PSC Golf from The Growling Swan
Monday, March 10, Eastern Star – Stableford
The challenge for this first game of the week was the tricky Eastern Star Golf Course and after a withdrawal due to sickness we had 19 starters on the sheet and we assembled at The Growling Swan in preparation for the journey.
We had just the one newcomer amongst us, Mark Erikson from the USA, and he was handed a hearty welcome. Departing the GS right on time at 8.30 am we headed South down number 3 in two mini vans and after a fairly good run arrived at the golf course 45 minutes later. There was a fair bit of activity there and we took our time in preparation as there were members of another golf society having coffee in the restaurant but we were asked by the Starter to proceed to the first tee and our first four ball hit off 15 minutes ahead of schedule at 9.45 am.
Peter Blackburn, Frankie Sharratt & Kurt Eric Persson.
We proceeded in sprightly fashion with no-one in front of us but unknown to us there was somewhat of a “ruckus” behind us on the first tee as the golfers who had been drinking coffee in the restaurant rocked up and wanted to commence their round in the middle of our five groups, in fact they suggested that our first group be called back. Fat chance of that and our others members stood firm and told these others golfers that they would now have to wait and if they had a problem with that then they should speak to the Starter. I did not know about this until after we had finished but I admired our members for their solidarity and thanked them for not succumbing to the aggression and intimidation.
The weather was hot with a fairly stiff breeze and the course was in very good shape although the greens were somewhat slower than normal and at times unpredictable. It was a very enjoyable round with good company and the round was completed in four hours & five minutes.
We had 2 Divisions – Division A for handicaps 0 to 18 & Division B for golfers on handicaps of 19 and over with three places in each Division. There were also rewards for nearest the pin on two of the four par 3’s and longest first putts on the 9th & 18th greens.
Your humble correspondent, Peter “Blacky” Blackburn (20 point back nine) scraped home to win Division A on a count back with 4 golfers on 37 points and Ebrahim (19 point back nine and 15 points on the last 6 holes) finished in second spot. In third place came Alain “Inspector Clouseau” Taddei (19 point back nine, 12 points on the last 6 holes & 8 points on the last 3 holes) with Gerd Riedler (19 point back nine, 12 points on the last 6 holes & 7 points on the last 3 holes) just missing out on a place.
Bill Steinman & Russell Calcutt.
With 3 golfers on 35 points in one of the closest batches of results that I can remember, another count back was required to determine the placings in Division B and first place went to Kurt Eric Persson (17 point back nine & 13 points on the last 6 holes. In second spot was Kurt Eric’s partner Seesa Phompinmon (17 point back nine & 12 points on the last six holes) with Rita Zoebelli (17 point back nine & 10 points on the last 6 holes) finishing third.
Division A (0-18)
1st Peter Blackburn (14) 37pts
2nd Ebrahim (16) 37pts
3rd Alain Taddei (17) 37pts
Division B (19+)
1st Kurt Eric Persson (24) 35pts
2nd Seesa Phompinmon (27) 35pts
3rd Rita Zoebelli (25) 35pts
Near Pins: 3rd – Seesa Phompinmon, 17th – Alain Taddei
Long Putts: 9th – Alain Taddei, 18th –Gerd Riedler
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 Frank Sharratt who accepted the award like the good sport that he is. JC then kindly paraded Deefa the Dog and of course collected many donations for the needy in Pattaya from our generous Growling Swan Golfers.
Thursday, March 13, Khao Kheow A & B – Combined Stableford Pairs
It was time for our monthly novelty competition and this time it was a combined stableford pairs event with once again a random draw, pairing a low handicapper with a high one. There was much interest for the day and we eventually ended up with 37 golfers after a couple of late withdrawals and last minute additions.
We left the GS right on schedule at 8.30 a.m. and headed up number 7 and after a good run arrived at the golf course after just 40 minutes. We had plenty of time before our 10.06 am tee time which enabled us to do the random draw for partners amidst a few moans & groans but all realized that it was to be a fun day and apologies were not necessary.
We were allocated the B & A nines in that order and our first four-ball got away 16 minutes ahead of schedule at 9.50 a.m. It was quite hot with a fairly stiff breeze and the golf course was in magnificent shape with lush fairways and very well maintained greens which were fairly slow at times.
We had no other groups within sight ahead of us but our round was not one of the quickest ones and even though it took four hours & thirty minutes we finished well ahead of the group behind us. We had a very enjoyable day with lots of laughs and even though our group did not feature on the podium we all had a ball!
As there were 19 teams of two we went down to sixth place with an additional award for the best individual score for a non podium finish and there were also rewards for nearest the pin on the four par 3’s and longest first putts on the 9th & 18th greens.
Big Bill Steinman was somewhat apprehensive when discovering that his drawn partner, Russell “John Daly” Calcutt had presented himself after just one hour’s sleep but they were both smiling and embracing each other after they posted a combined 77 points to win the day. In second place was Robbie Taylor & Dennis Odgers with 73 points and Ebrahim & Rita Zoebelli came third scoring 71 points. In fourth place came John Davies & Dick Braimbridge on 66 points and with 3 teams on 65 points the resultant count back saw the team of Mark “Westy” West and Stephen Newton (38 point back nine) finish in fifth place and Gerd Riedler & Ken Grimes (34 point back nine) take sixth, with Mike “Hunter” Gosden & Ian Jessiman (29 point back nine) just missing out.
In the individual award there was another count back with 2 golfers on 37 points which saw Tom McMahon (19 point back nine) take the honours from Mike Gosden (18 point back nine).
1st Bill Steinman (10) & Russell Calcutt (35) – 77pts
2nd Robbie Taylor (14) & Dennis Odgers (21) – 73pts
3rd Abrahim (16) & Rita Zoebelli (25) – 71pts
4th John Davis (15) & Dick Braimbridge (36) – 66pts
5h Mark West (14) & Stephen Newton (28) – 65pts
6th Gerd Riedler (8) & Ken Grimes (19) – 65pts
Near Pins: A3 – Frank Donnelly, A5 – Bill Steinman, B3 – Ian Jessiman, B8 – Dennis Odgers
Long Putts: A9 – Robbie Taylor, B9 – Ken Grimes
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 petermalcolmblackburn @gmail.com.
We also play bowls out of the Growling Swan every Wednesday and Sunday. Sunday is Lawn Bowls and Wednesday is Indoor Bowls. All are welcome and for anyone that is interested the transport leaves The Growling Swan at 10.00 a.m. on each of those mornings. For more information please contact Paul Rennison on 0843 454 005.
