngest 7, showed admirably the focus and precision required to be
proficient at this sport.
Stars of the night, though, were the Father Ray
Vocational School students’ Wheelchair Brake Dancing Troup. Two hundred
sportsmen from Thailand, Europe and Japan, sat on the edges of their seats,
holding their breath as the fearless young disabled men performed near
impossible feats of courage and strength.
The organizers and the Father Ray Foundation wish to
thank Auto Alliance and their customers for their donations which can
provide rice to feed all the 850 children at the home for six months; by
which time the planning for the 2nd Auto Alliance
Charity Golf Scramble should be well underway, attracting hopefully an even
bigger turnout of golfers.
If anyone would like to support the Father Ray Foundation children and
disabled young adults in the meantime, donations can be made at
www.fr-ray.org.
Platu Championships at
Ocean Marina next weekend
Peter Cummins
The Thailand Platu Open Championship will be sailed off the Ocean
Marina, Jomtien, from 11 – 14 March 2010 and it represents the first round of
the year-long Quantum One Design Platu Championship 2010.
The Thailand Platu Open Championships will take place from March 11-14.
This popular event has been extended to provide more
sailing for long distance racing. As well as the two-day open on
Saturday/Sunday (13, 14 March), there will be a practice race on Thursday
(11 March), followed by a one-day event, to be known as the Blue Seas Marine
Challenge on Friday.
The continually-increasing recognition of this series is
accentuated this year with entrants from Australia, Denmark, Italy, Japan,
Malaysia, Russia and, of course, a large contingent from host country
Thailand.
The President of the International Platu class, Eduardo
Barni, will also participate - as trimmer for the current champion Aussie
Scott Duncanson on “The Ferret”.
Although not an International event as such, the entry
list extends the scope beyond the Kingdom, with the quality and quantity of
the entrants advancing every year.
At the Ocean Marina Yacht Club base, Thailand and its One
Design fleet of Platus is continuously gaining recognition and the annual
Quantum One Design Platu Championship is the top award for the year.
Check out web-site, www. OMYCsailing.com (Platu Section ) for the Notice
of Race and full details of this year’s championship, or contact the
organizer, Kev Scott at [email protected];mobile +66 878 25 00 11.
Corner seals it with
win at Phoenix
PSC golf from The Bunker Bar
Monday, Feb. 22, The Emerald -
Stableford
Playing a Stableford round at Emerald there was a smaller
field than usual but it didn’t bother Tom Jones. Tom had his best round in a
while and he put it all down to his new driver that he bought himself for
his birthday, winning with 37 points.
Mike Corner - February golfer of the month.
Tony Scambler had a decent round also, as he has been
struggling lately, but he took the runner up spot a few points behind Tom.
Alan Sullivan came third and Marion Melia beat fellow lady golfer Jackie
McPherson on a count back to claim fourth place.
1st Tom Jones (24) 37pts
2nd Tony Scambler (10) 34pts
3rd Alan Sullivan (13) 32pts
4th Marion Melia (19) 30pts
Near Pins: Marion Melia, Jackie McPherson, Mike Corner, Terry Pike.
Wednesday, Feb. 24,
Mountain Shadow – Stableford
Tony Scambler had another good round, winning the A Flight with
38 points. Takeshi beat Gerry Cooney on a count back to claim second place
with Dave Dolle, also having the same number of points, losing out after
having had a poor back nine!
Dave Warburton had the best round of the day scoring 41
points to easily win the B Flight, Laurence Harding took second place, which
put him in the lead for the golfer of the month title race, and Paul Edgar
came third a couple of points further back.
A Flight
1st Tony Scambler (9) 38pts
2nd Takeshi Hakozaki (14) 35pts
3rd Gerry Cooney (13) 35pts
B Flight
1st Dave Warburton (24) 41pts
2nd Laurence Harding (18) 35pts
3rd Paul Edgar (17) 33pts
Near Pins: Gerry Cooney, John Hughes, Paul Edgar and Tom Jones.
Friday, Feb. 26, Phoenix -
Medal
Playing a Medal round at Phoenix we had identical scores
in both the A and B Flights. The cut was set at handicap 18 and Mashi got
back to winning ways, winning the A Flight with a one under score. Tony
Robbins came second a shot behind and Gary Warburton beat Gerry Cooney on a
count back to claim third place one further shot behind.
With the same scores Mike Corner won the B Flight, these
points being enough to win Mike the February golfer of the month title. PJ
came in as runner up and, as in the A Flight, Tom Jones claimed third place
beating Neil Griffin on a count back.
A Flight
1st Mashi Kaneta (11) net 71
2nd Tony Robbins (15) net 72
3rd Gary Warburton (15) net 73
B Flight
1st Mike Corner (21) net 71
2nd PJ Redmond (19) net 72
3rd Tom Jones (24) net 73
Near Pins: Rod Stevens, Dave Warburton and Tony Scambler.
Riggall rules the roost
The third annual Tara Court Cup took place
on February 16 & 18 at Khao Kheow and Laem Chabang golf courses. This
36-hole stableford competition featured local residents and visiting
competitors from Ireland, UK, USA and Australia.
Mark Riggall, right, celebrates his Tara Court Cup victory.
The winner of the trophy and 6 nights free accommodation
at the Tara Court was Mark Riggall who hails from Sunderland in the North
East of England. He was presented with his prize and trophy at O’Gara’s Bar
and Grill in the ground floor of the Tara Court on Pratumnak Hill, Pattaya.
Commenting on his victory, Mark said, “This is the
biggest golf prize I have ever won. I stay in the Tara Court regularly and I
was lucky that I could enter the event this year. The final day was a real
battle with at least 6 of us in the hunt going into the final 9 holes.”
The Tara Court Cup is sponsored by the Tara Court and O’Gara’s Bar and
Grill. The event was organised and managed by Solar Golf – a leading golf
tour operator and event management specialists.
Worboys wins battle with elements and field
PSC golf from The Golf Club
Monday, Feb 22, Green
Valley - Monthly Medal
1st Keith Worboys (19) net 67
2nd Marc Napier (8) net 69
3rd Steve Weller (8) net 71
4th
John McHugh (8) net 71
Many eyes gazed skyward while we waited for the
troops to gather on the first tee of Green Valley, preparing to do
battle for the coveted winners golf shirt and entrance into the Monthly
Medal Winners Club. The first 3 groups got away and then Mother Nature
reigned supreme. After a 25 minute delay the rest set of the boys set
off and the battle ensued.
Keith Worboys, the February monthly medal winner, celebrates with Brad from the Golf Club.
Keith “The Traveller” Worboys proved to be a good
mudder and bested the field with a net 67; his hours of relentless
practice prior to game day paying dividends. The steady Marc Napier was
close on Keith’s heels with a net 69. Steve “The Shaft” Weller finished
with a complete set of clubs for a change and was on net 71, nipping
McHugh in a controversial count back for third place honors.
A big thanks to Bob “You can’t teach that” for
smoothly navigating the van to and fro. Cheers mate!
Wednesday, Feb. 24,
Phoenix - Stableford
1st Marleen Prudden (23) 36pts
2nd Bob Allen (15) 34pts
3rd Marc Napier (8) 32pts
A big welcome to Bryan Carroll, Chris Rolston and JR Reeves for joining
us once again. The usual rush to the tee was quickly pre-empted by the
notorious “one more 5-ball” and then we began.
