IPGC golf from The Haven
Monday, Sept. 16, Eastern Star – Stableford
CSS 73
1st Kevin Townsend (12) 36pts
2nd Frank Dunstan (27) 33pts
3rd Phil Groves (8) 32pts
4th Terry Hodgkiss (23) 31pts
5th Brian Libbey (9) 30pts
Yet another week of wet weather and sodden course started hopefully at Eastern Star where the nearly 6,600 yard course was always going to be a tough test of endurance as much as golf prowess.
Following heavy overnight rain, but thankfully rainless by the morning, more than the expected numbers turned out looking forward to a reasonably priced day of golf followed by a few wet ones just down the road.
Kevin Townsend.
Kevin Townsend proved to be the most consistent on the day, although he managed just two points over the last three holes as the effort to slog it around an extremely long course in the conditions finally took its toll. But even par was a good result in the end as the CSS went out to 73 for the day and was certainly enough to win with the nearest contender three back.
Frank Dunstan was that person in second place as he once again showed that with a little more tuition and practice he will soon be back down at the level of handicap where he and everyone else wants to see him.
Phil Groves is always one of the usual suspects no matter what the conditions and however difficult the course, and again he proved the rule with a solid third placement following a curate’s egg of a round that included a few threes but too many ones and zeros to be in serious contention.
Terry Hodgkiss and Brian Libbey at either ends of the handicap scale rounded out the podium winners in fourth and fifth places, with what in the circumstances were reasonable returns.
Once again there were no 2’s in the second division but Phil Groves and Kevin Townsend shared the first division pool.
Before the presentations were made there was a welcome back for Andre Holmem.
Wednesday, Sept. 18, Bangpra – Stableford
CSS 75 NC
1st Phil Groves (8) 32pts
2nd Mike Dabanovich (12) 31pts
3rd John Carlin (15) 30pts
4th Trevor Schirmer (12) 29pts
5th Kevin Townsend (12) 28pts
Phil Groves.
Once gain the intrepid group faced the daunting prospect of Bangpra in wet conditions, which on arrival at the course turned out to be even more onerous as the recent wet weather had prevented a lot of mowing, especially parts of the rough which were in places almost unplayable. So there was a more than usual definite advantage to keeping it on the “shorter stuff” as the end results showed, with all of the top places being taken by what would normally be first division players as the higher handicappers struggled to get to terms with the course on the day.
Added to the difficult conditions, the green keepers had not helped as they had positioned the tee markers well to the rear on almost every tee which ensured that the scores would not trouble the record keepers and no doubt assisted in raising the CSS to 75 and becoming non- counting in the process.
Phil Groves had the best of the day, returning a four-over card for the second time in a row but this time it was good enough to take the top honours, albeit by a single point but on this occasion there were fewer three-pointers and just a single zero showing during a much more consistent round.
Mike Dabanovich slipped into second spot having started well on the first three but the round slipped away, denying him a win in his last outing before returning to the Middle East.
John Carlin, who has recently returned to Pattaya from Sydney – this time to take up permanent residence, performed well to claim third place just one point further back.
Trevor Schirmer slipped onto the podium after missing out recently, with Monday’s winner Kevin Townsend locking up the final spot.
One of the highlights of the day was an exhibition of catapult use by one of the caddies who was a dab hand at firing on the run at the marauding wildlife as they attempted to raid the golf carts for anything edible. She obviously had passed the FBI Hand Made Weapons Course training with flying colours.
There were no 2’s in either division which was not very surprising as the shortest of the par threes was the 175 yards twelfth over water into wind but at least the 17th over the pond had been reduced to 190 yards.
Friday, Sept. 20, Treasure Hill – Stableford
With the potential field decimated by the weather, which had seen it rain throughout the night followed by sharp intermittent showers in the morning, the numbers prepared to make the journey up the 321 were too few to hold any meaningful competition but a few hardy souls ventured out to the course only to find it inundated, with a few holes undergoing serious renovation, and continuous light rain during the front nine confirmed that it had been a good decision.
Even playing from the yellow tees, which had been thoughtfully placed close to the whites presumably to save too much walking, the end results did not make for very pretty reading. But in any event there was a huge pot in the second division 2’s pool to be won, but nobody threatened the greens except on the very short 100 yards sixth, where Alan Richardson unfortunately just failed to read the break from two feet, which if he had succeeded would have set him up for his return to the Philippines, if not for the rest of the year certainly for a couple of months.
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.
