IPGC golf from The Haven
Monday, Sept. 9, Mountain Shadow – Stableford
CSS 71
1st Vincent Gras (18) 38pts
2nd Frank Dunstan (28) 38pts
3rd Phil Groves (8) 37pts
4th Hal Hart (20) 37pts
5th Markku Tynell (22) 35pts
With all the recent wet weather it was expected that the course would be extremely wet, if not waterlogged, but it turned out to be a very pleasant surprise to find that, with the judicious use of a ‘lift and place’ in the fairways rule, it was in fact in very good shape as attested by the scores and the CSS for the day reducing to 71.
Frank Dunstan.
Vincent Gras was back again for a day prior to heading north to Khao Yai, to get in some extra practice and did even better by winning the day after a close count back over Frank Dunstan with a better 20 to Frank’s 18. Frank had his best round for several months, although those previous rounds were all in Australia where, it is reported, the conditions were much more difficult, and when added to a private lesson just prior to departure for “the Land of Smiles” it all made a huge difference.
Phil Groves also had to win a count back for third place, which he duly did with a better 14 to 11 over the last six holes after tying the back nine with Hal Hart at 18 apiece, which left Hal in fourth.
Markku Tynell took fifth, almost playing to handicap after returning from Europe where golf was not on the activity list.
Even with the very good scores and conditions there were no ‘2’s in either division.
Prior to the presentations there were welcome backs for Markku Tynell and Vincent Gras, the latter attempting to lay claim to the most miles travelled to work each year.
Wednesday, Sept. 11, Khao Kheow B & C – Stableford
CSS 75
1st Frank Dunstan (28) 35pts
2nd Shuichi Kodaka (17) 33pts
3rd Bruce Hilde (17) 32pts
4th Markku Tynell (22) 32pts
5th Mike Dabanovich (12) 30pts
6th Phil Groves (8) 29pts
Russell Exley.
Following the hiatus caused by the condition of the A course, and now that the B course is back in operation following extensive repair and renovation, the group have now put Khao Kheow back on the schedule as promised. There was a unanimous agreement that it was a very good decision even though it would have appeared not to be the case by the scores on the day. These were adversely affected by the very wet conditions compounded by a stiff breeze that blew throughout the day.
Once again Frank Dunstan’s investment in some golf instruction paid dividends as following his second place in the previous outing he added a win with a return that was two better than the second placed player. With the CSS moving out to 75 it netted Frank an additional reduction in handicap to tack on to the last adjustment.
Shuichi Kodaka took second place with a good round that started out with little promise as he took a zero pointer on the first but finished up good enough to just beat out the chasers by a single point.
Bruce Hilde managed to squeeze onto the podium in his last competition prior to returning to The USA to polish up his act in preparation for his expected call up for “Dancing with the Stars”, as he won a count back over Markku Tynell for third with a better 17 to 16.
Mike Dabanovich just got the better of Phil Groves by a point after the latter just scrapped together 12 on the inward half after a promising beginning to the day.
Once again there were no 2’s in the second division but Phil Groves slotted one at last in the first division to clear out the quintuple rollover pot on the signature 8th on the B course and almost make the day worthwhile.
Back at The Haven there were welcomes for new members Alan Richardson, Ian Goldschmidt and Simon Rosam together with a fond farewell for Bruce Hilde who will surely be sorely missed by his fans who have known him as the dancing entertainer to the masses along Walking Street during the past few weeks.
Friday, Sept. 13, The Emerald – Stableford
CSS 71
1st Russell Exley (9) 38pts
2nd Brian Libbey (9) 38pts
3rd Kevin Townsend (12) 38pts
4th Trevor Schirmer (12) 36pts
5th Frank Dunstan (28) 35pts
6th John Carlin (15) 34pts
Having rained almost continuously the previous night it was expected that the day’s golf would be difficult at the very least and quite possibly extremely arduous, but those fears were soon put aside as the course was found to be in good shape and playing well with the provision of a local ‘lift and place’ in the fairways rule.
Vincent Gras.
Indeed the CSS went down to 71 for the day as the majority of the low handicappers scored well to underline the conditions of the day with little wind and overcast skies, which had made for a very pleasant day’s golf.
Russell Exley returned after resting away from golf altogether for a couple of months to win the day after winning a three-way count back between other members of his fourball with the fourth member of the group placing fourth.
Russell’s 21 points were just sufficient to see off the close challenges of Brian Libbey, who finished with 20 in second place, and Kevin Townsend’s 18 in third place as he closed out the round with five points on the last two holes to Kevin’s four and Brian’s three.
Trevor Schirmer could have been in the hunt and possibly the winner except that he managed just two points from the last two holes, three putting them both after good approach shots left him with birdie chances, but in the end he had to settle for fourth spot and memories of a great day of competitive golf amongst friends.
Frank Dunstan could not match the fireworks of the leading group but still managed to get on the podium for the third time in the week with another close to handicap (at least the old one) round that saw him place fifth as John Carlin returned from Sydney to take sixth just one shot behind.
Before the presentations were made there were welcome backs for John Carlin, Brian Libbey and Russell Exley together with special welcome backs to the victorious Khao Yai raiding party in the form of Hal Hart, who had been the winner at seven under and second placed man Vincent Gras at four under, with both having since had their handicaps reduced on those results.
Note: If you would like to play with The Haven 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 8.15 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on the days that you wish to play. A schedule of courses to be played can be found on our web site at www.thehaven-hotel.com.
