PSC golf from The Bunker Bar
Monday, Dec. 6, Plutaluang – Stableford
It’s always a difficult choice to make when choosing a course to play on a public holiday, but we decided to give the Navy course another try, despite previous bad experiences. A smaller field than usual showed up, with many of the resident golfers declining to play fearing that the course would be overcrowded. In the event the golfing gods smiled on us and the only problem we experienced was a delayed start.
Playing the East and South courses, the round progressed smoothly with most groups completing their round in four and half hours. Although the course is much improved, the greens continue to be inconsistent and troublesome with vastly variable pace.
Colin Greig was the best player on the day, winning the A Flight, whilst Richard Baldotto took the honours in the B Flight on his first game back in Pattaya.
Only 3 near pins were hit – by Ed, Gerry Cooney and Mashi Kaneta.
A Flight
1st Colin Greig (10) 35pts
2nd Mashi Kaneta (10) 34pts
3rd Keith Smithson (0) 32pts
B Flight
1st Richard Baldotto (28) 35pts
2nd Mike Corner (20) 33pts
3rd Reg Smart (24) 33pts
Wednesday, Dec. 8, The Emerald – Stableford
We arrived at a very quiet Emerald course and were able to tee off immediately. There were no holdups during the round and everyone enjoyed an excellent day of millionaire’s golf. The course was generally in good condition, but the greens were a little slow and inconsistent.
The best score of the day was recorded by Nile Sheehan (surely he’ll be back down to his proper handicap soon!), with 39 points to win the B Flight, whilst Tony Robbins took the A Flight with 37 points.
Our visiting teaching pro Keith Smithson produced a level par round and 2 near pins in his final game before returning to U.K. Other near pin winners were Dave Keats and Roy Dayton.
A Flight
1st Tony Robbins (13) 37pts
2nd Keith Smithson (0) 36pts
3rd Rocky Jones (7) 34pts
B Flight
1st Nile Sheehan (22) 39pts
2nd Ronnie Hall (17) 32pts
3rd Dave Ashman (15) 36pts
Friday, Dec. 10, Treasure Hill – Stableford
The second public holiday of the week (fortunately that doesn’t occur too often) saw us travelling to Treasure Hill where the green fees are not quite as inflated as some of the other courses. The course is now in excellent condition, and a vast improvement from our previous visit last month.
Although other golf societies were ahead of us on the course, the round progressed reasonably smoothly and most groups were round in 4½ hours. There were no buggies available when we started the round (although several players hired them for the inward nine), which proved to be a stimulating challenge for the best player on the day, Geoff Hart.
Near pin winners meanwhile were Greg Berry, Mashi Kaneta, Gordon Melia and William Macey.
A Flight
1st John Graham (11) 33pts
2nd Tony Robbins (13) 31pts
3rd Bill Bertram (9) 30pts
B Flight
1st Geoff Hart (19) 34pts
2nd Mike Corner (20) 30pts
3rd William Macey (15) 29pts
