Bunker Boys @ The Bowling Green
It’s that time of the year again that all Pattaya expats dread, and when the sensible ones leave town. It seems that each year the water madness gets worse, with reports that it started on the 9th and will go through to the 19th. How the city authorities can class the mayhem as a tourist attraction is beyond my powers of comprehension, and the disruption to local businesses (including golf courses) must be enormous.
The management of the Bowling Green took the sensible decision to close the premises until the 19th so our small band of die-hard golfers was left without a home base for the first two games of the week.
Neil, left, the only one of the 3 ‘bandidos’ to play through Songkran.
Monday, April 16, Pattana – Medal
Only 5 golfers today due to the public holiday, but at least the management at Pattana came up with a reasonable deal for us. We were told that we could play as a 5-ball if we took golf carts (one to a cart) at a price of 1,500 Baht – not too bad for a holiday.
There was some controversy on the day regarding handicaps when it was found that one member had an IPGC handicap one shot lower than the PSC handicap he was playing off on the day. Come on guys, there’s no controversy here, if you have 2 handicaps (where else but Pattaya!), then it’s basic golf etiquette that you play off the lowest handicap – end of discussion.
1st Lee Butler (16) 35pts
2nd Tony Robbins (hcp 12) 31pts
Wednesday, April 18, The Emerald – Stableford
More proof today of the impact of Songkran, as we arrived at Emerald to find it eerily deserted. Our intrepid group of die-hards teed off without any other golfers in sight in perfect weather, with a cool breeze keeping the temperature down. The round was completed in double quick time, and Colin Greig kept up his recent run of good form to win the day.
1st Colin Greig (8) 36pts
2nd Paul Smith (3) 33pts
3rd Lee Butler (16) 29pts
Friday, April 20, Bangpra – Medal
The last time we played Bangpra was only 3 weeks ago, and the course was packed, but today we arrived to find it was deserted. Today was the hottest day of the year so far (our resident meteorologist estimated 39 degrees) and several players wilted on the back nine. There was no stopping Neil Griffin though, and the highest handicapper on the day, carded the best net score of the day to take the honours.
It was a strange day on the par 3’s with only one green being hit – by P.J. With an empty course we were completed in well under 4 hours, leaving ample time for a few refreshing beers on the way back to the Bowling Green (now thankfully back open). Hopefully next week sanity will return (well maybe not – it is Pattaya after all), and the golfing scene will return to normal.
1st Neil Griffin (28) net 74
2nd Tony Robbins (12) net 78
3rd Colin Greig (8) net 83
Note: The Bunker Boys are a PSC affiliated golf society who now play out of the Bowling Green on Soi X-Zyte between Pattaya 3rd Road and Soi Buakhaow. We play three times per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, so if you enjoy a fun day out, and a friendly but competitive golf competition why not come and join us.
We meet at the Bowling Green at 9 a.m. for breakfast and transportation, and new players with valid handicaps are always welcome. For more information call Dave on 087 146 9978, email dave. [email protected].
