IPGC golf from The Haven
Sunday, Dec. 18, Pattaya Country Club – Stableford
CSS 75 NC
1st Mark Armstrong (21) 34pts
2nd Roar Berger (27) 34pts
3rd Michael Healey (15) 32pts
4th Keith Wooley (14) 31pts
With insufficient tee times for the numbers requiring to play at Green Valley it was becoming extremely difficult to arrange the Sunday competition at that course and a decision was taken to change the venue to Pattaya Country Club. Here a special green fee had been negotiated and with the travel distance halved it is sure to become a very popular alternative to the now very crowded Green Valley.
Bob & Evan gold winners.
Certainly there were no complaints with either the condition or the speed of play, which also turned out to be around 60 minutes quicker than the times experienced in the past.
The change of venue did not make the day’s golf any easier as none of the golfers with handicaps of 20 and below managed to make the standard of playing to within two of their handicaps, thus ensuring that the competition became non-counting, with the CSS for the day moving out three strokes.
Mark Armstrong just got the better of Roar Berger with a better count back of 19 to 17 as Michael Healey slipped into third a couple of shots behind them and Keith Wooley in fourth another point behind him.
Andy Galvin and John Chambers, whilst not figuring in the place winners, at least went away with something for the day as they shared the 2’s pool with one each.
Monday, Dec. 19, Treasure Hill – Stableford
CSS 73
1st Mark Armstrong (21) 35pts
2nd Roar Berger (27) 34pts
3rd Brian Randall (36) 32pts
4th Rodney Hayes (11) 31pts
5th John Squitiero (18) 31pts
Stuart Thompson.
Another very tough course with the wind almost blowing everyone away saw Mark Armstrong, who obviously likes those conditions, taking his second win on the trot again from Roar Berger, but this time not requiring a count back.
Brian Randall took his first podium position with a four over return that on the day was a very creditable result as the difficulty and length of the course took its toll on the field, especially the lower handicaps.
Among those was Rodney Hayes who found the distances from tee to green a little longer than ideal but having stuck with it after a quiet first half managed to win a count back with John Squitiero for fourth place.
A fair indication of the difficulty and conditions was that the CSS for the day went out to 73.
Al Rolnik.
There were no 2’s in the first division but George Pittam had one in the second division to sweep the multi rollover pot.
Before presenting the prizes Stephen Beard welcomed back Mick Lowe, Fred Land, Dave Thompson and Brian Randall.
Wednesday, Dec. 21, Bangpra – Stableford
CSS 73
1st Al Rolnik (18) 34pts
2nd Barry Wellings (5) 32pts
3rd Michael Clifford (28) 28pts
4th Yoshitaka Iketani (18) 28pts
Mike Hill.
If the players thought that the previous courses played in the week were difficult to score on, then Bangpra with its extremely quick greens, and nowadays playing to one of the longest lengths in the area, proved that things could get even tougher, with the CSS again moving upwards by a stroke as the windy conditions again played a large part in the outcome of many of the rounds.
Al Rolnik came back to form following a period of lack luster performances with a solid return of two over handicap that was a lot better than the end result indicated as all of the other contestants struggled to come to terms with the course.
Barry Wellings, with his huge driving distances, got the closest with a two shot gap in second place and then there was a further four shots distance to third and fourth places that had to be determined with a count back that Michael Clifford won by 15 to 12 over Yoshitaka Iketami.
It was no surprise to find after checking the scorecards that there were no 2’s in either division.
Prior to the presentations Yoshitaka Iketani was welcomed back. There was also an announcement regarding Shuichi Kodaka who, while on his way home from Monday’s golf, was run down walking on the pavement on Second Road by a demented tourist on a runaway motor bike that was too big for him to handle. Shuichi is currently recovering at home on crutches following hospital treatment and is not expected to play again for a couple of months. Thanks go to Danny Greer and his lawyer, who sorted out the medical bills and substantial damages in cash for Shuichi’s benefit. We all wish him a speedy recovery.
Friday, Dec. 23, Phoenix (Blue Tees) – Monthly Medals
CSS 75
Division 1 (0-15)
1st Stuart Thompson (10) net 76
2nd Alan Pilkington (9) net 76
3rd Joe Niisato (15) net 77
Division 2 (16+)
1st Mike Hill (25) net 81
2nd Serge Straeten (17) net 83
3rd Yoshitaka Iketani (18) net 86
Gold & Silver Medals
Division 1
Gold – Bob Lamond
Silver – Russell Exley
Division 2
Gold – Evan Millar
Playing the Monthly Medals off the blue tees is always a stern challenge to any golfer’s game, but on this day the wind blew with such ferocity that the scores just spiraled out of sight leaving most of the hopefuls a long way short of their handicaps, especially those in the second division, and following some discussion amongst the regular players it was decide that in future, while the first division will continue to play from the blue tees, the monthly medals for the second division will be played from the white tees in the hopes that it may attract a few more entries into that division.
In the first division Stuart Thompson, after showing well on the first day in the recent IPGC Club Championship, showed that it had not been a freak occurrence as he led in the field in the first of the qualifying rounds for next year’s Gold and Silver finals. Stuart won a count back over Alan Pilkington with a better inward nine of net 35 to Alan’s 36.5, with Joe Niisato just beating out Bob Lamond for third, again on count back, finishing with 37.5 against 38.
The second division was won by Mike Hill after he took a ten on the final hole but still had enough leeway to win by two from Serge Straeten in second and Yoshitaka Iketami in third another three behind.
Once again it was of no surprise to find that there were no 2’s on the day as the wind made the course about as difficult as it could be with the combination of the courses played.
The finals of the Gold and Silver Medals saw Bob Lamond victorious in the first division with Russell Exley taking the Silver Medal while in the second division with only one of the qualifiers attending, Evan Millar finished to take the Gold.
Note: The Haven group now departs Soi 13 at the earlier time of 09.00 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 Haven 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.
