PSC Golf from the Tropical Golf Group
Tuesday, July 26, Pattaya C.C. – Stableford
When I originally retired here, one of the first things I did was to buy a year’s membership at Pattaya Country Club. This course used to have the best fairways of any in the area and despite it being run from a temporary clubhouse it was a very friendly, if visually uninspiring golf venue. Slowly however, the fairways became not as good, in fact quite average, and we started to use the course much less.
At BJ’s we usually booked this course as a Friday venue so I had not played it for some years, in fact since before the new clubhouse came into use, so it was with great interest that I made the pilgrimage there on this day. As all know, it is but a hop and a skip up there and I was surprised to see the drive up to the new clubhouse. Quite impressive!
The changing rooms were also impressive, and with the deal at the moment it was a fine start. Soon off, it was a pleasure to play a course I used to play regularly at one time. The fairways are not bad now, but they used to be super, however the greens were really good and as fast and true as any we have played in the last few weeks.
Some changes have been made, such as the par three up the hill, always difficult it is now a bit of a monster. However the course is well worth a visit now and the best thing is that you sit in the restaurant and see some of the golf course. Overall it was a most enjoyable day out.
We were back at BJ’s really early and so could declare the results at a time of day we have not done for a long time. The winner on the day was Graham Buckingham with a very fine 41 points. In second was the scribe, Derek Brook, with 38 points ahead of a count back on 37 that saw Jerry Garcia in third and Tom Herrington in fourth.
Near Pins: Derek Brook, John Hackett, Mashi Kaneta, Dick Warberg.
Friday, July 29, Greenwood – Medal
It was another daily double for the Tropical Golfers as both the Monthly Mug and Golfer of the Month were up for grabs. Dick Warberg had a commanding but not insurmountable GOM lead going into the final day, and the Monthly Mug was open to anyone with steely nerves to brave a round of stroke play. That means count them all folks! Real golf. With nineteen golfers up to the challenge, after filling up at BJ’s Holiday Lodge it was off to Greenwood.
Greenwood is about the longest drive on the regular rotation so the question always comes up, is it worth it? The answer is a resounding “Yes”. The price is reasonable, course condition was good to excellent, and the greens were true and fair. No gimmicks here. If one searched for an issue they have too many creeping weeds that need pulling, but that was about it.
We were blessed with a dry but mostly cloudy day that kept things a little cooler. Recent rains have left the fairways a bit slow, so we opted for the yellow tees, but lift/clean was not necessary. Stroke play is interesting, unpredictable, and with so much up for grabs the anticipation was great.
First there was the issue of the Monthly Mug. Sometimes people just find the zone, and in this case Dave Nicholson (H/cap 18) was in total command of his nerves and golf swing. When the math was done Dave had an incredible net 65! That is no type-o, he played that well and made it look easy. So Dave hoisted his first Monthly Mug and big cheers for him! Next came newbie Alex Field (21) with a fine net 68, followed by Barry Elphick (29) with net 69, and then John Anderson (30) and Don Carmody each with net 71.
It was then time to figure who had the best overall month of golf. Dick Warberg had a good lead, but a few challengers had a chance to rain on his hopes. It was not to be for the hopefuls though as Dick actually increased his lead on the final day is the July BJ’s Holiday Lodge Golfer of the Month! Take no chances, take no prisoners, right Dick? Much thanks to Lek and Bill for sponsoring this event each month.
Near Pins: Brian Parish (2), Takeshi Hakosaki, John Pierrel.
