IPGC Golf from The Haven
Monday, July 13, Greenwood A & B – Stableford
CSS 75 NC
1st Hal Hart (20) 32pts
2nd Terry Hodgkiss (22) 28pts
3rd Markku Tynell (19) 23pts
4th Jens Gunnarsson (13) 22pts
A very difficult day on the Greenwood layout was the reward for a long drive up the 331, as although the course was in good shape, the recent weather and course set up determined that the day’s results would all be well below the expectations of the hopefuls.
(Left to right) Shuichi Kodaka, Hal Hart & Neil Skilton.
Hal Hart managed to keep the ball in play the best but struggled to maintain any consistency as he led in the field by four clear shots, despite starting out his round well over handicap.
Terry Hodgkiss returned from an extended break to finish with a card that was almost equally loaded with zeros and three-pointers and when added to too many one-pointers it made it impossible to get any closer to the winner. But he was still far ahead of third placed Markku Tynell who seemed to get struggle more and more as the round progressed, which was almost the reverse experience of fourth placed Jens Gunnarsson who started at dead slow and got better and better to lag just one back. These two were a very long way ahead of the next to finish on a day when the après-golf was the highlight.
As expected with the course playing so long and hard, there were no ‘2’s in either of the divisions.
Wednesday, July 15, Khao Kheow A & B (yellow tees) – Stableford
CSS 72
1st Neil Skilton (6) 37pts
2nd Shuichi Kodaka (17) 35pts
3rd Jens Gunnarsson (13) 30pts
4th Markku Tynell (19) 29pts
After the tribulations of Monday few of the players were looking forward to what is usually an even tougher test of golf at one of the best courses in the area; the A8 hole here is still undergoing some renovations and has been reduced to a tough par four from the red tees instead of the easier par five from the yellow tees. Apart from that small difficulty the course was playing well although many of the contenders managed to find almost all the trouble there was to mar their cards.
Neil Skilton settled down after a bad start, when he took just three points from the first three holes, to record another victory. A strong back nine of two over gross, which included an excellent par, par finish on the B course, left him the winner by two clear.
Shuichi Kodaka showed he was returning to form again with a solid one-over handicap round but a couple of missed opportunities over the closing holes cost him the chance of a win. His second place finish however was five clear of third placed Jen Gunnarsson.
Jens had played considerably better on his second outing with the group but still left too many out there to be a serious threat to the leaders.
Markku Tynell again showed good application following his three shot reduction in handicap and looks well set to get among the prizes again sometime soon.
Once again there were no 2’s in the second division but Neil Skilton made a double celebration with the sole one in the first division to clean out the rollover pool.
Friday, July 17, Bangpra – Stableford
CSS 73
1st Shuichi Kodaka (17) 37pts
2nd Graham Davis (8) 30pts
3rd Philip Cass (15) 30pts
4th Peter Buckley (21) 30pts
5th Paul Hird (12) 29pts
6th Walter Panichi (1) 29pts
With two tough venues earlier in the week there was to be no respite with the last test being over the always extremely difficult Bangpra course. Here the greens can be regarded as perhaps the toughest in the area and are a very daunting prospect from anywhere above the hole on almost every occasion.
The concerns that were held by many of the entrants were well founded as even with some of the pins placed in ‘almost’ helpful positions the greens were still definitely the winners, with only the day’s winner seemingly able to cope with them consistently.
That winner was Shuichi Kodaka, who built on his previous good round with an even better one today to go one step higher up the podium after returning the only card that did not include a zero-pointer.
Graham Davis led in a three-way count back for second place, winning with a better 12 to 11 over the last six to leave Philip Cass in third, while Peter Buckley had to settle for fourth after managing just 10 points on the back nine to follow an outstanding two under handicap front nine. Paul Hird rounded off his Thailand trip with a fifth place after beating the lowest handicapper of the day, Walter Panichi, in a count back, carding a better 17 to 16.
There were no 2’s in the first division but Terry Hodgkiss made it a very, very happy day as he casually chipped in at the 162 yard second hole, having been unable to reach the green against the very strong wind, to sweep the huge rollover pot in the second division. Having collected the loot he very generously treated the whole bar to a celebration tipple. Back at the course he had been on such a high after the feat that he then blobbed the next two holes, but never mind, his day had already been made.
Note: If you would like to play with The Haven group, you can contact 038 710 988 or call in to The Haven Hotel, 185 Soi 13, situated between Beach Road and 2nd Road. All transportation to the course is arranged and you do not need to sign up prior to the day, but you should be there by 8.15 on a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on the days that you wish to play. If you would like to leave your golf clubs at The Haven, there are usually lockers available at a nominal charge. A schedule of courses to be played can be found on our web site at www. thehaven-hotel.com.