Once again the pins were delicately placed and
putting was the shot or shots of the day. Marleen Prudden proved the
putter of the day as well as the best looking Van Captain we’ve had in a
while. She finished with 36 points and was gracious in victory, only
slagging us mere mortals half the time. Marleen has been on form of late
and although we will miss her around the club, she and hubby Brian will
be heading back Down Under all too soon.
Bob “The Wanderer” Allen scored 34 points for second,
celebrating again after a birthday bash. Marc Napier finished in third
with a 32 point performance.
Friday, Feb. 26,
Bamgpra – Stableford
1st Brad Sproxton (11) 38pts
2nd Steve Mulberry (11) 38pts
3rd Peter Hynard (15) 37pts
4th Bob Newell (8) 32pts
Brad “ the Mountie “ placed in first for this day with 38 points with a
count back win over Steve Mulberry. Peter “the quiet one” placed third
with 37 points.
One can only wonder if the absence of the monkeys on
this day was due to the chatter competition. It should be noted that
Peter wiped the 18th after balding a sand shot
from greenside, causing a few on the clubhouse deck to scatter like the
infamous monkeys. Bob “you can’t teach that” Newell finished with 32
points.
Note: The Golf Club is located on Soi LK
Metro, off Soi Buakhao and Soi Diana junction. We can be reached on 085
434 3377 or [email protected] and our new website is www.
golfclubpattaya.com.
Gentlemen - please respect your caddies
Golf from the Travellers Rest
Saturday’s winners: John Baxter, Tewin Lamthong,
Michael Prideaux, Marlene Pruddden and Moreton Mooers.
Barry Hooper
I am taking a slightly different direction in my report
this week. I had decided this week to not have a whine at anything but had
to change my mind after a trip out mid-week. I oversaw some of the most
offensive behaviour towards a caddy to date and that really made me want to
hide and ashamed to be considered a Farang in this beautiful country.
I am always reminded that we as foreigners in Thailand
are “guests” – and that is no different when you are out on the golf course.
The abuse towards the caddy in question was not within
our own organisation but a group that were in front of us. I am not sure
from which bar or organisation.
I am certain that fellow golfers really need no reminder
that we should always consider ourselves very lucky to have the services of
caddies when playing here at what are very reasonable costs. So why do some
golfers feel that they should be used as the target of there own
inadequacies when things are not going so well?
Always remember the golf club is in your hands - not the
caddies - so if you do not like their opinion on a shot etc. then don’t ask
for it.
On a much lighter note I want to offer my personal thanks
to the management of the St. Andrews 2000 Company Limited who sent out an
invite to the golf organisers in the Pattaya area to hold a meeting and
discuss a better way forward for golf on their courses during 2010.
I was asked to attend and represent the TRGG along with
some sixteen or so other organisers. I must say I was duly impressed with
the frankness of the chairman on the day, Narongdej Sinthukiow. At the
outset he offered an apology to those in attendance for past inadequacies in
the way that problems had been allowed to occur and then badly handled over
past months.
The tone of the meeting was very constructive and not
obstructive. Not everyone agreed with all discussed but I left the meeting
optimistic that the future at Green Valley/St. Andrews could only improve if
the management does what it says it will do and listens properly to any
problems or complaints that may occur and deals with them appropriately.
But I am reminded that it will take cooperation from all
of us involved in organised golf to pull together and make it work.
Sorry no full written reports on play this week, just a
full results list. If you want any further information about the golf
outings played by the TRGG please contact Fergus Brennan on 086 056 7019 or
call in to the Travellers Rest in Soi LK Metro.
Monday, Feb. 22, Crystal Bay – Stableford
Div. 1
1st Ed Brubaker (10) 38pts
2nd Tristan Gilbert (13) 37pts
3rd Ben Durham (10) 34pts
Div. 2
1st Roger Wilkinson (16) 37pts
2nd Don Erickson (28) 37pts
3rd Frank Courtney (17) 32pts
2’s: Ben Durham, Billy Gray, Fergus Brennan, Steve
Carlton, Graham Johnson, Brian Prudden
Tuesday, Feb. 23, Emerald - Stableford
Div. 1
1st Ed Brubaker (10) 37pts
2nd Maurice Herbergs (9) 34pts
3rd Brendan Moore (12) 33pts
Div. 2
1st Tristan Gilbert (13) 40pts
2nd Ted Senior (13) 34pts
3rd Paul Whitnall (13) 32pts
Div. 3
1st Alan Evans (24) 39pts
2nd Neil Allison (18) 32pts
3rd Philippe Tellechea (24) 31pts
2’s: Mod Chaviraksa
Thursday, Feb. 25, Phoenix – Stableford
Div. 1
1st Garry Blackborne (8) 38pts
2nd Simon Spaulding (0) 37pts
3rd Hugh Byrne (12) 36pts
Div. 2
1st Mike Rushant (13) 37pts
2nd Pierre Bourgault (14) 36pts
3rd Ted Senior (13) 33pts
2’s: Garry Blackborne
Saturday, Feb. 27, Khao Kheo C&A - Stableford
Div. 1
1st Moreton Mooers (6) 37pts
2nd Mike McPhee (7) 34pts
3rd Bill Shepley (3) 31pts
4th Nick Hand (8) 31pts
Div. 2
1st Tewin Lamthong (9) 36pts
2nd Michael Prideaux (12) 34pts
3rd Mike Rushant (12) 33pts
4th Tristant Gilbert (12) 33pts
Div. 3
1st Marlene Prudden (23) 37pts
2nd John Baxter (15) 34pts
3rd Laurinn Brinn (24) 33pts
4th Bo Benjaminson (15) 30pts
2’s: Jon Lay, Bo Benjaminson, Michael Prideaux, Kurt Bertelson, Mike
Rushant, Bill Shepley.
Hunter Gosden wins back to back
PSC Golf from the Café Kronborg
Peter Blackburn
Monday, Feb. 22, Pleasant Valley – Stableford
On a beautiful Monday morning there were thirty-seven
very keen golfers assembled at Caf้ Kronborg and ready for our first
competition of the week at the testing Pleasant Valley golf course.
Hearty welcomes were handed out to Ringo Ng, Ringo Lam and Jacky Wau
from Hong Kong. Also Jim Ball from the Isle of Man and Tony & Tha
Bolton, also from the Isle of Man.
Thursday’s winners, Mike Gosden, Leif Kirkgaard and Alan Ewing with The Admiral.
After the 50 minute journey we arrived at the course
in plenty of time to relax as it was quite busy and our scheduled tee
time was not until just after 1000. Our first group finally teed off
behind a group of five at 1010 in magnificent conditions for golf, hot
but with a nice cooling breeze.
I know I keep saying this but the course is looking
better every time we play here although we did find the greens somewhat
“furry” at times which made long downhill putts a bit tricky. The
five-ball in front hardly held us up at all and even after three lengthy
drink stops our round was completed in the good time of four hours &
twenty minutes.
Aussie Mike (Hunter) Gosden had another “day out” and
finished first in the A Flight, three points ahead of yours truly. Tha
Bolton finished in third place beating Elias Magnusson on a count back.
