PSC golf Bunker Boys @ The Ranch
Monday, Oct. 7, Eastern Star – Stableford
The week long downpour in Pattaya continued as a small group of die hard golfers assembled at The Ranch for the scheduled visit to Ban Chang. The prospects for a decent game looked almost zero as we made the trip down the Sukhumvit Road, through two torrential downpours, and it was still raining heavily when we arrived at the course.
Only four other golfers had signed in on the course before us, and we decided to wait in the clubhouse over a cup of coffee, to see if the rain would stop. Eventually, an hour after our scheduled tee time, no other players had ventured on to the course, but we decided to take the plunge (literally!) and teed off in steady drizzle.
Gordon Melia.
The fairways were totally saturated, but amazingly the greens were draining superbly, and were actually in better condition than on our last visit in dry weather! After nine extremely soggy holes we decided that enough was enough, and played the tenth and eighteenth holes before returning to the clubhouse for a very welcome warm shower.
This is the first time in more than ten year’s history of the Bunker Boy’s society, that we’ve been forced to cancel two consecutive competitions, and we could only hope that the weather conditions would improve in the next couple of days.
Wednesday, Oct. 9, Pleasant Valley – Stableford
There was a mood of optimism over breakfast at The Ranch today, when after days of heavy rain, causing the cancellation of our last two competitions, the morning was bright and sunny. It’s fair to say that Pleasant Valley isn’t the most popular course on our schedule, but today everyone was keen to get back on a golf course, wherever it might be, and even long term critic Gordon Melia put aside his disapproval of the course and turned out for a rare visit.
We teed off on schedule, but it was obvious from the first hole that the course had suffered from the recent deluges, and the fairways were still soggy, although playable. The greens had also suffered from the constant rain and indeed the damage looks serious, but hopefully they will recover when the dry weather returns.
All in all conditions were far from ideal, particularly when the ball strayed into the uncut rough, but at least the sun was shining and even when we had a ten minute shower of rain as the leading group reached the fourteenth hole, it didn’t detract from the pleasure of being back out on a golf course again.
Scores were never going to be good, but Tony Robbins managed to hold his game together, and came home one point clear of Neil Hurst, with newcomer Andy Brady a further point back taking third place.
Near pins went to Andy Brady, Geoff Parker, Steve Durey and Reg Smart.
1st Tony Robbins (14) 33pts
2nd Neil Hurst (12) 32pts
3rd Andy Brady (18) 31pts
Friday, Oct. 11, Greenwood C & A – Stableford
Fourteen golfers assembled at The Ranch for our trip to Greenwood on another bright and sunny morning. When we arrived at the course, the clubhouse was quiet, and we were able to tee off at our leisure with no groups in sight ahead of us.
The course was in fine condition and had dried out surprisingly well from the recent downpours, the only problem being some patches on the fairways were an overeager mower had left deep tyre treads in the damp areas.
Andy Brady was playing only his third game with the Bunker Boys, but was the only player to play to his handicap on the day, to take the winner’s prize. Duncan Lee (20 points on the back nine) took second place on a count back ahead of Peter Habgood.
There are two long par threes on this combination of courses and no one managed to hit the green on either, with Gordon Melia taking the only near pin prize and thereby scooping the pot on the 6th hole of the C course, narrowly beating Geoff Parker by a couple of inches (or maybe a tad more!). Gordon generously shared his good fortune by providing liquid refreshments for his fellow golfers following the presentation back at The Ranch.
1st Andy Brady (18) 36pts
2nd Duncan Lee (14) 35pts
3rd Peter Habgood (18) 35pts
Note: The Bunker Boys play out of The Ranch bar on Pattaya 3rd Road (in front of the fire station, and almost opposite the Buffalo Bar). We play three times per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, so if you enjoy a fun day out, and a friendly but competitive golf competition why not come and join us.
We meet at The Ranch at 9 a.m. for breakfast and transportation, and new players are always welcome. Contact “Buff” on 086 046 5091 or 080 605 5663 for all enquiries. You can find all the news, schedules and results on our website at www. bunkersociety.com.
The 8th Annual John Preddy Memorial Charity Golf Tournament will be held on the 22nd November 2013 at Crystal Bay Golf Club. Full details to follow in the coming weeks, players and sponsors may contact Buff on the numbers above.
