PSC golf from The Outback Golf Bar
Monday, Dec. 24, Burapha A & B – Stableford
An excellent field of 43 players for Xmas Eve golf at Burapha to play the A and B courses and we decided to give players the option of playing either the blue or white markers but the first groups all played blue as they didn’t want to be wimps, so everybody played the blues in the end.
Great weather change – caddies and bar staff all think it’s cold but fantastic for golf and I can’t remember the last time I played and my shirt wasn’t soaked with sweat; but just a lovely day for golf with a breeze that fluctuated, so made for some interesting club selection.
Ian Heddle receives his trophy and medal from Suzi after his incredible round on Friday.
The course has dried out and the greens are just getting better and better, the rough is still brutal especially around the greens and bunkers and very hard to play out of as some of my playing partners found. Overall the course is in good condition and will get better as the season progresses.
Three divisions plus the ‘2’s with nothing special in the way of scores to report in Div A & B as Eddie Smith won A with 36pts and Mike Bender took B with just 35; the only really good score went to Paul Rodgers who had 39 points to win C, way in front of Andy Makara in second on 31.
There were five ‘2’s from Eddie Smith & Bob St. Aubin (A6), John Cunningham & Kerry Rothman (B3) and Mitch Black (B8).
Finally, the recently recommenced “Outback Accumulator Draw” was won today by Chopper (aka Kerry Rothman); he won 1800 baht and did the decent thing and rang the bell.
Jarrod ran Ian close with a net 65.
The “Outback accumulator” is funded entirely by the Outback and no additional deductions are taken or prize money withheld from the customers. A new one started on Boxing Day. Every time you play, you will be allotted a number then at the next presentation time a number will be drawn, you can only win if you are present in the bar at the time.
Div A (0-10)
1st Eddie Smith (10) 36pts
2nd Stephen Mann (10) 34pts
3rd Dave Buchanan (0) 34pts
Div B (11-15)
1st Mike Bender (11) 35pts
2nd Denis Steele (14) 35pts
3rd Dennis Pelly (11) 34pts
Div C (16+)
1st Paul Rodgers (16) 39pts
2nd Andy Makara (28) 31pts
3rd Jimmy Little (19) 30pts
Wednesday, Dec. 26, Siam Plantation A & B – Stableford
What better course could one find for Boxing Day golf than Siam Plantation where 22 players turned up to play the A & B nines, as two players failed to show and cost others a place in this strictly limited field; we did have reserves but it was too late to call them. Fortunately we found a new member (of Siam Plantation) who was waiting to play but didn’t have a tee time; so welcome to Craig Poeling and we hope to see you at the Outback. Also welcome to Barry Heacock and Robert Reiter for their first game with the Outback.
Monday podium placers pose for a group photo: (from left) Denis Steele, Capt’ Stephen, Eddie Smith, Steve Plant, Dave Buchanan, Mike Bender and Paul Rodgers.
The course was in its usual great condition and has finally dried out and the greens, even though lightly sanded, were great to putt on. The presentation of this course is great and the staff are some of the most welcoming of all the courses in the area, which just makes for a good day.
Two Divisions plus the ‘2’s and as there were no ‘2’s we played down to fourth place.
The winner of Division 2 was Jim Bryan with 36 points off his 16 handicap from Svenn Lund, who continues his recent good form with 34 points ofhis 13 handicap, with third place going to John O’Keefe with 33 points, who beat Rosco Langoulant on a count back.
Division 1 was won by Barry Heacock with 35 points from Mitch Black with 34, who beat Mike Bender and Craig Poeling on count back.
Well done to all and thanks to everybody for a great pace of play.
Div A (0-12)
1st Barry Heacock (7) 35pts
2nd Mitch Black (4) 34pts
3rd Mike Bender (11) 34pts
4th Craig Poeling (10) 34pts
Div B (13+)
1st Jim Bryan (16) 36pts
2nd Svenn Ole Lund (13) 34pts
3rd John O’Keefe (15) 33pts
4th Rosco Langoulant (13) 33pts
Thursday, Dec. 27, Khao Kheow C & B – Stableford
Hastily rescheduled through customer demand, from our usual Tuesday slot, eleven players went to Khao Kheow to play the C and B courses with a 10 am tee off but we still managed to tee off 20 minutes early, thanks to the starters.
The course is still undergoing renovations and the greens were not as slick as last week and the presentation of the course was also not so good either but still it’s a great test of golf and you have to give the staff full marks for their efforts.
One Division plus the ‘2’s and on a day that was very windy with most of the Par 3’s playing a lot longer than usual into the wind, so it was amazing to see six ‘2’s for the day with a small group so the payout was also small. Well done to Bobby Driggs with two ‘2’s on B3 and B8, Grant Airey & Bob Lindborg also on B8 and Mike Bender & Suzi Lawton on C8.
Overall winner was Suzi Lawton on 39 points from Mike Bender, also with 39 points but losing on count back, with third place going to Boddy Driggs (12) with 35 points.
Finally welcome to John O’Connor for his first game with the Outback and noted also that next Tuesday is New Year’s Day so we are scheduling Khao Kheow to Thursday (3rd Jan) again next week
1st Suzi Lawton (20) 39pts
2nd Mike Bender (11) 39pts
3rd Bobby Driggs (12) 35pts
Friday, Dec. 28, Green Valley – Stableford
47 out there today at Green Valley for the DeVere sponsored monthly medal and just how much could one write about the winner. There wouldn’t be enough superlatives to describe how good this round was; 69 gross, 64 net or the equivalent of 44 stableford points from Ian Heddle, playing off h’cap 5, and it included a double bogey on the eighth when he drove OB. Out in 35, back in 34; what a great round Ian and with it of course not only did he win the unique monthly trophy but also the low gross medal.
Not that far behind him in terms of his net score, was Jarrod Braithwaite who shot a gross 85 off his 20 h’cap to take second overall and first place in Div D by six with a net 65 from course specialist Sugar Ray on 71. Third overall and the winner of Div A was another course specialist, who played in the same group as Ian, Paul Greenaway with a net 70 whilst a relative newcomer to the Outback having only his second game, John O’Connor, took Div C with 71. Div B was won by Dennis Pelly also with a 71.
There were only four ‘2’s; from Steve Mann (12th), Paul Greenaway (16th) and Ian Heddle got two (4th & 16th).
Just a few stats for the round; the most difficult hole was the par five 8th, playing to 6.78, with surprisingly enough, another par five, the 11th, being the second toughest on 6.68. With the par four, 3rd hole across the water being ousted to 4th place (5.64); the easiest hole for the day was the par four 17th , playing to 4.76.
Overall
1st Ian Heddle (5) net 64
Division A
1st Paul Greenaway (8) net 70
2nd Darren Smith (7) net 74
3rd Dave Buchanan (0) net 75
Division B
1st Dennis Pelly (11) net 71
2nd Bob St. Aubin (13) net 72
3rd Martin Kingswood (13) net 74
Division C
1st John O’Connor (17) net 71
2nd Stuart Walters (14) net 77
3rd John O’Keefe (15) net 77
Division D
1st Jarod Braithwaite (20) net 65
2nd Sugar Ray Handford (19) net 71
3rd Terry Phur (20) net 76
Note: The Outback Golf Bar is situated about 6km from Sukhumvit Road along Soi Siam Country. Call Jack on 087 941 2474.