It was a good day for the visiting Boltons as Tha’s
husband Tony won the B Flight with a great 43 points. The hapless Mike
Winfield finished second with his 39 points which would normally have
been good enough to win. Svend Gaarde finished third with Cees Bosman in
fourth place.
C Flight was won by Graham Buckingham on a count back
from the now apparently fully recovered Hugh O’Donnell (hope I’m still
breathing let alone playing golf at the age of 79!). Another count back
saw Alan Ewing finish third ahead of Kenny Chung. Stu Rifkin, the
current holder of the “Compass Hat” won the award for the second
consecutive time and presented the trophy to himself in very good
spirit.
A Flight
1st Mike Gosden (8) 39pts
2nd Peter Blackburn (14) 37pts
3rd Tha Bolton (15) 36pts
4th Elias Magnusson (18) 36pts
B Flight
1st Tony Bolton 21) 43pts
2nd Mike Winfield (21) 39pts
3rd Svend Gaarde (22) 37pts
4th Cees Bosman (21) 35pts
C Flight
1st Graham Buckingham (23)
38pts
2nd Hugh O’Donnell (23) 38pts
3rd Alan Ewing (24) 37pts
4th Kenny Chung (26) 37pts
Near Pins: No5 Mick O’Connor, No8 Niels Hansen,
No13 Tha Bolton, No17 Tony Bolton.
Long Putts: No9 Stu Rifkin, No18 Niels Hansen
Thursday, Feb. 25, luang S&E - Stableford
The popularity of our Caf้ Kronborg golf outlet
continued as a full field of 40 golfers assembled in readiness for the
journey to Plutaluang. We welcomed back Aussie Paul (Muncha) Moloney, on
R & R from his drilling assignment in Northern Thailand and also his
Dad, Les (Papa Muncha) Moloney visiting from Australia.
After departing just a touch before 0815 we arrived
at the course fifty minutes later and were delighted to find out
that we could tee off at our leisure and use two tees. Our first group
therefore hit off on South course at 0925 as did our sixth group on East
course. Many thanks to the Starter as it certainly appeases the ones
that are in the latter groups and affords us more time to relax
afterwards and enjoy the fine food & facilities in the spacious
restaurant. The weather was fine and hot and the course in great shape
although some greens were a tad on the slow side.
With the departure of Monte Sykes we appear to have
another consistent winner with Mike (Hunter) Gosden winning the A Flight
for the second time this week. Ted Morris finished in second place with
Brian Gabe third and Paul Avery fourth.
My old mate Aussie Stu Rifkin was sitting in the
restaurant feeling quite relaxed and confident after his 39 points in B
Flight but alas, he was seven points adrift of the winner Leif
Kirkgaard. Congratulations on a great 46 points Leif and don’t forget to
check the handicap listings for next week! Laurence Harding finished in
third place with Jan Lovgreen fourth.
Alan Ewing continued his run of good form (due to
some new clubs he tells me) and finished first in C Flight with The
Admiral himself just one point behind in second place. Another
consistent round saw veteran Hugh O’Donnell finish third (must try some
of this rear end surgery myself) and regular podium occupant Laurina
Brinn was fourth.
Stu Rifkin was delighted to hand back the “Compass
Hat” to Graham Buckingham after Stu had “clung on to it” for the last
two outings.
A Flight
1st Mike Gosden (8) 37pts
2nd Ted Morris (9) 35pts
3rd Brian Gabe (16) 34pts
4th Paul Avery (11) 33pts
B Flight
1st Leif Kirkgaard (21) 46pts
2nd Stu Rifkin (19) 39pts
3rd Laurence Harding (18) 33pts
4th Jan Lovgreen (21) 32pts
C Flight
1st Alan Ewing (24) 36pts
2nd Dave Richardson (23) 35pts
3rd Hugh O’Donnell (23) 34pts
4th Laurina Brinn (24) 32pts
Near Pins: S4 Klaus Kaergaard, S7 Mike Gosden, E2
Stu Rifkin, E5 Olli Popp.
Long Putts: S9 Walter Schoeber, E9 Mike Gosden.
Burnie & Harry - a perfect double act
Jomtien Golf with the IPGC
Monday 22nd
February, Rayong C.C. - Stableford
We had a slightly smaller field than normal with seven
cancellations overnight and two no-shows in the morning (who will not be
playing with us again). The course was found to be in good condition and
everyone was pleased. However, after the first group reached the par three
over the water, the 5th, the heavens opened and there
was a twenty minute delay before the skies cleared and play could resume.
Burnie Sinclair and Harry Vincenzi, the rainbow multiplier winners, celebrate with a staff member from Siam Cats.
In the first division Brian Kelly with 33 points beat Ron
Miller on a 19/15 count back for first after they both came in with 33
points; Neville Scurell was third one point behind. After a few months in
the doldrums Ben Findon took out the second division with 35 points, the old
man was second with 33 and Randy Flello, with 32 points, beat Rudi Schafer
on an 18/16 count back for third.
Near pins went to (Div 1) Timo Ahevenien, Jim Connelly,
Bill Hewitt and Bjorn Tunge, and (Div 2) Randy Flello, Ian Hart, Willy van
Heetvelde and Les Winch.
Wednesday, Feb. 24, Green Valley –Pairs Stableford
There were 19 pairs out today in our fun game of the
month, a rainbow multiplier. This was the first time we had ever tried this
format, so with a four-divisional individual stableford competition and the
pairs contest as well, it looked set to be an interesting day.
The ladies were playing 12 red tees and 6 white while the
men were off 6 red, 6 white and 6 blue, so this was a game of logic and
strategy with thought going into which tee was selected on each hole. There
were no predictions as to what score would win the pairs multiplier today
but as the cards came in the lowest score was 26 points, with no names
mentioned of course.
In fourth place with 59 points were Jimmy Johnson and
Bryan Rought; William Chang and Ron Morris took third spot with 66, Miss
Sang and Cully Monks garnered second with 68 and three points ahead and
winning with 71 points were Count Back Burnie and Harry Vincenzi.
Arvo Hiller and Bryan Rought shared the ‘2’s pot in
division 1 while Burnie Sinclair and Toni Stolten did the same in Division
2.
In the individual stableford scores there were a few
comments after the round that it was too complicated to work out and fill in
three cards, so next time we will revert back to a multiplier and the
rainbow in two separate games.
Div 1 (12-16)
1st Ron Miller 40pts
2nd Barry Stirling 37pts
3rd Mikael Andersson 35pts
Div 2 (17-20)
1st Cully Monks 39pts
2nd Harry Vincenzi 36pts
3rd Bryan Rought 34pts
Div 3 (21+)
1st Joe Kubon 36pts
2nd Jimmy Johnson 34pts
3rd Peter Grant 34pts
Ladies
1st Nar Hector 28pts
2nd Miss Sang 27pts
3rd Miss Nang 26pts
Near Pins: (Div 1) Arvo Hiller (2), Mikael Andersson,
Bryan Rought. (Div 2) Terry Redding, Burnie Sinclair, Bernd Floethner, Toni
Stoltsen, (Ladies) Nar Hector (2), Miss Nang.
Friday, Feb. 26, Eastern Star – Stableford
Another full field with eleven groups out today and at
exactly 9.30 we teed off bang on time. As we started, the first three holes
were very slow but this soon speeded up and another four-hour round took
place.
