PSC golf Bunker Boys @ The Ranch
Monday, Jan. 27, Bangpakong – Stableford
Another journey along highway 7 and the motorway saw twenty golfers arrive an hour later at the clubhouse which is undergoing minor renovations. The changing room we used looked brand new and was looking perfect compared to the usual broken lockers/doors/ceilings/showers etc we generally find on our travels.
Venturing outside we found the course in lovely condition with lush fairways and greens covered in grass, which made them a lot slower than on the drier courses around the Pattaya area. The only slight criticism was too much overnight watering resulting in quite a few patches of very wet fairway. The course was busy with the first few holes and par 3’s slow going, but with the sun shining and a slight breeze to cool you down, it’s still better than working.
Geoff Parker – January golfer of the month.
In the A flight Ian Milne took advantage of the conditions and although his driving was not 100% he more than made up for it with his chipping and putting to amass a terrific 42 points. A chip in from over 100 yards for a 2 on the par-four 15th aided his total. Geoff Parker and John Graham both bettered handicap but could not match him.
In B flight a really consistent round from “Skinny” Newton bagged him 39 points. This could have been more but he decided rather than take his medicine he attempted to play a shot half standing in water. Richard Baldotto took second place a shot behind, with the newly arrived Phil Moore third, a further 3 shots behind.
A Flight
1st Ian Milne (13) 42pts
2nd Geoff Parker (14) 40pts
3rd John Graham (11) 37pts
B Flight
1st Blair Newton (27) 39pts
2nd Richard Baldotto (24) 38pts
3rd Phil Moore 35pts
Near Pins: Stuart Tinkler, Rab McDonald, Paul Smith and Tony Robbins.
Wednesday. Jan. 27, Green Valley – Stableford
This was an excellent day to play on one of the more popular courses in the area, which was reflected in numbers on the course. We teed off on time but proceeded slowly before the pace picked up for our twenty four golfers.
Course conditions were good but the greens were slower than usual with 8.5 stimp meter readings.
A lot of the white tees were further forward than normal which resulted in some excellent scores on the day, particularly in A Flight. Four players bettered their handicap, with Mark Stanley regaining some form and hitting 41 points. No player in B flight bettered par with Mike Corner trumping Geoff Hart on count back, both with 36 points.
A Flight
1st Mark Stanley (10) 41pts
2nd Peter Kelly (12) 40pts
3rd Tony Robbins (13) 39pts
B Flight
1st Mike Corner (21) 36pts
2nd Geoff Hart (25) 36pts
3rd Stuart Tinkler (16) 35pts
Near Pins: Barry Murnin, Peter Kelly, Tony Robbins and Keith Norman
Friday, Jan. 31, Pattaya C.C. – Stapleford
The Bunkerboys are not regular visitors to our booked course, Plutaluang, mainly due to lack of caddies and buggies on previous visits. Today was to be no exception as approaching the course the mobiles started ringing and sure enough no caddies or buggies available until approximately 1.5 hours after our 11 a.m. booked tee time. Not wishing to take up this offer, we rang around and Pattaya Country Club could accommodate our 26 golfers at short notice.
Arriving at the alternate course the scene was very busy but somehow the starter managed to squeeze us all in, despite no obvious tee times available on his sheet. Groups went out as caddies became available from their first round of the day and eventually the final group teed off at 1.20 p.m. The volume of players on the course ensured a slowish round and the last of our field just made it back in without needing night vision goggles, a touch under 5 hours later.
A lot of us had not played this course for over 2 years since it started its renovation programme, so were interested in what had been happening. Your scribe’s memory is not what it was but no major course changes had occurred, with the majority of the work seeming to have taken place on improving the greens.
A couple of the drink stops had also been rebuilt or moved. I think the club is missing a trick by not having one on the first tee where a lot of golfers are usually milling about, with the first stop not until after hole number 4.
The fairways were reasonable, with soft new sand in the bunkers, but a lot of the golfers struggled with the slow greens. This resulted in only 7 of the field shooting above 30 points and only 2 golfers below handicap. These were Keith Norman with 39 points in A flight and Ken (steady eddy) Young with 37 points in B flight; Ken nearly bagging an eagle on the par five 18th, hitting the pin with his third shot.
The golfer of the month award went to Geoff Parker who couldn’t be caught today, finishing 9 points ahead of Colin Greig and Keith Norman.
A Flight
1st Keith Norman (14) 39pts
2nd Tony Robbins (13) 33pts
3rd Geoff Parker (14) 32pts
B Flight
1st Ken Young (28) 37pts
2nd Tore Eliassen (17) 33pts
3rd Neil Griffin (26) 31pts
Near Pins: Colin Greig (2), Tony Robbins and Keith Norman
Note: The Bunker Boys are play out of The Ranch bar on Pattaya 3rd Road on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Contact “Buff” on 086 046 5091 or 080 605 5663 for all enquiries.
