PSC Golf from The Growling Swan
Monday, Oct. 19, Mt. Shadow – Stableford
We departed the Growling Swan in quite a few cars and headed out to Mountain Shadow G.C., where the weather was on our side with no sign of rain and conditions looking fine. There were not too many players at the course other than our group of golfers.
Playing from the blue tees it seemed to suit some of our players as scores were not too bad and discussion at the completion was nothing short of good. The course was in top condition and the greens slow as per the normal.
(L to R) Ernie Picken, Mark (the Viper) Stapleton and Bill Stienmann.
Mashi was hotter than a sausage on Bucket’s BBQ on a Wednesday night, and off his handicap of 14 his 38 points took the chocolates! In second was ‘Mr. Six O’clock, the coach’ Mike Gosden while third went to our resident scorer John Anderson who seems to have hit a purple patch of late – maybe it’s time to check his scoring!
1st Mashi Kaneta (14) 38pts
2nd Mike Gosden (15) 37pts
3rd John Anderson (28) 34pts
Near Pins: Mashi Kaneta (2), Bill Steinmann
Long Putts: Keith Buchanan, Mashi Kaneta
Thursday, Oct. 22, Laem Chabang – Stableford
With 36 starters today and the dangling carrot for the big field was LaemChabang. It seems that with the current quiet season some discounts have been offered up by the local courses, but in this case the offer was of disappointment.
Mashi Kaneta.
A rate of 2,300 THB at Laem Chabang is regarded by some as value and they were keen to enjoy the offer. The snip was made on the eve of play when a representative of LC advised that all 54 greens were rough cut, cored and sanded (too rough to play) and no further discounts were offered. It was too late to change to another venue and we wanted to play golf! The biggest disappointment was the attitude of the golf club management and many of us won’t be scurrying back.
Blue skies initially greeted us, but the blue soon turned to a very watery grey, but after an hour of tipples, we resumed play in perfect, cool conditions.
With recent heavy rains the fairways provided zero run, however the course played rather benignly as some scores indicated. Bill Steinman, Peter Bass and Mark Stapleton excelled, Mike Quill went awfully close to having an ace and Dave Fletcher was delighted with his podium finish.
Div. A (0-14)
1st Bill Steinman (11) 41pts
2nd Peter Bass (12) 41pts
3rd Graham Rice(13) 38pts
4th Kevin Waycott (8) 38pts
Div. B (15-23)
1st Mark Stapleton (17) 40pts
2nd Stuart Rifkin (17) 36 pts
3rd Keith Buchanan (16) 35pts
4th Steve Younger 18) 34pts
Div. C (24+)
1st Ernie Picken (24) 33pts
2nd Dave Fletcher (26) 29pts
3rd Henry Wzola (36) 28pts
4th Lindsay Slender (24) 27pts
Near Pins: A2 Kevin Waycott, A7 Mike Quill, B5 Bill Steinman, B8 Fred Starbeck
Long Putts: #9 Stuart Rifkin, #18 Mike Gosden
Post mortems back at ‘the Swan’ were rather somber but the camaraderie improved markedly when our host provided curried chicken for the troops. We should not forget that Mashi (who cleaned up with us on Monday) contributed the evening meal. Thanks Peter and Mashi! The only thing missing was Khun Noi’s delicious home-made spring rolls.
Note: For some serious golf with a dash of fun, the Growling Swan welcomes golfers of all persuasions. We generally play on Mondays and Thursdays at any one of the fine courses around Pattaya. Please contact Peter Grey for bookings or any information on 0861 503086.
The Growling Swan also caters to the bowls enthusiasts. Bus transport departs the GS on Sundays at 10 AM to play open grass bowling at The Retreat. Please contact Paul Rennison on 0843 454005 if you wish to partake. The cost including return bus transport, bowling fees and a hot lunch is less than 400 baht so great value for a day out.