After his 40 points on Wednesday, and a reduction in his
handicap overnight, Ron Miller scored 37 points to win Division 1 while
Arthur Hancock beat his old friend Mikael Andersson on a back-three count
back of 6/4 for second place after they both came in with 35 points (18 back
nine). Mark Croper lost out with the same score but with only 17 on the back
nine.
Harry Vincenzi’s 39 points was unbeatable in Division 2,
and in his last game with us before his return to the UK, Wilf Latham came
second with 38 points, beating Tom Breslin on a 20/19 count back.
Jimmy Johnson was in the spotlight again, winning
Division 3 with 35 points after beating the Falklander Peter Grant on an
18/16 count back, with Ken Pridey in third three points behind.
There were an amazing five ‘2’s today, all in Division 1,
but this still raised a few smiles back at the presentation: Don Head and
Alan Griffiths birdied the 6th while there were three
on the 13th for Mikael Andersson, Fred Land and Harry
Vincenzi. There were no bells rung tonight!
Near pins went to (Div. 1) Narry Vincenzi, Ron Miller, Martin Grimoldby,
Fred Land, (Div. 2) Barry Rawlinson (2), Ken Pridey, (Ladies) Miss Nom, Miss
Nut (2)
Greenwood not breathing fire, but still a test
PSC Golf from Mulligans Lakeside
Tuesday, Feb. 23, The
Emerald – Stableford
Firstly on Tuesday, we were down to Emerald, where we had
2 flights, with the split coming at 19+. Today was our biggest field since
we kicked off, so it was great that Emerald co-operated, allowing us an
extra tee slot at short notice. The course was in good order, with greens
running true, although not as fast as they can sometimes be.
Tuesday’s A Flight winner Tony Weresay and double runner up Tony Chetland share a laugh.
Despite our larger than normal field, no-one was able to
tame the course, with only Tony Weresay (16) matching his handicap, to lead
the A Flight. He was followed in second by Tony Chetland (18) who just
squeaked by Allan Cassin (12) on a count back of the last 6 holes, after
both recorded 33 points. Graham Johnson (5) finished 1 rung lower with 32
points, also requiring a count back decision.
The B Flight was also hotly contested, with 78 year-old K
leading the way with 34 points, while second thru to fourth required count
backs before Wendy Chetland (31) led Mike Pledger (22) & Jimmy Fortune in,
all with 33 points. Alex Meldrum was the unluckiest golfer, also with 33,
but had a poor back 9, after playing well on the front.
Technical prizes were spread around between Tony C, Bob
E, Jeff W, and Mike P.
Thursday, Feb. 25, Greenwood - Stableford
Thursday we travelled north to Greenwood, where the B & C
combination was to be our test of the day. We had been anticipating “marble
staircase” type putting surfaces, but the fire had been doused at some time
in the interim, although the occasional downhill, down grain, downwind putt,
did provide some palpitations.
A smaller field today, so just the one flight, where we
saw Graham Johnson (5) continue his run of podiums, with a solid 35 points,
followed by Tony Chetland (18) with 32, while third spot went to Allan
Cassin (12) on 29, after edging Jeff on a count back on the last 3 holes.
The Near Pins were shared by Jeff, Graham & Tony, with 1
not won, providing the Banglamung Boys Home with a small donation.
Note: All those golfers who enjoy a good day of golf,
followed by a great evening of food & festivities, keep March 17 clear in
your calendar, as Mulligans Lakeside will be hosting a St Patrick’s Day
tournament. The format will be a 2 Man/Person Better Ball competition, with
the field limited to 24 teams. Rayong C.C. will be the venue for the day,
with tee off times from 9.44 am. A day & night not to miss, with great
prizes followed by great entertainment.
Mulligans Lakeside plays golf generally on Tuesday & Thursday (we
sometimes change to accommodate a Thai Holiday). Presentations are made at
the course on Tuesday, with Mulligans Lakeside hosting the Thursday
presentation. For more details on scheduling etc, please call Ray 081 935
8088. Hope to see you there, Cheers & Good Golfing!
Charles the champ on count back
PSC golf from Tropical Bert’s
Derek Brook
Tuesday, Feb. 23, Phoenix –Stableford
The test for the day was to be The Lakes and the Ocean
nines at Phoenix and on the day the fight would be against a strong wind.
This being the end of the month we also had the ‘Alan Bolton Golfer of the
Month’ award to be finalized and before the start of the day really anyone
could win, and as it happened so it turned out.
Golfer of the Month, Les Charles (left), in his new shirt, is congratulated by Dick Warberg.
We were soon booked in and at the start, where we were
able to get away a little early, and we soon found out the strength of the
wind. However, as usual Phoenix was in fine shape with well grassed fairways
and slick, fast and tricky greens.
The pace of play was good but we usually have one or two
4-balls that are a little slower and the wait in the restaurant was longer
than normal. Incidentally, the food in the restaurant here seems much better
of late but the annoyance of ++ continues and tips for the staff becomes a
problem. This is still one of the few courses that players seem to shun the
restaurant.
Talking of annoyance, the course has introduced a 1,000
baht payment for any golfer who needs a ‘Red Flag’ on his cart, so all you
golfers who have to take a cart to play, beware.
Back at Bert’s we got to the results where we saw that
the A Flight, 0 to 17, had performed better than the B Flight. In the B
Flight the winner was Ada Tse with 34 points on count back over Daryl Evans
in second. In third was Frank Pilkington with 31 points. In the A Flight the
winner was John Morrison with 39 points ahead of Doug Maiko in second with
37 points on count back over yours truly in third.
In the ‘Alan Bolton Golfer of the Month’ competition it
was back to the drawing board and count backs to decide the winner, but
finally Les Charles came out on top and in addition to a very ‘sexy’ bag he
also won an Alan Bolton shirt.
Near Pins: Peter Platt, Mashi, Brian Gabe, John
Morrison
Long Putts: John Morrison, Les Burns
Friday, Feb. 26, Plutaluang - Stableford
The end of February and virtually no crowds on the golf
courses: great for our relatively small group that signed up for the
venerable and difficult for some, Navy course. It was to be the South and
East nines this day and that made most of the group happy as it seems these
are the least difficult of the combinations available at this venue.
Upon arriving at the course, it was nice to see few
vehicles in the parking area and no one waiting on the first tee. So we were
off even a bit before our scheduled time.
The course was found in excellent condition with recently
cut fairways and rough, and the greens running as true as we have seen for
some time. Even the extent of excess watering that we have seen at this
course was minimal on this day. A pleasure to play and there were some good
scores to boot; even our venue Captain, who has often expressed displeasure
with this course, was complementary of the conditions.
The pace of play was also pretty good and our groups were
around in less than 4ฝ hours and all were headed back to town to learn the
results of the day.
Back at Tropical Bert’s, the score cards were tallied
and, due to no participant getting on the tough South No. 7 par 3, a fourth
place was awarded. With thanks to our hosts, Pu and Bert, the results
announced to end a very good day out.
1st Joel Flor (18) 41pts
2nd Derek Brook (15) 36pts
3rd Doug Maiko (12) 33pts
4th Kevin Dinan (23) 33pts
Near Pins: Daryl Evans, Tom Cotton, Dick Warberg.
