Pattaya Sports Club Bunker Boys Golf
Monday, September 20th
KBSC Yellow
1st Jimmy Carr (18) 39 points
2nd Steve Durey (20) 37 points
3rd Niall Glover (17) 37 points
Near pins Alan Sullivan, Niall Glover, Jay Babin, & Michael Brett.
It seems like the Bunker Boys have recently been struck with a severe dose of senility. One member tripped over his own feet, fell on his ass, and hurt himself so he couldn’t make the trip to Kabin Buri Monday. Another forgot the golden rule, “wake up before you get up,” drove two hours to the wrong course only to find himself alone and had to go home again. One wonders what is going to happen next.
A dreary damp day for our first game at Kabin Buri where we endured drizzle for most of the front nine, a little on the back nine also, but never enough to stop play. The course was in remarkably good condition despite all the rain, still wet enough to apply the pick, clean, and place rule but otherwise, in great condition. The greens were slower than they looked and considerably slower than the practice green. Because there was no run whatsoever we played off the yellow tees which were about six thousand three hundred yards, shorter than our preferred distance.
Scoring was very good under the circumstances with Jimmy Carr bouncing back to top form with an excellent score of thirty-nine points to take first place. A tie for second with Steve Durey edging out Niall Glover on countback. All the near pins were taken with Jay Babin almost scoring a hole in one. The other three went to Alan Sullivan, Niall Glover, and Michael Brett. Alan had his name on three but only managed to hang on to one.
Tuesday, September 21st
KBSC Yellow
1st Michael Brett (15) 39 points
2nd Jay Babin (23) 36 points
3rd Olivier Daniels (7) 35 points
Near pins Tony Robbins, Steve Durey, Roger Awad, & Michael Brett.
Having endured rain on our first day in Kabin Buri it was nice to enjoy some sunshine Tuesday. The course had dried out remarkably overnight despite more rain and was in excellent condition again. The forecasted rain didn’t come till about half an hour after we finished play. With nobody in front of us, we were able to set our own pace and finished in good time.
Our host at Serenity Resort and Spa, Olivier Daniels, playing some excellent golf despite the yips with the putter, did enough to take third place with thirty-five points. Jay Babin, who was in the frame up until the closing holes yesterday, finished stronger today to take second place with thirty-six points. Despite a three-stroke cut in handicap from last week, Michael Brett did enough to take first place with thirty-nine points. He also got as close as a couple of inches from a hole in one on the last par three for a tap-in birdie, the second almost “hole in one” in two days. Tony Robbins, Steve Durey, and Roger Awad got the remaining near pins.
A big tournament is scheduled for KBSC next month with the Bunker Boys allocated two four-ball slots so we will be back in Kabin Buri much sooner than previously expected.
Wednesday, September 22nd
Lotus Valley Golf Course, blue tees
1st Michael Brett (15) 35 points
2nd Alan Sullivan (11) 34points
3rd Jay Babin (23) 33 points
Near pins Michael Brett, & Alan Sullivan X 2.
Sometimes great expectations can lead to great disappointment as they did Wednesday at Lotus Valley. The course was not in the pristine condition we have come to expect. Quite the contrary, the fairways were sodden with several balls plugged and difficult to find, and the rough was difficult with casual water in many places. Several greens have been lost due to possibly some root disease and may need to be returfed. They were certainly not the excellent greens we have come to expect. Overall, the course looked like it had suffered from a lack of maintenance and patronage during the pandemic and was not helped by recent heavy rain.
To compound our problems someone decided we should play from the blue tees and with absolutely no run whatsoever the course proved too difficult for most with low scores the order of the day. One thing in our favour was the weather, which for the most part remained rain-free.
Jay Babin was one of the more consistent players on tour and made a second appearance in the winners circle taking third place with thirty-three points. Despite a poor day with the putter Alan Sullivan managed a score of thirty-four points to take second place whilst Michael Brett made it back-to-back wins with thirty five points. He also managed to snag a near pin for the third day in a row with Alan taking two. Despite being on three greens again Jay missed out on all three.
Friday, September 24th
Plutaluang Golf Course North & West, white tees
1st Geoff Atwell (25) 30 points
2nd Michael Brett (15) 29 points
3rd Tony Robbins (20) 27 points
Near pins Jay Babin, Dave Ashman, & Michael Brett X 2.
After a few months away we returned to Plutaluang Friday, this time to play the North & West nines. The course was in decent condition despite recent rain. The greens were a real challenge, variable in speed, and on the whole much slower than the practice green. The biggest challenge as always was the number of trees scattered all over the course, some in not the most appropriate places.
A major frustration today contributing to the low scores was the speed of play which was unacceptably slow. Several groups of six and more were out ahead of us which slowed down the whole field. Some players cope with this much better than others and those that don’t find it difficult to continue playing.
Four games in a week began to show on many with scoring disappointingly low. Geoff Atwell took the honours with a score of thirty points, in part due to a generous handicap of twenty-five. A good week for second-placed Michael Brett with a very modest twenty-nine. Tony Robbins took third with twenty-seven points. Jay Babin got back in the groove with another near pin, Dave Ashman took another and Michael Brett got two, making it five for the week.
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