IPGC golf from The Haven
Monday, May 27, Crystal Bay A & B – Stableford
CSS 72
1st John Wood (25) 40pts
2nd Darryl Kellett (16) 39pts
3rd Trevor Schirmer (13) 38pts
4th Rodney Nabbe (10) 36pts
5th Vincent Gras (17) 35pts
6th Allen Raaen (9) 35pts
Crystal Bay was in excellent condition, as the scores returned attested, but with a high number of contestants the CSS for the day remained at 72 with 33% of the counting ones, those with handicaps of 19 and below, having played within two of their handicap.
Allan Raaen.
John Wood had heeded some free advice taken in the bar during the previous week and returned a score which encouraged him to believe that almost anything was now possible, however events later in the week were to prove this a very short lived, but no less sweet, theory as much was risked and lost over the next few days. It was in fact John’s best score in Thailand, being seven better than the previous best and his first win out of The Haven was duly celebrated late into the evening.
Darryl Kellett had believed that his score would be a winner to mark his last outing in Pattaya before his return to Oz, but he failed to do better than three points over the last two holes which made the difference between first and second place.
Trevor Schirmer seems to always be there or thereabouts no matter what the scoring is like, and once again he was to be found in third after a very good two under handicap round. Rodney Nabbe geared up for his trip to Hua Hin with a solid level par return in fourth and Vincent Gras, a fellow traveler, won a count back for fifth over Allen Raaen with a better 19 on the inward half.
It was surprising that with the scores as good as they were that there were no 2’s in either division, but as usual there were plenty of stories of ones that got away.
Seppo Sadeharju.
Before the presentations were made there were welcome backs for Vincent Gras, on one of his seemingly bi-weekly visits, John Carlin, looking for somewhere quiet to retire to, Mike Hill, from coaching the England cricket team via twitter to two wins in their recent test series against the Black Caps, and Brian Libbey who wanted to make sure his subs were paid in time.
Wednesday, May 29, Khao Kheow A & C – Stableford
CSS 75 NC
1st Seppo Sadeharju (25) 31pts
2nd Don Everett (20) 29pts
3rd Trevor Schirmer (13) 28pts
4th Mike Hill (19) 28pts
5th Markku Tynell (24) 28pts
After the good returns at the previous outing much was expected at the always difficult Pete Dye designed Khao Kheow where the A and C courses were in play for the day. Unfortunately, following heavy overnight rain the course was playing far longer than the 6,450 yards shown on the card and with a few of the regular low handicaps playing away across the gulf, scoring was at a premium.
John Wood
Seppo Sadeharju took another win with a less than sparkling return but one that was still good enough by two to take the top step of the podium, with Don Everett in second who also led his team in the side event against Monday’s winner to make it an even better end to the day with no beer to buy.
Once again Trevor Schirmer was in the frame after winning a three-way count back for third place over Mike Hill who took fourth and Markku Tynell in fifth after they had scored 15, 14 and 13 respectively on the back nine on the card.
The CSS for the day went out to 75 and the event became non counting for upward handicap review.
Once again there were no 2’s in the second division but Darryl Kellett and Jens Gunnarsson shared the first division pool with one each.
Prior to the presentations there was a welcome back for David Grist from Melbourne taking a rest from watching the Rebels from his regular seat in the members section.
Friday, May 31, Eastern Star – Monthly Medal
CSS 74
Division 1
1st Allen Raaen (9) net 70
2nd Jens Gunnarsson (15) net 74
3rd Alwyne Burley (15) net 76
Division 2
1st Shuichi Kodaka (16) net 81
2nd Markku Tynell (24) net 82
3rd Terry Hodgkiss (23) net 83
With Phoenix being one of the courses that demand a group of at least twenty players during the low season to be able to play at rates which are in alignment with most of the others that the group plays on a regular basis, the Monthly Medals were forced to move to another venue.
Eastern Star was the course chosen as it is in the preferred Friday direction, south of the city, for Friday return travel and with a green fee priced at 600 baht a player could share a cart with a caddy for 1,200 baht, which is exceptional value compared with most courses in the area and indicative that the management have taken note of the current golfing scene, and even taking a cart on one’s own only makes the cost 1,400 baht.
As usual the course was playing its full yardage at almost 6,600 yards and the added difficulty of medal play saw the CSS for the day move out to 74 from the white tees, with the only reasonable scores being returned in the first division as the length took its toll on the second division.
Allen Raaen took his third monthly medal in a row with an outstanding round of two under handicap to win by four strokes from Jens Gunnarsson in second and Alwyne Burley, who always seems to save his best for the medals, in third another two back.
The second division was led in, perhaps a generous use of the verb, by Shuichi Kodaka who hung on to win by a single stroke from Markku Tynell in second, with Terry Hodgkiss taking third with a score that he may well wish not to remember, but one that was a lot better than many others and therefore well worth the position on the podium.
Jens Gunnarsson had a ‘2’ as usual in the first division top sweep the pot while Shuichi Kodaka ensured at least an extra weeks stay in Pattaya as he cleaned out the double roll over pot in the second division.
Note. If you would like to play with The Haven group, you can contact mobile 082 219 0965 or call in to The Haven Hotel, at 185 Soi 13, between Beach Road and 2nd Road. All transportation to the course is arranged and you do not need to sign up prior to the day, but you should be there by 8.15 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on the days that you wish to play. A schedule of courses to be played can be found on our web site at www.thehaven-hotel.com.