Clark clobbers Khao Kheow
PSC golf from the Outback Golf Bar
Monday, Feb. 22, Burapha
- Stableford
Playing the A & B nines from the blues, a couple of new
names headed the Div A leaderboard, both of whom will find themselves
playing off lower handicaps whilst here in Pattaya. Brett Wildes (winner)
with a fabulous 2 under gross playing off 5 for 43 points has been cut to 4
and the runner-up, David Shelton with 42 points off 7 has been cut to 5.
Outback regular, Rick Evans, found himself back in third
with a very good 38 points; elsewhere amongst the 52 Outbackers, the scoring
was more normal with three guys, Adam, Alan & Andy all with 36 points in Div
B; Jim Peachey (35pts) winner of Div C and Martin O’Neill, winner of Div D,
also on 35 points.
There were seven ‘2’s from Sakorn, Raji, Rick Evans, Mo
Sadiq, Brian Maddox, Dave Buchanan, and Art O’Connor
Div A (0-10)
1st Brett Wildes (5) 43pts
2nd David Shelton (7) 42pts
3rd Rick Evans (7) 38pts
Div B (11-14)
1st Adam Farrell (12) 36pts
2nd Alan Pilkington (12) 36pts
3rd Andy Baber (14) 36pts
Div C (15-18)
1st Jim Peachey (15) 35pts
2nd Bob Lindborg (17) 34pts
3rd Mark Riggall (15) 33pts
Div D (19+)
1st Martin O’Neill (33) 35pts
2nd Sakorn Pramoolchart (26) 34pts
3rd Bruce McAdam (20) 33pts
Tuesday, Feb. 23, Pattaya
C.C. - Stableford
Joey’s got the job doing the write up today but he’s been
scampering around the last few days trying to sort out his new home, so the
story will be short and sweet. All his mates have been moved including the
“Roo Cup”, which incidentally you Aussie boys, is still held be the English!
Twenty-five Outbackers at this ever popular local venue,
which may not always be in the best of condition but is always good for a
hit and you can walk the course and enjoy the banter and a beer with a
pretty friendly lot.
Frank O’Neill got a right result with the day’s top score
of 37 points to win Div A by one from two others tied on 36 points; the big
hitting Eric Anttonen (a drive and a what iron onto the green on the par-5
18th?) and Ray Spence.
Div B went to the LPGA scorer’s tent team leader, Norm
Martin, with 35 points in front of ‘good old’ Arthur Bailey (34pts) and the
ever improving La’ong with 32.
There was yet another ‘jackpot 2’, this time from Erik Anttonen.
Div A (0-18)
1st Frank O’Neill (17) 37pts
2nd Erik Anttonen (7) 36pts
3rd Raymond Spence (17) 36pts
4th Randy Hurwitz (15) 34pts
Div B (19+)
1st Norm Martin (23) 35pts
2nd Arthur Bailey (21) 34pts
3rd Laong (38) 32pts
4th Geoff Moodie (26) 32pts
Wednesday, Feb. 24, Royal
Lakeside - Stableford
It was moving day today when the Outback Golf Bar moved
to its new location just 400 yards down the road. With Capt Bob and General
Jack busy with the move it was left to Corporal Cannon, aka Nigel to be the
organiser for the day.
There were 27 Outbackers who said their ‘Goodbyes’ to the
old bar and made the 50 minute journey to the delightful Royal Lakeside
where the course was not busy and in its usual pristine condition. The
booking-in was friendly and efficient with some groups getting away slightly
before our allotted tee time.
Four hours was the ‘norm’ and the cards were collected
and results calculated in the splendour of the clubhouse. There were 2
divisions today each with four places plus ‘2’s.
In Division A, all four on the podium beat their handicap
with ‘that man again’, Chris Dopp (18), coming in with 41 points for first.
Scott Clark and Jim Peachey both scored an excellent 39 point totals with
Scott coming in second on count back. The final place went ‘Happy Suzi’
(John’s back!) Lawton (17) with 37 points.
In the second flight, the ‘just arrived Geordie’, Victor
Barton (19), filled the top spot with 38 points, finding his form early for
the upcoming Chiang Mai trip. He was closely followed by Raleigh Gosney (19)
with 37 and John Paul Michiels (20) claimed third place with 35. The final
podium place went to ‘Jersey’s’ Brian Maddox (19) with 33 points.
There were three ‘2’s today from Rosco and Raleigh had
two.
It was then back to the new bar to be welcomed by Bob and
Jack and the staff together with a number of friends who had dropped in to
say – Good Luck and to wish the Outback continued success.
Div A (0-18)
1st Chris Dopp (18) 41pts
2nd Scott Clark (17) 39pts
3rd Jim Peachey (15) 39pts
4th Suzi Lawton (17) 37pts
Div B (19+)
1st Vic Barton (19) 38pts
2nd Raleigh Gosney (19) 37pts
3rd Jean-Paul Michiels (19) 35pts
4th Brian Maddox (19) 33pts
Friday, Feb. 26, Khao
Kheow - Stableford
Well, what a difference a tee makes. A couple of weeks
ago, playing from the yellows, only 15 out of 49 players scored more than 30
points, last week it was 6 out of 27; but this week off the whites, over
half the 40 strong field (21 to be precise) managed the same feat.
One of them (Scott Clark) quite literally thrashed the
course scoring a whopping 49 points off 17 to win Div C by ten from Bob
Lindborg (39pts) in second, who never normally does very well on this
course, so well played you two.
Ray Pearson led a trio of players all with 38 points in
Div A, and Div B was won by John O’Keefe (39pts) followed in by Paul
Lavender (37pts) who has rarely played here before at Khao Kheow, if at all.
There were six ‘2’s from George Bishop, Brett Wildes,
Paul Sharples and Simon Spaulding bagged three!
Just for the record, the C & A loops from the white tees
are rated at 67.5 with a slope of just 115; perhaps it will be back to the
yellow tees next week, which are rated at 70.4 with a slope of 121.
Div A (0-12)
1st Ray Pearson (7) 38pts
2nd James Sheffield (2) 38pts
3rd Simon Spaulding (0) 38pts
4th Tony Garnett (11) 34pts
Div B (13-16)
1st John O’Keefe (15) 39pts
2nd Paul Lavender (16) 37pts
3rd Kevin Watson (16) 35pts
4th George Bishop (14) 35pts
Div C (17+)
1st Scott Clark (17) 49pts
2nd Bob Lindborg (17) 39pts
3rd Barry Lewis (31) 36pts
4th Gary Bamford (17) 36pts
Note: The Outback Golf Bar has now completed the
move to its new home, situated 400 metres nearer to Pattaya than the old
premises, but still about 6km from Sukhumvit Road along Soi Siam Country.
All are welcome to come and join us for a beer and a hit. Just call in and
put your name down on the list or give Bob a call on 087 941 2474.
All the fours for Paul Lindgren
Diana Seniors and Lady’s February Open
Nigel Cannon
There were 38 signed-up to play in this month’s Diana
Senior’s and Ladies Open on Thursday, Feb. 25. However another 5 arrived at
the start and thanks again to the management of Pattaya Country Club all
were accommodated. Today there were some ‘singles’ that were put with three
balls and new friendships were made – the true sprit of golf!
February winners: Bengt Borg, Pimusa Tonkhoksoong and Paul Lindgren.
