IPGC golf from The Links
Sunday, June 19, Green Valley – Stableford
A full fixture list this week for the first time in a while saw a small field travel to Green Valley. As usual at this time of year, we were able to tee off a little early, and the pace of play was excellent until we ran into a very slow four-ball around the 14th hole. The course is beginning to show signs of wear and tear, and the greens were very bumpy, taking a long time to recover from their not so recent coring.
Visiting Swede Thomas Nilsson took the honours today, coming back in a very impressive level gross to beat Joe McArdle 23 to 18 on the back nine, after both had carded 39 points. Peter Master finished third on 34 points.
Thomas also scored the only 2 of the day, to scoop the pot.
1st Thomas Nilsson (8) 39pts
2nd Joe McArdle (13) 39pts
3rd Peter Masters (9) 34pts
Tuesday, June 21, Treasure Hill – Stableford
16 players made the journey up to Treasure Hill today, to tackle this tough course off the shorter yellow tees, a decision made due to the handicap profile of the field. This was my first ever visit, and overall I was very impressed. The course was in excellent condition, and the layout every bit as good as I’ve heard. The only downside were the greens, which, although running exceptionally true, were painfully slow.
Conditions were cool and overcast, with a slight breeze, almost perfect conditions for good scoring. With the course almost empty, the pace of play was good throughout, and the first group finished in a little over 3½ hours
Aussie duo, Shane Heavey and Jim Lloyd, holidaying together, picked up the minor places, Shane taking third by virtue of a 21 to 15 back nine, after both scored a respectable 33 points. Jon Batty, scoring better than he played, somehow managed 36 points which is often enough to win here, despite playing generally scrappy golf. Victory however went to Cliff North, back from his latest mining expedition, who scored an excellent 39 points off his 20 handicap.
The 2’s went to Cliff North, Wayne Harmon, Yukio Kikuchi and Kaneo Watanabe.
1st Cliff North (20) 39pts
2nd Jon Batty (8) 36pts
3rd Shane Heavey (19) 33pts
4th Jim Lloyd (28) 33pts
Thursday, June 23, Burapha – Stableford
This was a late addition to the fixture list at the request of our visiting Japanese four-ball, and was one that proved popular, with almost the same group as Tuesday making the short journey. This was our first visit in a long time, as it not somewhere we usually choose to play due to the compulsory use of carts, but on sports day, for 1600 baht all inclusive, it represents decent value for money, for what is a top quality course.
We were allocated the A&B nines, and after playing from the shorter tees on Tuesday, decided to take on the challenge of the blue tees, playing a little over 6700 yards. This proved a good decision, as although fairly long for most, the course is wide open, and the firm fairways provided plenty of run on the ball. The greens were a good pace and ran very true, proving a dream for strong putters.
There was a fairly strong breeze throughout, but the standard of scoring was generally good, with eleven of the sixteen players scoring 30+ points (so where Joe Peters’ 20 came from, I don’t know)!
Nick Odnoral and Jon Batty battled out for the minor prizes on 34 points, Nick earning bragging rights after scoring 17 points on the back nine. Ted Morris, no doubt grumbling over the choice of tees when stood on the first, put his dismay behind him, to card a very creditable 36 points for second place – long courses don’t always just suit the young’uns Ted! Victory, however, again went to Cliff North, playing off a 20 handicap for the last time, scoring an excellent 37 points.
There were no ‘2’s, and with our regular Sunday fixture being moved due to a junior competition, the pot rolls over to the challenging St Andrews par 3’s this coming Sunday.
1st Cliff North (20) 37pts
2nd Ted Morris (15) 36pts
3rd Nick Odnoral (16) 34pts
4th Jon Batty (8) 34pts
Note: The Links depart from the hotel on Soi Buakhao at 9.30am on Tuesdays and Thursdays and for Rayong Green Valley every Sunday. Sign up at the hotel or contact Jon on 080 021 1034. A full schedule of courses can be found on the IPGC website www.ipgc.org.
