Monday, March 20
Pattavia Golf Course
1st Niall Glover (14) 39 points
2nd Geoff Parker (19) 37 points
3rd Kob Glover (15) 36 points
4th David McFeely (24) 35 points
5th Ross Schiffke (21) 35 points
Near pins Kob Glover, Ross Schiffke, Brett Chan, & Paul Smith.
The second game of the month at Pattavia where a field of nineteen participated. Our numbers are holding up well despite several departures in recent weeks. Just like the last visit, the course was rock hard and bone dry with the grass well and truly brown by now. There was even a slight shower during the game which made little difference. They have allowed the grass to grow up a little on the greens in order to slow them down which presents a different problem with grain being more pronounced.
Scores were very good for those in the winner’s circle. Niall Glover who a few weeks ago played off a twelve handicap took first place with thirty-nine points off a fourteen handicap, he should be back down again shortly. Geoff Parker is enjoying a new lease on life with a second placing with thirty-seven having lost a couple of strokes to handicap. Kob Glover has managed to get her handicap down to fifteen and still remains very competitive taking third place with thirty-six points. In only his second game of the year, David McFeely edged out Ross Schiffke from fourth place on countback. As usual, all the near pins were taken with one each going to Kob Glover, Ross Schiffke, Brett Chan (by a whisker), and Paul Smith.
The hectic days of the high season are now behind us with many courses no longer busy, with a bit of luck we might see more competitive pricing starting to take effect so we may be able to return to a more diverse playing roster.
Wednesday, March 22
Green Valley Golf Course
1st Billy Shepley (9) 38 points
2nd Bil Richardson (17) 38 points
3rd Carlos Aguirre (21) 37 points
4th Paul Smith (5) 34 points
Near pins Geoff Parker, Paul Smith, Gerry Cooney, & Kob Glover
We begin today’s report with some excellent news, Robby Watts has successfully undergone hip replacement surgery in his native Melbourne and is already up and about, we look forward to him having a speedy recovery and getting back on the golf course mid-year. No doubt he will take some stick on his return and I don’t mean a walking stick. In further medical news, Colin Greig has undergone knee replacement surgery and is also in recovery mode. The bad news for both is a cut of several strokes in handicap due to using artificial aids. Another in rehab is Keith Norman who is currently not playing due to a back injury, what is happening to the Bunker Boys? They are all falling apart, one way or another.
Today we were scheduled to play St Andrews but due to a competition being held there we were switched to the Green Valley course which made many very happy, some have difficulty wrestling with the St Andrews course and find it quite difficult. A walking fee of nine hundred baht made the change all the sweeter, the all-in fee is less attractive at seventeen hundred baht.
A blustery flukey wind blew all day and made for tricky playing conditions. As with most courses now Green Valley was very dry with lots of run on the fairways and very quick greens. Despite that those in the winner’s circle acquitted themselves very well. Top position went to Billy Shepley with thirty-eight points beating Bil Richardson into second place on countback. Another new face on the leaderboard Carlos Aguirre took third place on thirty-seven points while Paul Smith brought up the rear with thirty-four points in fourth place. To everyone’s relief, the thirteenth hole which nobody seems to be able hit in recent visits was won today, Gerry Cooney did the business, the other near pins were won by Kob Glover, Geoff Parker, & Paul Smith.
With the recent untimely passing of Doug Philpott our webmaster, our website has fallen into neglect. We are currently wrestling with either finding a suitable replacement for Doug or simply closing down the site. We would appreciate any feedback from the membership or indeed any others who used to visit the site for their golf news, please feel free to submit your thoughts for consideration. The Bunker Boys’ playing schedule and weekly reports can be found on Pattaya Mail, Pattaya Sports Club, or Facebook.
Friday, March 24
Crystal Bay C & A Golf Course
1st Jimmy Carr (21) 38 points
2nd Bil Richardson (16) 35 points
3rd Kob Glover (14) 35 points
4th Carlos Aguirre (21) 34 points
Near pins Gary Smith, Les Cobban, & Bob Mulholland.
The Crystal Bay course was pretty much what you would expect from a neglected course. The irrigation system seems to have packed up completely so fairways were dry as a bone, rock hard, and bare in many places. The greens were deceptively slow despite looking slick. As ever bunkers were neglected and dead trees could be seen all around. It would be a shame if this course closes as the layout is excellent.
With so many departures lately our numbers are definitely back down to low season levels, with sixteen today. The game was played at a decent pace with everybody back in the clubhouse by 3.30 pm. Jimmy Carr had a very good day with a top score of thirty-eight, his twenty-one handicap will receive a haircut for next week’s games. Bil Richardson took second on countback from Kob Glover, both with thirty-five points. Carlos Aguirre had some wretched luck with some impossible lies on the back nine after a very solid front nine, he finished in fourth place with thirty-four points and looks a much better player than his twenty-one handicap suggests. Strangely nobody hit the green on C4 so only three near pins were taken going to Gary Smith, Les Cobban, and Bob Mulholland.
