IPGC golf from The Pattaya Golf Society
Monday, 27th June, The Pattaya Golf Society made a rare visit to Pleasant Valley, the very tight little course just north of Khao Kheow. Having squeezed a quart into a pint pot on the back nine the course strategy has to be accuracy, not length and off the blue tees it was a real challenge as they were shared with the black tees for the majority of the holes. All this and the monthly medal too!
Starting early on an empty track the group made good progress and none more so than Peter Masters, initially playing the first six holes to par off the stick, invigorated by the arrival of the school hols no doubt. He was then touched on the shoulder by his old friend, “Mr Sh….”, and his round fell apart.
The Aussie dominated field saw Tony Thorne, Alex Sala and Phil Knight share second place with net 78 whilst compatriot Stuart Thompson had the day of his life with a sparkling net 69 giving a long awaited victory by an unbelievable nine shots.
Stuart shared the ‘2’s pot with Rob Lamond and Alex Sala who posted three ‘2’s, his fine effort on the twelfth yielding an eagle for good measure.
The candidates for the Booby Bevy included the aforementioned Peter Masters and Masaaki Sugaya whose thirteen on the fifteenth put paid to a good round. However Haruyuki Kato’s place in the Guinness Book of Records is assured after he recorded only one shot in his competition round, drawing it to an early conclusion after playing the wrong ball for his second shot on the first. Altogether a very pleasant day at Pleasant Valley.
Triple table toppers
The Pattaya Golf Society visited Pattana on Wednesday, 29th June to play a stableford competition on the B and C nines under a cloudy sky which occasionally turned showery. The course was in good condition with the B greens especially fine.
Competition was exceptionally tight with three players sharing first place. Visitor Anthony Barriente joined Aussie duo Tony Thorne and Peter Masters on 34 points to take the day.
The only birdie ‘2’ was achieved by Peter Masters on B3 to guarantee a profitable day for the thirteen handicapper whilst newbie Yasukazu Ueda took the Booby Bevy in his maiden PGS competition after playing the full round with the sole of his golf shoe flapping its way around the course, threatening to become detached at any time. But the empty course was more than enough to offer enjoyment to the group at the end of what has been occasionally a quite fraut month at PGS.
Classic Chris brightens dull day
The Pattaya Golf Society traveled to a stormy and damp Emerald on Friday, 1st July to play a stableford competition. Storm clouds were evident all day and a steady downpour just before tee-off softened the course to an almost quagmire. Only the hardy remained.
In third place was Peter Masters with a creditable 36 points, just one behind Nile Sheehan and Chris Smith, the latter brightening the day with a sparkling gross 72, giving him 37 points.
Nile and Chris shared the Booby Bevy after their fine efforts on the fifteenth whilst Peter Masters also took the Booby Bevy after blowing his chances by bogeying all the par threes.
Elsewhere Nuan Keddle was the pick of the ladies whilst “Rabbi” hit the lowest score of his short career with the final round for his starter clubs. His new Taylormades may be the solution he is seeking to come down the handicap list.
A damp day at Emerald was likely to be the highlight of a dismal election weekend in Pattaya!
