The Golf Club Review
Monday, Dec. 18, Green Valley (white tees) – Stableford
1st Andy Makara (28) 36pts
T2nd Peter Thomas (22) 33pts
T2nd Adrian Dembinski (26) 33pts
We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and Santa was good to you with a new wedge or putter. This cold weather certainly helped us to get into the spirit of Christmas!
We lost a few pals to join in the first round of the Pattaya Matchplay series over at Silky Oaks, and as the dust settled at the end of the day, The Golf Club was in first place. There are 8 local bars participating in this event which is the second in the series. There is still a lot of golf to play as the series winds down in late January, so watch this space.
Our regular TGC comp found locals Peter Thomas and Adrian Dembinski in a tie for second and our regular darksider Andy Makara at the top of the heap. Andy has put together some good rounds lately but today all he needed was 36 on the card.
Young dad Adrian Dembinski had the benefit of our near pin for the Caddy Smile project, and made the birdie for a beer!
Tuesday, Dec. 19, Khao Kheow (yellow tees) – Stableford
1st Bud O’Meara (18) 38pts
T2nd Alan McKendry (11) 36pts
T2nd Blake Hanna (16) 36pts
As usual, the signup sheet for Khao Kheow was full with 24 players up for the test. It has been so cool that you can play without even breaking into a sweat, honestly!
Canadian Blake Hanna had a good day out there with a tie for second and our near pin win as well. Blake must be used to this colder weather! Alan “Mouse” McKendry was at a tie on 36 for joint second but none were as good as Bud O’Meara with 38 points recorded this afternoon on the long tees. The course was in beautiful condition, but most all courses are this time of year.
Thursday, Dec. 20, Silky Oak (white tees) – Stableford
T1st Ken Grimes (24) 36pts
T1st Robbie Taylor (13) 36pts
3rd Alain Hefner (18) 34pts
The cold spell continued and now with the winds picking up, the “feels like” factor sends a shiver down yer spine! The greens were dry and in not the best of condition, which is a recent development. Usually this Silky Oaks track is just about perfect so with all 3 of these courses closing for the first two weeks of January, we should find it better when we return in the middle of next month.
Old mates stick together and today we saw our buddies Ken Grimes and Robbie Taylor on a tie for first place. Robbie has had a couple of strokes taken off his handicap after that brilliant 47 he turned in last week. The duo from ‘downundah’ posted 36’s to top the podium.
Alain Hefner is visiting us from France and playing well and consistently on this trip so today was rewarded with third place. Thank you for the Caddy Smile contribution as nobody even hit the green on the last par-3 hole!
Friday, Dec. 21, Eastern Star (white tees) – Stableford
1st Alan McKendry (11) 33pts
2nd Ken Aihara (7) 32pts
3rd Graham Eldridge (16) 30pts
Ah yes, it’s time to play the Vegemite course… you either love it or you hate it! Eastern Star is a fine track designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr., but deceptively difficult even for low handicappers.
I think Jones did a great job even though it is hard to rack up those Stableford points out here. Condition of the course was excellent, fast greens, lovely fairways and perfect weather put it in the “millionaires’ golf” category.
Speaking of low scores, 33 was the winning number on the scoreboard and that went to that rascal Alan McKendry. Our in-house NFL specialist Kenny Aihara turned in a 32 for sole second as well as picking up the near pin with a birdie.
He just got off the plane from Brisbane, but Graham Eldridge wasted no time in padding his pockets with 30 points for third.
