IPGC golf from The Haven
Sunday, Sept. 25, Green Valley – Stableford
CSS 71
1st Peter Masters (10) 42pts
2nd Joe McArdle (11) 40pts
3rd Russell Exley (7) 37pts
4th Frank Dunstan (26) 33pts
After having to return to his profession as a school teacher Peter Masters thought that his quest to become a single figure handicapper would have to be put on hold until the next holiday period came around, but he has found a new opportunity playing with the IPGC on a Sunday, and this week put it to good use as he returned his lifetime best card with a gross 76 recorded. This not only won the top prize, it also ensured that he achieved his wish to get into single figures, as his handicap moved down to below nine.
It was not all plain sailing however as Joe McArdle also put in a fine effort to come home just two behind and four under handicap but he had to settle for second following Peter’s great round.
Russell Exley thought that he had a bit of a chance with a one under round but finished well adrift in third with the ever-present Frank Dunstan rounding out the list a few more back.
Trevor Schirmer.
As usual the prizes were presented at the Golf Bar and indoor driving range hosted by John and Jeff Ryves, who always make the golfers on Sundays and Donovan’s competitions on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays very welcome.
Monday, Sept. 26, Treasure Hill – Stableford
CSS 71
1st Yoshitaka Iketani (19) 35pts
2nd Shuichi Kodaka (18) 33pts
3rd Alan Pilkington (9) 32pts
4th Trevor Schirmer (15) 32pts
‘Lift and place’ was the local rule for the day as once again the course of the day was found to be extremely wet, as seems to have been the situation almost on every occasion lately.
John Dahlseng.
It was also decided to try and mitigate the conditions with the day’s play designated to be from the shorter yellow tee positions. In the event there was not a lot of difference between the white and yellows and therefore the subsequent scoring was again found to be not up to the usual standard with no player able to get it round in level handicap or better.
Yoshitaka Iketani proved to be the best at sloshing it round as he took the top honours by two from fellow countryman Shuichi Kodaka.
Alan Pilkington won the first of his week’s tussles with Trevor Schirmer, beating him into fourth place whilst taking third himself, with a better 17 to 16 in the count back.
There were no 2’s in the second division but Alan Pilkington and Trevor Schirmer shared the first division pool which included some rollovers.
Iketani Yoshitaka.
Before presenting the prizes The Doc welcomed new member Peter Hart and also welcomed back Mike Spear and Dai Griffiths who were both playing hookey from watching Wales winning easily in the RWC, much to the disgust of their fellow countrymen who found it unbelievable that any Welshmen could miss out on the opportunity to see the national team win at rugby even though they preferred to watch nodball usually.
There was also a farewell for Yoshitaka Iketani who was returning home to Japan.
Wednesday, Sept. 28, Eastern Star – Stableford
CSS 75 NC
1st Shuichi Kodaka (18) 31pts
2nd Frank Dunstan (26) 31pts
3rd Dai Griffiths (7) 30pts
4th Trevor Schirmer (15) 29pts
5th Ole Stamnes (27) 28pts
For the second time in the week the course was slightly over watered and if there were such things as cart paths on the course, golf buggies would surely have been restricted to them, but at least it might have been sensible to make a ruling that those in use should stay in the rough, and not leave it to the golfers to make that sensible decision.
Frank Dunstan with The Ashes.
With the fairways giving little assistance from the tee as regards length it was always going to be a long hard day, although to be fair to the course it was in otherwise very good shape with the greens playing very flat although understandably a bit on the wooly side.
Shuichi Kodaka went one better than his previous outing, and in the process taking the top spot away from Frank Dunstan and denying him his second win on tour, with a better count back of 19 to 15 after he had started a bit slowly over the front nine.
Dai Griffiths used all his wiles to slide into third place although being a long way short of his usual level of prowess over the links.
Trevor Schirmer kept up his record for the week of showing amongst the leaders a further shot back and Ole Stamnes got an honourable mention anther point behind him.
Finally there was a winner of the second division 2’s pool as Shuichi Kodaka rounded off a very good day with the only one to clear out the rollover pot. Dai Griffiths also had one in the first division to sweep the pot in that division.
Back at The Haven there was a welcome back for Ole Stamnes and farewells for Frank Dunstan and Bob Hopwood who were taking home to Oz fond memories of a rare opportunity of seeing and holding the Ashes Cup and having a picture taken of the occasion to be able to convince some of those back home that it really happened. Also there were byes for Shuichi Kodaka and Dai Griffiths, the latter returning to the valleys to catch up on the latest information and movements of various super models on South Wales Club Land scene, that he is hoping to get to play in some future movies that he will be producing for the big screen.
Friday, Sept. 30, Phoenix (Blue tees) – Monthly Medals
CSS 73
Division 1
1st Trevor Schirmer (15) net 74
2nd Alan Pilkington (9) net 76
3rd Barry Wellings (5) net 79
Division 2
1st John Dahlseng (19) net 75
2nd Rod Howett (23) net 92
3rd Roar Berger (25) net 94
Playing from the blue tees is not the favourite pastime of many of the contestants in the best of conditions and with the day’s competition being a medal round to boot, it was surprising that there was just one no return as the players strived to get their hands on of the two medals on offer for the day.
Also up for grabs was a spot in the final Gold and Silver Medals to be held in December contested by all the years’ previous winners.
Trevor Schirmer became the tenth winner and name on the list in the first division with a solid one over CSS and two ahead of Alan Pilkington, with Barry Wellings filling out the podium a further three back in third place.
The second division was also won by a first timer for the year as John Dahlseng got to grips with the format, never trying to reach the green in what would be regulation for a scratch golfer, and playing much more with the top part of the body which resulted in a very steady round that left the rest of the division spread-eagled around the course.
A long way back in second place was Rod Howett with Roar Berger another two behind in third although both of them were also a fair bit ahead of the next players.
With the course having been set at its most difficult when playing from the blue tees, it was not surprising that there were no 2’s in either division.
Before the presentation of the prizes there were welcome backs for Barry Wellings and John Dahlseng and a farewell for Rod Howett, returning to the UK for a short break from the rigours of the Land of Smiles.
There was also news of Mike Sanders, who had returned home to Switzerland in the middle of March and then had to visit a heart specialist in May when he continued to feel unwell after suffering severe heartburn whilst staying in Pattaya and was congratulated on having lasted so long, as in fact the heartburn was in fact at least one heart attack. He subsequently had a few stents inserted and is now recovering well but has since suffered from other ailments that stop him from playing golf for the time being. We all wish him a speedy return to golf and his friends here in Pattaya.
Note: The Haven group now departs Soi 13 at the earlier time of 9 am until further notice. If you would like to play with the group you can contact mobile 082 219 0965 or call in to the hotel at 185 Soi 13 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 8.30 on Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays and 9.00am on Sundays on the days you wish to play. A schedule of courses to be played can be found on our web site at www.thehaven-hotel.com.
