IPGC Pattaya Golf Society at Rabbi’s Elephant Bar
The Pattaya Golf Society began the festive season in good order with a visit to Khao Kheow on Monday, 20th December to play a stableford competition over the A and B nines. The weather was excellent and the course was well presented with good fairways and greens with a lot of pace. The remnants of dressing were seen on the A nine greens but they played fairly consistently.
The field was divided into two flights at fifteen and under and the return of many old friends made the day a special one indeed.
In the top flight Tony Thorne managed to squeeze into the frame with 34 points for third whilst Ray Banks emphasised his arrival with a level par 36 points for second. Rob Lamond, a fine golfer by any standards, produced an excellent gross of 76 to give him the win on 38 points.
In the second flight a relegated Joe Niisato recorded 36 points after his erratic shambles the previous week and he shared the runner-up spot with Pat Murphy. The flight winner was Jim Ferris who produced his best round in many a year, his 39 points giving him the best points haul of the day.
A special highlight was recorded by Peter Masters as he eagled the B1 hole, holing out with a well struck eight iron from a sanded divot! He thus shared the ‘2’s pot with Rob Lamond and Ray Banks after their creditable efforts on A5.
The Booby Bevy claims involved a driver getting lost, a driver head being decapitated on the first tee and an errant course dog who ran away with a new “Bridgestone” after Tony Thorne’s first tee shot, but Peter Masters was the recipient after his card displayed an amazing split of nine and twenty three.
There is no better early Christmas present than a day on the golf course at Khao Kheow.
Premier Teague show
The Pattaya Golf Society visited Crystal Bay on Wednesday, 22nd December to play a stableford competition on a course currently needing a good spring cleaning! Fairways were best described as untidy with grass clippings and evidence of over-watering and a visit from a “hoover” salesman would surely have done the trick. Having aired that point the greens were in fair condition and were generally consistent.
The large seasonal field was divided into two flights at fourteen and under. In the top flight scores were good with Martin Grimoldby and Paul McNally returning scores of 36 points to share second place, the latter recording the day’s best gross of 77. The main prize went to the Thai golfer who is fulfilling his ample potential at present, Wichai Tananusorn, and he added yet another fine sub-par round to his end of year CV with 37 points for the win.
In the second flight Margaret Wilkinson enjoyed her performance as she returned 35 points for third place, one behind Jim Ferris who repeated his good performance two days previously with another fine 36 point haul. The flight winner was John Teague who scored 41 points on his debut with the PGS.
The ‘2’s pot was shared by Alan Griffiths and Shuichi Kodaka after their efforts on the exquisitely teasing B5 par three and the Booby Bevy went to Shizuo Satori on his record breaking low scoring debut.
Crystal Bay was probably still “vfm” but it falls a long way short of the attractive venue it was before the change of ownership a few years ago.
Jones & Banks in credit at Phoenix
The start of the festive season saw the Pattaya Golf Society visit Phoenix on Christmas Eve to play a stableford competition on the Mountain and Lakes nines. Phoenix was full with its holiday golfers and a long day was in prospect with the insertion of starting groups on the tenth, instead of the first, and delays were inevitable but it turned out better than expected.
The course is still not what it used to be and it has toughened up considerably with the planting of new trees but the down season has left the course untidy. Greens were also slower than any others played recently and some golfers were caught out initially.
The single flight was headed by Ray Banks and Len Jones who shared the win with 35 points each, closely followed by local member Chris Knapp on 34. Chris’ round had all the potential for an assault on par but two scratched holes put paid to what could have been an excellent effort.
There were no birdie ‘2’s and the Booby Bevy went to Brendan Gilsenan for his customary low scoring returning round.
The Pattaya Golf Society wishes to thank all of its friends for their unstinting support through a bad year and wishes them all the best in golf in 2011.