With a 0900 tee time as usual all arrived early and were
registered by 0915. The course was busy and in a reasonable condition
although a little dry in places. It was hot and humid and with rounds of a
little over fours hours the ‘cool one’ in the clubhouse was most welcome.
The presentation took place 30 minutes after the last group came in.
The scores were good today with the three winner’s all
achieving 40 points or more which will mean handicap adjustments for some!
The Ladies winner was regular Pimusa Tonkhoksoong (15)
with 41 points, just one ahead of newcomer and runner-up Noi Saprakhom (32).
The Seniors (50–64) produced the best score of the day
with Paul Lindgren (27) having a great round of 44 points. The runner-up
some 7 points behind was Jan Slotten (13).
In the Super Seniors (65+) it was another regular - Bengt
Borg (12) - with 40 points at the top while the runner-up was PCC member
Barry Chadbourn (18) with 39 points.
All scores are submitted to Pattaya Sports Club.
The next Diana Seniors and Ladies open is on Thursday
March 25 at Pattaya Country Club with a tee time of 0900. Sign-up sheets are
at the Diana Green Bottle 2nd road and the Diana
Driving range.
Ladies
1st Pimusa Tonkhoksoong (15) 41pts
2nd Noi Saprakhom (32) 40pts
Seniors
1st Paul Lindgren (27) 44pts
2nd Jan Slotten (13) 37pts
Super Seniors
1st Bengt Borg (12) 40pts
2nd Barry Chadbourn (18) 39pts
Near Pins: No5 Siripen, No7 Roger Johansson, No12 Peter Ranvert, No16
Glen Riding.
Long Putts: No9 Roger Stromstedt, No18 Bob Lindborg
Kraft back on the money
PSC golf from The Three Sisters Bar
Let’s see, “the course was too dry”, “the tee boxes were
messed up” and “I forgot my prescription sunglasses”. These were among the
excuses for some of the lower scores turned in this past February 24 at the
Pattaya Country Club. Most players did not have a problem however.
Wednesday winner Paul Kraft, left, with runner-up Richard Hall.
Paul Kraft, who has been absent from the leader board for
some time came through with a 41 pointer today, as did Richard Hall, but
unfortunately for Richard, Paul beat him on count back having 21 points to
Richard’s 18. This being the end of the month, Paul will have his name
inscribed on the Three Sisters Trophy. Dale Murphy, Bill Hisler and Jim Hern
came in with 38, 37 and 36 points respectively for the lesser places.
Herbie provided the usual fare back at Caddy Shack II
adding meat loaf slices to today’s menu.
All are welcome to join the Three Sisters Group for their Wednesday golf,
teeing off at 0630 at the Pattaya Country Club. After golf we all meet at a
little Thai Stand we call “Caddy Shack II” on Old Siam Country Club road for
food, beverages and a discussion of the day’s trials and tribulations. Come
join us.
A Shaw thing at Rayong
IPGC Pattaya Golf Society, based at Rabbi’s Elephant Bar
The Pattaya Golf Society visited Rayong C.C. on Sunday, February 21 to play
a stableford competition on this homely course. A couple of late morning
drop-outs meant that a single flight would be competing and as usual scores
were competitive.
Sharing third place were Ray Banks, Tore Eliassen and
Harry Langkoff, all with creditable performances of 35 points. In second
with the best gross of the day, 76, was Paul McNally and his 36 points could
have been better but for dropped points on the front nine par threes. The
winner was Aussie Brian Shaw and he followed up a good round at Green Valley
last week with another sub-par effort of 38 points. He has found a
consistency to his game in the LoS having despaired of ever breaking par
only a week ago.
There were no birdie ‘2’s thus the main prize pot was
suitably enlarged and the Booby Bevy went to Erik Anttonen for failing to
pass the red tees on the third hole. A week earlier he had measured his
drive on the seventeenth at 325 yards but on this occasion had no need of
his GPS gadget as he could still read the logo on his ball after it had come
to a stop!
Once again Rayong C.C. had contrived to throw up a good tight competition.
Martin & Mitch glory at
Greenwood
A strong Pattaya Golf Society field travelled to
Greenwood on Tuesday, February 23 to play a medal event over the C and B
nines, which were in fine condition and in the strong breeze they were
playing every inch of their 6,500 yards from the whites. The divisional cut
was at thirteen and under and good scores were at a premium in the
conditions.
In the second flight Jim Ferris, Ronnie Ramsay and
Masaaki Sugaya all shared third place with net 75 whilst Larry Slattery
scored a fine 73 for second place. The flight winner was Phil “PJ” Mitchell,
whose golf this trip has been excellent, and he registered net 68 for a
convincing win.
In the top flight Tony Thorne and Richard Bannister did
their best to keep the handicapper happy with net 71’s which gave them a
share of second place but they were usurped by the round of the day, a gross
74 by Martin Grimoldby which gave him victory with a net 68. It was all
heady stuff from the amiable Englishman.
Martin and Tony Thorne shared the divisional ‘2’s pot for
their efforts on B2 whilst Rod Stevens and Jim Ferris fared likewise on C6
for some small pocket money also.
The Booby Bevy went to Masaaki Sugaya for being part of
an accident on B3 when his caddy, a softly spoken and “sensitive” youth,
accidentally bundled Masaaki to the floor with his golf trolley and then
fell victim to the recoil of the golf bag and ended on top of the mess. As
it all happened just inside the OB boundary there was no penalty, just the
embarrassment of another Booby Bevy!
Greenwood, midweek, and approaching low season can really
do a golf group proud as the PGS found out.
Green Valley win for
Wichai
The Pattaya Golf Society visited Green Valley on
Thursday, February 25, to play a stableford competition on the well
presented course. The return of many old friends had swelled the field to
two flights which were divided at fourteen and under and play got underway
some ten minutes earlier than planned.
In the second flight Larry Slattery and Len Jones shared
runner-up spot with 33 points each, two behind winner Harry Langkoff.
The top flight saw Ray Banks finish his current visit
with 33 points for a share of third place with Alan Bridges whilst “Banjo”
Bannister’s 35 points gave him second. The day’s best gross of eighty was
recorded by Wichai Tananusorn and his 37 points held the day as top flight
winner.
Jimmy Cloy’s birdie on the second gave him a share of the
top division’s ‘2’s pot with David Thomas whose birdie effort on the twelfth
was equally welcome.
The Booby Bevy went to the day’s strong “hero-to-zero”
candidate, Richard Dobson whose first round this trip saw him return some
seventeen points less than on his last visit. But he took it well knowing
there was a lot of good golf to come with the PGS.
Bridge in Paradise : by Neil Robinson
This hand was
played in a tournament in London recently and was reported by Andrew
Robson. Imagine you are sitting West with this powerful hand:
S: K972
H: K107
D: A7
C: AK106
You hear this bidding:
South West North East
1D 1N 2H P
2S P 2N P
4D P 5D P
6D ?
What do you bid now? Surely you double 6D - the opponents must be out of
their minds to bid a slam when you are holding all these high cards,
including the ace of trumps, both the ace and king of clubs and the king in
declarer’s second bid suit.
