PSC Golf from The Growling Swan
Monday, Dec. 23, Pattavia – Stableford
We had a very good Monday field with 28 starters who were all keen to have a look at the much talked about Pattavia Century Golf Course, formerly Century Chonburi.
As we gathered at The Growling Swan it was great to see Bob Akapita back with us from his work at Gove in the Northern Territory of Australia and also first timer Mark Twomey, also from Gove. We also extended a heart welcome to veteran Hugh O’Donnell who is back in Pattaya for a few months. It was also time to farewell David Fletcher who is returning to his mining work in Western Australia.
Peter Blackburn, Roy Dayton, Bent Agerbo, John Davis & Alan Sanders.
Everyone was early so we departed in three mini vans seven minutes earlier than our scheduled 8.30 am time and headed off through the Monday morning Pattaya traffic, clearing the city quite easily. We were all dreading the bumpy journey to the course after exiting 331 but it was not too bad at all and we arrived at the course after a 62 minute drive. Some people complain that it is too far and the road is too rough but all I can say is – if you’re a keen golfer – toughen up!
The golf course was not too busy but there was plenty of activity in the area of the new clubhouse which is currently under construction and due to be completed by the end of January, 2014. We sent our first four-ball off the first tee 5 minutes early at 9.55 am and it was immediately apparent that there was significant improvement in the course with well prepared tees and fairly lush fairways. As for the greens, they posed all sorts of problems for us with some very “cheeky” pin positions and at times lightning quick on the undulations – not for the faint of heart!
To sum it up, the course is very good and always has been a great layout and will only get even better in the future. After searching for golf balls a couple of times our group was a bit slow but we managed to complete the round in four hours & twenty minutes. It had been a very enjoyable outing with excellent company.
At the end of the day it was apparent that the golf course had got the better of us as there was no-one able to score to their handicap or better. The winner of A Division was my very good friend Frankie “Goes to Hollywood” Sharratt with 35 points and with 2 players on 34 points it was Sal Brizzi (19 point back nine) who finished second from Mike Allidi (18 point back nine) in third place.
Division B saw the in-form John Davis take first spot with 35 points and J C Lhoste was second with 33 points. Another count back was needed to determine third place as there were two golfers on 30 points and it was Duangjai “Kae” Tusagad (16 point back nine & 11 points on the last 6 holes) who prevailed over Bent Agerbo (16 point back nine & 9 points on the last 6 holes).
In Division C it was the old bloke Hugh O’Donnell (20 point back nine) who was victorious in a count back ahead of Geri Crilly (14 point back nine) in second spot with both having 32 points. One more count back was required to determine third place and it was Roy “Plums” Dayton (18 point back nine) who edged out David Fletcher (14 point back nine) with both having 29 points.
A Flight (0-15)
1st Frankie Sharratt (13) 35pts
2nd Sal Brizzi (7) 34pts
3rd Mike Allidi (2) 34pts
B Flight (16-23)
1st John Davis (18) 35pts
2nd JC Lhoste (23) 33pts
3rd Duangjai Tusagad (20) 30pts
C Flight (24+)
1st Hugh O’Donnell (32) 32pts
2nd Geri Crilly (26) 32pts
3rd Roy Dayton (25) 29pts
Near Pins: 4th – Mike Allidi, 7th – Sal Brizzi, 14th – Bob Akapita, 17th – Duangjai Tusagad
Long Putts: 9th – Bill Steinman, 18th – Mike Allidi
The Growling Swan NAGA Award, (awarded to the golfer who has the worst score on the day and discreetly their score is not made public) was won by Alan “Colonel” Sanders who accepted the award like the good sport that he is.
Thursday, December 26, Greenwood C&A – Stroke/Monthly Mug
The day after Christmas Day was always going to be a worry for attendance but after receiving just two late withdrawals and one “no-show” we ended up with a fine field of 34 to contest for the 19th Growling Swan Monthly Mug at Greenwood.
We all met at the bar and welcomes were handed out to Andy Purdie from Queensland, Tizziano Dal Pastro from Italy, Peter Sorensten from Denmark and Chris Orwin & Paul Welsh from Melbourne. It was time to farewell Bob Akapita and Mark Twomey who will soon be returning to Gove in the Northern Territory of Australia.
After a fairly smooth run we arrived at Greenwood after a 90 minute journey and things were very quiet at the course so we were invited to tee off at our leisure and it was necessary to remind all that it was a stroke round and every shot needed to be counted with presentations back at the bar afterwards as is the norm for our Monthly Mug.
We got our first four-ball away twenty minutes early at 10.10 am in glorious weather conditions with sunny skies and a nice breeze and the golf course was in great shape with the greens being very well maintained and fairly slick. The pace was quite good with no-one ahead of us and our round of golf was completed in four hours & thirteen minutes which is quite good while playing a stroke round on this challenging layout. Great weather, great golf course with very enjoyable company – just another day in paradise!
John Davis, Hugh O’Donnell, Frank Sharratt & Alan Sanders.
The golf course was the obvious winner on the day with just one golfer playing to their handicap or better and that was Roy “Plums” Dayton who took out his second Monthly Mug with a terrific score of net 67.
The Division A winner was your writer, Peter “Blacky” Blackburn (net 33 back nine) after a count back with 3 golfers on net 73 and Sal Brizzi (net 35 back nine) came second with big Bill Steinman (net 38 back nine) finishing in third place.
The very consistent John Davis won Division B with a net 73 and Patrick Poussier was second on net 76 with Mark “Westy” West third with net 78.
In Division C it was Alan “Colonel” Sanders who was victorious with a net 80, 1 better than Nolan “No-one” Wise in second place and Geri Crilly finished third with a net 82.
Monthly Mug
1st Roy Dayton (25) net 67
A Flight (0-13)
1st Peter Blackburn (13) net 73
2nd Sal Brizzi (7) net 73
3rd Bill Steinman (8) net 73
B Flight (14-24)
1st John Davis (18) net 73
2nd Patrick Poussier (24) net 76
3rd Mark West (15) net 78
C Flight (25+)
1st Alan Sanders (25) net 80
2nd Nolan Wise (36) net 81
3rd Geri Crilly (26) net 82
Near Pins: A6 – Mike Allidi, C3 – Bill Steinman, C6 – Ebrahim
Long Putts: A9 – Bill Steinman, C9 – Andrew Purdie
The Growling Swan NAGA Award, was won by Bent Agerbo in a three-way count back and he accepted the cap gracefully and wore it for a while back in the bar.
Note: Growling Swan Golf welcomes golfers of any persuasion – low & high handicappers alike, female golfers and beginners. We generally play Mondays & Thursdays, meeting at The Growling Swan in Soi Chaiyapoon at 8.00 am with transport departing at 8.30 am. For bookings or more information please contact Peter on 0806 351 386 or email to petermalcolm [email protected].
