IPGC golf from The Links
Sunday, March 18, Green Valley – Stableford
19 players including the welcome addition of 3 ladies, teed off at Green Valley in windy conditions, and with the usual preceding group short of numbers this week, we were able to tee off a full 30 minutes early – long may this continue!
Sean Connolly claimed his first podium place of his latest visit, finishing fourth with 34 points, one behind the erratic Jon Batty, who limped home with 35. Last Thursday’s winner, Yukio Kikuchi, this time had to settle for second place, as Noi Emmerson stole the show with a fantastic 42 points.
Warren Gallop, master of Kabinburi.
Two’s went to Joe McArdle and Jon Batty, both at the short fourth, where neither player had managed to hit the green!
1st Noi Emmerson (19) 42 pts
2nd Yukio Kikuchi (18) 37 pts
3rd Jon Batty (8) 35 pts
4th Sean Connolly (10) 34 pts
Tuesday, March 20, Kabinburi Sports Club – Stableford
17 players made our second trip of the year to the fantastic Kabinburi facility, although this trip turned out a little differently than originally planned.
Day one at Kabinburi sports club was a one sided affair, with Warren Gallop streets ahead of the field. Warren played fantastic golf all day, including a one under gross front 9, to shoot 75 and score 42 points off his 10 handicap. Mark Stanley was second with 38 points, a score that would have been more than enough to win on any of our previous outings.
Three players tied on 36 points, Russell Exley taking third spot with a 17 point back 9 haul. Jon Lay and Mike Korney could only be split on the back 6, Jon triumphing 13 – 11 after both carded 16 on the back 9.
Two’s went to Jon Lay, Mark Campbell, Mark Stanley and Jon Batty, who eagled the par 4 10th.
1st Warren Gallop (10) 43pts
2nd Mark Stanley (12) 38 pts
3rd Russell Exley (8) 36 pts
4th Jon Lay (8) 36 pts
5th Mike Korney (19) 36 pts
Wednesday, March 21, Hillside Country Home – Stableford
Day two of the trip saw us relegated to Hillside Country Home, the second course of the area, after we were ousted by a late booking by the Thai Army – we were going to argue, but they had more “ammunition” than us!
On arrival at the facility, one player took one look at what was on offer, and decided an immediate drive back to Pattaya was preferable, which left us with 16 for the round. Hillside is what can be politely described as an “interesting” course, with two distinctive 9’s; the front being tight and undulating, the back flatter and more open, with the yardages often open to debate (e.g. a 370 yard par 4 with a 130 yard lay-up leaving 150 into the green, and a par 6 that takes drive, wedge, fairway wood?). What really let the place down, however, was the quality of the greens, which must have measured a full 1 foot on the stimpmeter. We decided to make the best of it, however, and in our fourball at least, a good time was had by all, particularly with the help of some rather entertaining caddies.
Warren Gallop continued where he left off yesterday, romping home with 38 points, four ahead of Paul Hird, who unfortunately failed to score on the final two, fairly straightforward, holes.
Marty Rock finished a further point behind in third place, with Russell Exley edging out Joe McArdle for fourth by virtue of a 22 – 13 count back after both scored 32 points.
A special mention also goes out to Yves Brosset, who scored 25 points in total, despite only managing 4 on the front 9!
The two’s pot was shared by Mark Stanley and Jean Morel.
1st Warren Gallop (10) 38 pts
2nd Paul Hird (13) 34 pts
3rd Marty Rock (9) 33 pts
4th Russell Exley (8) 32 pts
5th Joe McArdle (13) 32 pts
Thursday, March 22, Bangpra – Stableford
With most players deciding to take the day off after the long trip to Kabinburi, only 11 players chose to play Bangpra. After yesterday’s round, it was a pleasure to be back on “proper” greens, and the course as a whole was in perfect condition, contrary to some earlier reports.
Yasou Suzuki, a.k.a. Mr. Consistent, finished third with 32 points, one behind the ever improving Mark Stanley, who’s new tactic of using a fairway wood or hybrid off the tee appears to be paying off. Victory, however, went to Russell Exley, who showed it is possible to put together 3 solid rounds of golf back to back, despite driving 500+ km in between, and leading the 9 ball pool team to victory against strong opposition the night before.
There were no two’s on the tricky par 3’s, so the pot will rollover to Green Valley this coming Sunday.
1st Russell Exley (8) 36 pts
2nd Mark Stanley (12) 33 pts
3rd Yasou Suzuki (11) 32 pts
Note: The Links depart from the hotel on Soi Buakaow at 9.30 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and for Rayong Green Valley every Sunday. Sign up at the hotel or contact Jon on 0800211034. A full schedule of courses can be found on the IPGC website www.ipgc.org