At the table West doubled then led the ace of trumps to have a look at
dummy. At the second trick he switched to the ace of clubs, which declarer,
Kumiko Ishii, ruffed in hand. This was the full deal:
S: 106
H: AQJ964
D: 96
C: Q97
S: K972 S: 84
H: K107 H: 532
D: A7C D: 32
: AK106 C: J85432
S: AQJ53
H: 8
D: KQJ10854
C: -
Declarer led a heart and finessed, playing the jack from board. Then she
cashed the ace of hearts, throwing a spade from hand, and ruffed a heart,
bringing down the king. Now she led a low trump over to the nine on board.
The 2-2 split in trumps allowed her to cash the remaining three hearts on
board, discarding all her losing spades. She then claimed the doubled slam,
winning six diamonds, five hearts and the ace of spades.
Who would believe that the West hand, with all those good cards, could only
take the ace of trumps! Of course, if West had only led a second trump
after the ace, removing the critical nine of diamonds as an entry to board
before the hearts had been set up, then things would have been very
different.
If you have bridge questions, or to send me your interesting hands, please
contact me at: [email protected].
Haven retain the Challenge Jug
IPGC golf from The Haven
Monday, Feb. 22, Pattana B
& C - Stableford
Div. 1 (0–11)
1st Martin Grimoldby (6) 35pts
2nd Erik Donnestad (4) 35pts
3rd Doug Williams (2) 34pts
Div. 2 (12–17)
1st Tony Barritt (14) 33pts
2nd Grant Cadell (14) 31pts
3rd Ian Foster (13) 31pts
Div. 3 (18+)
1st Shuichi Kodaka (20) 40pts
2nd Kenny Priddy (23) 30pts
3rd
Richard Lyne (19) 29pts
With so many players, there was a bit of confusion at the
start with many finding themselves without clubs, caddies or carts, and it
took a super human effort by Russell Exley to organise everyone with as
little time lost as possible, but in the end everyone was away by the finish
of the allotted tee times.
The Haven Captain, Russell Exley, left, is congratulated by MAGS Captain Bob Blair after the home team retained the Thailand Challenge Jug at Pattana.
Three divisions were needed as nearly sixty players
filled the starting sheet with once again nearly a third being on single
figure handicaps.
Martin Grimoldby needed all his prodigious length from
the tee to just creep in over par and secure the first division with a
better count back of 15 to 13 over the back six after tying at 21 each with
Erik Donnestad on the back nine, as the two nines used on the day were very
wet in many areas, especially the fairways, with the B course, played first,
the wettest of the two. Erik just failed to win with a stunning 35 gross
back nine, fading into second place as he lost out over the last six holes.
Doug Williams also scored well with a gross 76 for third spot.
The second division was led in by Tony Barritt at three
over handicap with Grant Cadell taking second by a better count back of 16
to 15 over Ian Foster in third.
Shuichi Kodaka returned the best net result of the day at
four under handicap, and with the CSS going out to 74, ensured a two shot
reduction for the coming week, to easily take the third division by ten
points ahead of Kenny Priddy in second and Dick Lyne in third place.
Before presenting the prizes The Doc welcomed back Doug
Williams, Shizuo Satori and Gerald Decio and there was also had a special
welcome for the whole of the visiting MAGS team represented by Mark Glover,
Chris Bott, Mick Remington, Phil Jones, Tim Farrell, Anthony Hodges, John
Mathews, Mickey Golder, Toby Jones, Richard Keats, Dave Marshall, Jan
Vilcins and Ian Foster all capably led from the back by Bob Blair acting as
tour manager, booking agent, transport manager, agony aunt and serial low
scorer.
The MAGS were making another visit to Pattaya and a first
attempt to wrest the Thailand Challenge Jug from the claw like grip of The
Haven team. The match was played as a single stableford with the total of
the best eight from fourteen scores counting, as many more players wished to
participate than was possible in the usual match play format.
With the course not giving up many opportunities to
excel, the total sores were somewhat lower than would normally have been
expected. With a basis of a 288 total for each of the teams equaling par, it
was the survival of the fittest, as The Haven held on to win by a score of
245 to MAGS 222 and retain the Thailand Challenge Jug once again.
Very surprisingly with so many entrants in the second
division 2’s there were none scored leaving a large carry over until the
next singles competition. There were however several in the first division
achieved by Ian Foster, Doug Williams, Julie Donnestad, Erik Donnestad, Bob
Heath, Jim Slattery and Alan Hanlon, all receiving a pittance each.
Wednesday, Feb. 24, Khao Kheow - Pairs Scramble
1st Roar Berger & Ole Stamnes (22)
52pts
2nd Andy Pedlar & Dick Lyne (15)
50pts
3rd Russell Exley & Shuichi Kodaka
(11) 50pts
4th Ian Foster & Mick Remington
(12) 48pts
5th Julie & Erik Donnestad (3)
47pts
After the hard work on the previous outing the organisers
decided to make this day’s two-person scramble a real fun affair with the
white tees in operation, making it a very easy day for everyone, especially
the higher handicappers.
At the end of the day the tees proved crucial, as the
players more used to being at the back of the field moved up to the front.
None more so than the pairing of Roar Berger and Ole Stamnes who can usually
be relied upon to have several “pick ups” in a round. On this occasion they
had none and also slipped in a few four pointers to amass a sixteen under
net round off their 22 handicap for first place.
Andy Pedlar and Dick Lyne tied up second with a better
count back of 26 to 23 to push Russell Exley and Shuichi Kodaka into third
place.
Ian Foster and Mick Remington claimed fourth spot ahead
of Julie and Erik Donnestad, the latter pairing scoring a very creditable
gross 66 to score 47 in fifth place.
Due to the format there were no 2’s competitions, but
Trevor Edge and John Hayes got one and Russell Exley and Shuichi Kodaka got
two just for practice.
Back at The Haven Paul McDonald and Parry Canes were
welcomed as new members and John Mabry was welcomed back. There were also
farewells for Allan Duffy and Michael Oates.
Friday, Feb. 26,
The Emerald - Monthly Medal
Div. 1 (0-15)
1st Graham Johnson (5) net 71
2nd Rick Roberts (14) net 71
3rd Erik Donnestad (4) net 73
Div. 2 (16+)
1st Frank Hughes (16) net 75
2nd Dick Lyne (19) net 75
3rd Shuichi Kodaka (20) net 76
Ladies (0-36)
1st Julie Donnestad (3)
2nd Marianne Kayser (32)
After last month’s experiment off the blue tees for the
Monthly Medal, it was a return to the white tees but it seemed to make
little difference as the players all struggled with only two of the first
division equaling or bettering par.
Graham Johnson once again proved unbeatable over the Ban
Chang course with a net 71, which allied to a 36.5 count back, proved to be
sufficient to take the first division medal as Rick Roberts, with the same
net scored took second after a 38.5 back nine. Erik Donnestad again showed
his consistency with a solid one over handicap score for third.
The second division also had to go to a count back which
Frank Hughes won 35 to 35 5 over Dick Lyne, as Dick took his third podium
placing of the week. Shuichi Kodaka also made the podium for the third time
in the week just one shot back from the leading two.
Julie Donnestad took the Ladies section with a round that
she nearly threw in the no return box.
There were no 2’s in the second division leaving a huge
double rollover on offer for the next time, but Allan Hanlon slipped in the
only one in the first division to sweep the pool.
