PSC golf Bunker Boys @ The Ranch
Monday, March 10, Bangpakong Riv erside – Stableford
Nineteen golfers embarked from the Ranch to tackle one of the courses furthest afield in the area, taking just over an hour unless you happened to be in Colin Greig’s car.
Arriving at the clubhouse to ongoing minor renovations to the locker area, all seemed fairly quiet but looks can be deceptive. This is a popular course with Pattayaites and Thais alike, but respect for bookings means that we normally tee off on time. Unfortunately the first few holes tend to be very slow as a look around revealed groups on every fairway.
Raleigh Gosney.
The first par 3, hole number 4 is a particular bottleneck as 4 out of our 5 groups were in attendance and the drinks stop did a brisk trade. Thereafter proceedings slightly quickened and on a beautifully manicured track the protagonists were hoping to take full advantage.
The weather was overcast but still very warm and a strong breeze was blowing which stiffened during the course of the round, creating a few problems. Fairways were in great shape as were the greens, although they were on the slow side but shouldn’t have caused too many sleepless nights.
As expected scores were generally good, with only 2 players failing to reach the 30 point mark, and then not by much. “A” flight in the form of Rab McDonald produced the best card of the day with 39 points followed by ‘Mr. Consistent’ Paul Smith on 37 points and Mark Stanley with 35.
Raleigh Gosney scooped B flight with 37 points while Neil Griffin, with the help of a 20-yard hole out from the bunker for par on number 11, left John Hughes a beaten man on a 35 point count back.
Back at the Ranch there were more than a few raised eyebrows when it was discovered that the 4 near pins had gone to the 4 players in the final group, what money would you put on that!
A Flight
1st Rab McDonald (12) 39pts
2nd Paul Smith (3) 37pts
3rd Mark Stanley (7) 35pts
B Flight
1st Raleigh Gosney (18) 37pts
2nd Neil Griffin (25) 35pts
3rd John Hughes (18) 35pts
Near Pins: Colin Greig, Paul Smith, Gordon Melia and Raleigh Gosney
Wednesday, March 12, Pattavia Century – Stableford\
30 players turned out for the game at the newly renovated Pattavia course and we arrived to find the new clubhouse was finally open, and very impressive it is, To say it’s a massive improvement on the previous one would be the understatement of the year.
Although the course didn’t appear to be busy we were requested to start off the 10th tee and the first group got away on schedule. The greens on the first half dozen holes had been recently cored and sanded but were still running quickly, if a little bumpy. From the 7th hole onwards the greens were cut to their quickest and presented major problems to everyone. In particular, the par five 9th hole (normally the 18th) had been cut on a steep slope and any putt which missed the hole (from any direction – including uphill!) went down the slope and ended up on the front edge of the green almost 30 feet from the pin.
Chris Cox suffered more than most, when having a 10 foot birdie putt across the slope (which actually narrowly missed the hole) finally walked off the green with a triple bogey. Kenny Chung was the only player to come close to mastering the greens and managed to amass 36 points to win the KPK Foods voucher for the overall win.
A Flight
1st Mike Lloyd (14) 35pts
2nd John Graham (11) 34pts
3rd Roger Touhey (10) 34pts
B Flight
1st Kenny Chung (24) 36pts
2nd Tore Eliassen (18) 34pts
3rd Tom McDowell (21) 31pts
Near Pins: John Graham, Raleigh Gosney, Keith Hemmings and Paul Smith
Friday, March 14, The Emerald – Medal
Arriving at Emerald the 22 players were met with a busy car park but nobody on the first tee so off we went to do battle with one of the shorter, but by no means easier courses on our regular circuit.
On the front nine the white tees had been moved forward for a lot of the holes and this was reversed on the back nine with a mystery tee box appearing for the uphill par-5 14th. Greens were in good condition holding the ball and running true but not overly quick. Fairways were not so good with their assortment of grass and in need of some rain to counter the hard lies.
A few of the leaking sprinkler heads also need attention giving rise to GUR’s. On the flip side the ball was getting some good run for those managing to stay on the fairway and the par-5 4th hole presented a few eagle chances with only Mike Lloyd able to convert.
Despite its short length this varied and testing course rarely gives up good scores with today definitely not bucking the trend. Only the winner of A Flight, Mashi Kaneta, and B flight winner Tore Eliasen shot better than their handicaps, with the rest of the field strung out in their wake.
The onset of the low season and hopefully low(er) green fees is nearly upon us but disappointingly Emerald seem to be holding their prices.
A Flight
1st Mashi Kaneta (13) net 69
2nd John Batty (9) net 74
3rd Mike Lloyd (14) net 74
B Flight
1st Tore Eliasen (18) net 71
2nd Geoff Parker (15) net 75
3rd Bruce Ogilvie (15) net 77
Near Pins: Tore Eliasen, Bruce Ogilvie, Keith Hemmings and Mike Lloyd
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). Contact “Buff” on 086 046 5091 or 080 605 5663 for all enquiries or check website at www.bunkersociety.com.
