Dear Editor
As Mailbag is so often a venue for complaints I would like to use it for a compliment.
Back in 1993 I was the Project Manager for the installation of the irrigation system at Pattaya Country Club. For the first three years or so, the course held its reputation as a well maintained, well managed resort.
Over the ensuing years however the quality of maintenance on the course gradually got worse and many went to other courses to play.
What were the reasons for this deterioration? Who knows… let’s just say it simply happened. Many local players liked the layout very much but the conditions kept them from being frequent players.
Something good is in the works at Pattaya Country Club right now though. Throughout the entire course and clubhouse area there is evidence of a real change in not only the visual appearance, but in the amount of real changes taking place there. The condition of the greens has improved by huge standards, though not quite there yet, in terms of speed and roll, they are getting very close, and all the tee boxes are being renovated.
New fairway mowing lines are being established, weed eradication is taking place. It is becoming a golf course again. It looks like a Superintendent is now in place that has the confidence of the owners to bring the club back to its earlier days. Let’s hope the support stays in place.
Building a golf course is easy compared to keeping it in the highest standards of playability. Maintenance costs are rising all the time, labor costs are up etc. etc.
I am a graduate of University Of Massachusetts, Department of Landscape Architecture, and have been employed as Project Manager on numerous golf courses throughout Asia over the past 30 years. So often we turn over a project in pristine condition only to come back a few years later to see it in decay.
It really makes me happy to see what Pattaya Country Club is doing. Keep it up!
No, I do not have anything to do with PCC in any way. I am simply telling them well done, just as I would tell them where they needed help.
Yours,
Bob Neylon (Huay Yai)
