The Tropical Golf Group
Tuesday, June 6, Khao Kheow – Stableford
Never seems to stop raining on the golf courses these days. Whether it is raining in Pattaya or not, time spent on the course invariably includes hiding from the rain. Tuesday dawned with just a little drizzle around so off we went to see if we would be any luckier at Khao Kheow.
A & C nines was the test and it was soon noticeable that there was no run and the course was playing very long as the ground was soggy after recent rain. Get in the rough and getting out was really difficult and the greens, although appearing good, were very slow.
Onto the back nine and we could see the sky start to darken, so we sped up, surely we could beat the bad weather that was threatening. Head down and plow on. Then it got really dark and we sprinted to the rest stop which is located by the green of C4 and the rain came down like stair rods. It hammered it down for the best part of 1 hour but then the sun came out and all was well with the world. We finished the last three holes, splashing down the middle of the fairways trying to find a bit of dry ground, usually with no result.
Back at BJ’s in Pattaya it was soon time for the results. The winner with 36 points was Gerd Riedler and in the circumstances a good score. Second was Landis Brooks with 34 points and third went to Daryl Evans with 30.
The best front and back nines for non-winners went to Brian Parish (15) and Bob Britton (17) respectively.
Near Pins: Gerd Riedler, Daryl Evans, Landis Brooks.
Friday, June 9,
The Emerald – Stableford
The Tropical golfers paid a long overdue visit to Emerald Golf course on Friday. It had been a year since we last played here, so what would it be like?
Emerald, by accident or design, is perhaps one of the most professional layouts in the area. You are not automatically entitled to a table flat lie just because you are in the fairway. The more thoughtful or talented golfers select clubs that seek the distance or side of the fairway with less slope. For the rest, it’s a good day to practice uneven lies. Welcome to real golf folks.
That said, Emerald is quite interesting, and currently in fair to mostly good condition. A special that includes a cart makes it a worthwhile visit. Under cloudy and not too hot weather the challenging Emerald showed it can be beaten.
Some emeralds are rarer than diamonds, and Brian Parish (c/h 14) was rated flawless with 41 points, well clear of the next place. Gerd Riedler (8) filled the runners-up spot with 38 points off a single digit handicap, followed by Barry Elphick (26), and then Tom Herrington (15) winning with 34 on count back.
Graham Buckingham and Dick Warberg took the best nines for non-winners.
