PSC golf Bunker Boys @ The Ranch
Monday, Jan. 6, Crystal Bay B & C – Stableford
Thirty four golfers turned out to tackle one of the more reasonably priced courses in the area for today’s KPK Foods sponsored tournament.
Another lovely day in the Land of Smiles saw the field being directed to tee off at A course before then being redirected onto B course, which was a lot less busy. Generally good scores are returned here and today was no exception, especially from A Flight where Tony Berry edged out Gerry Cooney on count back, the latter also just missing out on a hole in one.
In the lower positions, another count back was needed to separate 3rd and 4th places with Tony Scrambler just victorious over Colin Greig.
B Flight was not so tight and 38 points saw “steady eddy” Ken Young take the honours from Jack Robertson. If he’s not careful with his upturn in form we’ll soon be accusing him of being a golfer!
Would you mess with me?
Incident of the day occurred on the fairway of hole number 7 where a 4ft long monitor lizard had managed to get itself stuck head down in a storm drain grating. Neil Griffin took pity on the animal and as he attempted to pull it free by the tail, the animal managed to jackknife 180 degrees to bite the Good Samaritan on the hand. A bloody wound resulted with a ripped golf glove for good measure. Fortunately the damage was minor and with the help of an eight iron the caddies shoehorned the animal into the drain. Bet he doesn’t try that again!
A Flight
1st Tony Berry (12) 39pts
2nd Gerry Cooney (13) 39pts
3rd Tony Scambler (8) 38pts
4th Colin Greig (7) 38pts
B Flight
1st Ken Young (28) 38pts
2nd Jack Robertson (27) 36pts
3rd Daryl Whyte (25) 35pts
4th Dave Keats (35) 33pts
Near Pins: Gerry Cooney, John Graham, Daryl Whyte and Tony Scrambler.
Wednesday, Jan. 8, Green Valley – Medal
The course was busy when we arrived and we had to wait for caddies, but fortunately we got away on time. The weather was hazy but quite a bit warmer than in recent weeks. Fairways were in good condition, but the greens played a lot slower than our previous visit 2 weeks ago.
December Golfer of the Month, Colin Greig (hcp. 7) managed to record his first NR in living memory (Bunker records only go back 15 years!), after carding a 13 on the par 5 eighth hole followed by OB on the 10th.
In A Flight there was a first win for Mark Stanley on his eighth attempt since his return, edging Geoff Parker by a shot, who managed to recover from a 9 on the par 5 first hole. In turn Geoff edged out Keith Norman into third by a count back with all 3 golfers bettering par.
In B Flight the scores were nearly as good with Gordon Melia marching on with a winning 2 under par Net 70 (sure he puts his cards in for handicap?) Keith Hemmings finished a single shot behind and Mike Corner a further shot adrift but still shooting par.
A Flight
1st Mark Stanley (10) Net 69
2nd Geoff Parker (14) Net 70
3rd Keith Norman (13) Net 70
B Flight
1st Gordon Melia (18) Net 70
2nd Keith Hemmings (16) Net 71
3rd Mike Corner (21) Net 72
Near Pins: Patrick Kelly, Keith Hemmings, Keith Allen and Mark Stanley.
Friday, Jan. 10, Pleasant Valley – Stableford
A smaller field than normal of 19, due to a clash with the PSC annual championship, headed out to Pleasant Valley to take on the blue tees. Upon arrival the clubhouse looked very busy and we were wondering if it was due to a lack of caddies. In the end our fears were unjustified as we teed off only a few minutes late.
The course was busy and the first 5 holes were very slow before the field speeded up. Fairway conditions were good but the rough was rough if you erred and the greens were slow. A stiff breeze also contributed to lower scoring.
In A Flight Geoff Parker ruled with front/back nines of 19/17 followed up by Colin Greig and Keith Hemmings separated by a count back.
In B Flight the excitement surrounded Skinny Newton and Neil Griffin who had both decided to leave the beers until after the round. Front nines of 21 and 20 proved they could play unaided but sobriety kicked in on the more difficult back nine and scores of 15 and 13 left Skinny as top dog over Neil. For both it was a first podium finish since their return many moons ago.
Large note of disappointment in the form of signs appearing around the clubhouse warning against bringing outside food and drink, not enforced yet but a worrying trend.
A Flight
1st Geoff Parker (14) 36pts
2nd Colin Greig (7) 35pts
3rd Keith Hemmings (16) 35pts
B Flight
1st Skinny Newton (28) 36pts
2nd Neil Griffin (23) 33pts
3rd Dave Keats (35) 32pts.
Near Pins: Colin Greig, Keith Hemmings, Gerry Cooney and Raleigh Gosney
Note: The Bunker Boys are a PSC affiliated golf society, who now play out of The Ranch bar on Pattaya 3rd Road (in front of the fire station, and almost opposite the Buffalo Bar). 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 Ranch at 9 a.m. for breakfast and transportation, and new players are always welcome. Contact “Buff” on 086 046 5091 or 080 605 5663 for all enquiries. You can find all the news, schedules and results on our website at www. bunkersociety.com.