Prior to the prize giving there was a welcome for new member John
Radcliffe and welcome backs for Richard Dobson, Jimmy Cloy, Alan Taylor,
Peter Skinner and Takeshi Hakozaki.
Colum proves a point
PSC golf from Lewiinski’s
Sunday, Feb. 21, Green
Valley - Stableford
A Flight
1st Yui Bietry (13) 39pts
2nd Mark Napier (8) 38pts
3rd Seamus Cotter (11) 37pts
B Flight
1st Colum Mullen (16) 43pts
2nd Geoff Doody (19) 38pts
3rd Mike Craighead (17) 38pts
Near Pins: No 2
Yui Bietry, No 9 Michael Whelan, No12 Jack Spencer and No16 Geoff Doody.
Colum Mullen.
It was a great day to be named Colum: if you were, and
hailed from Ireland, you would have won a flight. Colum ‘I’m in the money’
Mullen set the standard of the day by capping B Flight and the field with a
marvelous 43 point effort which was accomplished using only seventeen of the
eighteen holes. Geoff Doody posted a solid 38 points, also using only
seventeen holes, enough to be up in the resulting count back over Mike ‘the
mechanic’ Craighead.
The ‘big boys’ flight was a nightmare for ‘the Donkey’ to
sort out as five competitors posted 37 point hauls. The captain’s inward
nine was adjudged the best for third spot, over Huge Byrne, Gary ‘the quite
one’ Blackburn, Michael Whelan and Ian ‘Gizza fag’ Grout. The Captain’s card
was complied using only fifteen holes. The penultimate place went to Marc
Napier, no stranger to the acceptance of baht at the conclusion of a round.
Yui Bietry.
What can one say to the form and rise to the top flight
rank of Yui Bietry? Cut three shots in record time she still managed to
garner top place with a super 39 points, surely she cannot be cut again? I
wouldn’t bet on it. Just ask Colm.
Monday, Feb. 22, Royal
Lakeside - Stableford
A Flight
1st Mark Morris (16) 44pts
2nd Pat Hanafin (12) 38pts
3rd Singh Ranay (12) 38pts
B Flight
1st Fergus O’Brien (24) 41pts
2nd Keith McLaughlan (19) 35pts
3rd
Sean Soden (21) 33pts
Royal Lakeside’s superb condition and somewhat forgiving
fairways were expected to yield some good scores and it did not disappoint.
Mark Morris, manager of the Dick Turpin public house back in the U K, called
time gentlemen please as he posted a monstrous 44 points for man of the
match and A Flight honors. County Cork’s Pat Hanafin with a rock solid 38
points gained a count back verdict over Ranay ‘What’s going on here then’
Singha for second.
Ireland’s Fergus O’Brien put together a fine knock of 41
points for the top rung in B Flight. Keith McLaughlan (might well be Irish)
was six shots short for second. This left a three-way tie for the final spot
which went to Sean Soden, dare I say it. Geoff Elvis Kubas and Jersey Jim
Elphick were the unlucky contestants.
Colin Davis and Sean Soden split the ‘2’s pot.
Wednesday, Feb. 24,
Bangpra - Stableford
A Flight
1st Steve Gibson (9) 36pts
2nd Tore Eliassen (15) 35pts
3rd Pat Hanafin (12) 33pts
B Flight
1st Roland Bangerter (21) 36pts
2nd Steve Kilner (22) 35pts
3rd
Sim Davis (24) 35pts
Bangpra, which many believe to be the premier test of
golf on the Eastern Seaboard, bared the teeth again as its tight fairways
and undulating greens ensured that no one broke their handicap. Those that
equaled it, Steve Gibson and Roland Bangerter led A Flight and B F light
respectively.
Tore Eliassen took runner up in A Flight, a shot adrift
of Steve. Pat, who routinely cashes on Mondays, showed he wouldn’t turn down
easy money on any day of the week as he followed Tore to the A Flight
podium.
The minor places in B Flight were decided on a count back
as both Steve Kilner and ‘the Donkeys’ missus, Sim, were tied a shot back.
Steve gained the verdict 21 /16.
There were no ‘2’s so a rollover to Friday.
Back at Lewiinski’s Pat Hannifin’s day was made complete
as he won for the second time in three weeks, the Lou-inskis free draw worth
5,400 baht.
Seamus gave a short speech regarding the monies raised on
Captains Day for the Jing Jai kids had been doubled by one of the
Lewiinski’s golfers who wanted to remain anonymous. The amount has now toped
30,000 baht. A million thanks from the kids.
Friday, Feb. 26, Greenwood
- Stableford
A Flight
1st Benn Nelson (13) 39pts
2nd Colm Mullen (15) 36pts
3rd Eddy Beilby (16) 35pts
B Flight
1st Fergus O Brien (23) 33pts
2nd Gordon Cadle (24) 32pts
3rd
Geoff Bracegirdle (21) 30pts
Well here’s the reason for the title to this weeks
missive. Colum ‘I’m in the money’ Mullen two weeks ago demanded an interview
with the handicap committee, stating that a handicap of 16 was no good to
neither man nor beast and he could not possibly play to it and demanded that
they revue his handicap. So they did, and he is now playing off 15. Point
proven wouldn’t you say?
It took awhile but Ben ‘The Admiral’ Nelson at last came
out on top as he was the only player to better his handicap with a rock
solid 39 points. Talking about handicaps, title boy Colum carded an even par
round for second spot, amazing wouldn’t you say, but imagine if he was
playing off …! Get out of it. Eddy ‘The Eagle’ returned to the podium a shot
backk
Irelands’ Fergus O’Brien found the going tough as his 33
points was good for the top spot in the junior flight. Gordon Cradle came
second a shot back, leaving Aussie Geoff Bracegirdle to round out the
flight.
Fergus O’Brien entered the Lewiinski’s record books as
the highest total pot for a ‘2’ ever as he registered the only ‘2’ of the
day, Wednesdays’ rollover included.
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.
The Darkside Darts League
The Darkside Darts League would like to thank Alex (Lucky
Time Bar), Joh and Tu who helped organized the dart competition, San Miguel,
Paul who sold the raffle tickets, Lance and Mark from www.pattayadarts .com,
and playing great music all night We2r1 duo, John and Wendy. Together we
manage to raise over 8,500 baht at the end of season party for the Mercy
Center, thank you to everyone who brought a ticket and donated.
Congrats to season 4 winners of the Darkside Darts League
Chill Bar. Honorable mentions also go to the runners up Chester’s Bar and
third placed Lucky Time Bar.
The highest check out last season went to “Pistol Pete”
from the Pioneer Bar with 126. Not surprisingly the League Champions, Chill
Bar, also recorded the most ‘Team Tons’ with 342. Leading the individual
tons for the season were Kenny ‘G’ with 156 for the Chill Bar, Lance from
Lucky Time with 105 and Mark from the Chill Bar with 72.
The Wooden Spoon went to the S.S Sailor Bar for last
place - at the Admiral’s request!
During the 4th season of the
Darkside Darts League we had a couple of players who died. So we dedicated
two trophies in their memory to Micheal Eden from the Cinnamon Lounge and
Rob Smith from the 19th Hole on Siam Country Club Road, both of whom will be
sadly missed. It was great to have Rob’s daughter Chelsea here to receive
her father’s trophy!
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