PSC golf Bunker Boys @ The Ranch
Monday, March 17, Mt. Shadow – Stableford
Weather conditions were overcast, windy and very humid, which seemed to sap everybody’s energy except John Graham who had an excellent 37pts. The back nine punished everybody except John who had 20pts on the back nine, with the next best being on 16.
Mashie, the winner in each of his last 3 outings, started off par, birdie, par, bogie, par – 13 points after 5 holes – and whilst he faded on the back nine he still managed second place to be leading the golfer of the month competition.
The course was in good shape except for perennial complaint about the bunkers. Difficult to understand both here and Crystal Bay have put endless hours into mowing all the rough but cannot seem to put effort into the bunkers. Pity, as this is an excellent test of golf.
1st John Graham (11) 37pts
2nd Mashi Kaneta (13) 33pts
3rd Keith Smithson (2) 31pts
4th Dave Ashman (15) 31pts
Near Pins: Tony Robbins, Tony Berry and Keith Smithson
Wednesday, March 19, Silky Oaks – Rainbow Stableford
Our first visit to this course as a society was selected to become a rainbow competition where the golfer must take 6 tee shots each off the red, white (yellow today) and blues in any order they choose.
The format was chosen as golfers needed to clear 200 yards on a couple of the holes off the yellows, which is enough to deter a great portion of our regulars. In addition to these carries there were another 12, mostly over water and with many elevated greens, so the golfers were in for a tough day.
Carts are compulsory here and the 10 minute ride to the first tee showed the necessity. Word of warning to future golfers, there is only one drinks hole after the 4th and you come round again after the 13th so stock up. Another quirk of this course is that 2 fairways are shared and if your caddy doesn’t speak English too well it can be a bit confusing.
Mine host Buff was having a good day until the 4th fairway where a beautiful bunker shot landed 2ft from the pin – unfortunately it was the wrong one! A lot of the greens are not visible from the tee so having to play blind and not knowing any potential problems wasn’t what I would call fun, a subsequent visit should be easier. The course itself is very scenic, well manicured with good fairways and greens, although the latter erred on the slow side.
The combination of carries, and lack of course knowledge inevitably contributed to low scoring from the 14 golfers. Only Colin Greig in first place on 38 points and Peter Hapgood in second, a point behind, managed to master the problems. Even our tame golf pro Keith Smithson could only muster 30 points, partially due to water sneakily placed down a steep bank behind a green.
A fourth course is under construction next to Silky Oaks but the majority of our fraternity are still struggling with numbers 2 and 3.
1st Colin Greig (7) 38pts
2nd Peter Hapgood (20) 37pts
3rd Geoff Hart (23) 31pts
4th Keith Smithson (2) 30pts
Near Pins: Colin Greig, Peter Hapgood and Geoff Parker
Friday, March 21, Pleasant Valley – Stableford
An unpleasant surprise awaited us on arrival at Pleasant Valley as we discovered that our booking had been mysteriously “lost”, but after a short discussion the management agreed to accommodate our five groups, teeing off from the 10th tee.
The course was generally in good shape, but the slow greens took some getting used to, particularly on uphill putts against the grain which required the use of a driver! The round progressed without any holdups, although a thunder storm passed close by, sprinkling us with a few drops of rain which was the first precipitation we’ve experienced on a golf course since early November.
There was no doubt who was the star performer today as Paul Smith returned to the clubhouse with an impressive score of 41 points, equating to a gross score of 70 off his handicap of 3 (soon surely to be reduced to 2!).
Only a single flight today with Keith Smithson (37 points) taking second place ahead of Geoff Parker on a count back, and Mike Lloyd (36) taking the final podium position.
Although Gordon Melia professes not to be a fan of this course, he’s making something of a speciality of the par three 8th hole, taking his second near pin prize in successive games here with yet another of his now infamous skimmer shots.
1st Paul Smith (3) 41pts
2nd Keith Smithson (2) 37pts
3rd Geoff Parker (15) 37pts
4th Mike Lloyd (14) 36pts
Near Pins: Gordon Melia, Geoff Parker, Keith Smithson and Paul Smith
Note: The Bunker Boys is a PSC affiliated golf society that plays out of The Ranch bar on Pattaya 3rd Road (in front of the fire station, and almost opposite the Buffalo Bar). We play on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, meeting 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 or go to website: www. bunkersociety.com.
