PSC golf from The Growling Swan
Monday, August 18, Pleasant Valley – Stableford
After a late withdrawal the previous evening we were left with a field of 22 golfers who were ready to take on the scenic Pleasant Valley Golf Course and we assembled at The Growling Swan prior to departure.
We welcomed Gary Williams from Brisbane, local golfer Paul Taylor and Ken Graham from Ireland before departing the GS right on time at 8.30 am. When we arrived at the course it was not busy so our first group, a three-ball, got away 20 minutes ahead of schedule at 9.40 am.
Patrick Poussier, Gary Williams & Mike Allidi.
It was hot with very little wind and the golf course was in fine shape although the greens were fairly slow but firm and true. As mentioned earlier it was hot and the humidity was high which did slow us down a bit and we completed the full round in four hours & five minutes.
Playing off the blue tees did toughen the course up and only 2 golfers played to their handicap or better with “gun” golfer Mike Allidi shooting a sub-par round of 71 to win Division A with 40 points. John Davis came second with 36 points and Martin “Toddy” Todd finished third on 35 points.
In B Division it was Patrick Poussier who was the victor with 34 points and with two on 32 points a count back was necessary resulting in Alain “Inspector Clouseau” Taddei (14 point back nine) finishing second from Bob Akapita (12 point back nine) in third spot.
The Growling Swan NAGA Award, awarded to the golfer who has the worst score on the day, was won by visitor Gary Williams and he accepted the award like the good sport that he is.
Division A (0-14)
1st Mike Allidi (3) 40pts
2nd John Davis (14) 36pts
3rd Martin Todd (8) 35pts
Division B (15+)
1st Patrick Poussier (21) 34pts
2nd Alain Taddei (16) 32pts
3rd Bob Akapita (16) 32pts
Near Pins: 5th – Paul Jackson, 8th – Ebrahim, 13th – Bob Akapita, 17th – John Anderson
Long Putts: 9th – Ken Hole, 18th – Mark West
Thursday, August 21, Burapha A & B – Stableford
It was time to take advantage of the terrific Sport’s Day rate at the classy Burapha Golf Course and we had 31 golfers signed up to make the short journey.
As we assembled at The Growling Swan prior to departure we handed out hearty welcomes to Dave Neal from Birmingham back with us for a few weeks along with his girlfriend Thientong Charoenrung taking a break from caddy duties at Laem Chabang, Bob Cross from Melbourne, Stephen Newton, here for some R & R from his work in Singapore and Niall Stuart returning for a break from his work in Laos. Sadly it was time to say goodbye to Ernie Picken who will soon be off back to Melbourne and Aaron Shorten who will shortly be returning to Brisbane.
Niall Stuart, Mike Gosden, Andrew Allen & Ken Graham.
Everyone was on time which enabled our three mini vans to depart the GS a couple of minutes early at 8.28 am and we headed off up number 7 and were at the course just 30 minutes later. It appeared to be not too busy and after checking in we presented ourselves to the Starter who surprisingly offered us the choice of A & B or C & D so having played C & D the last couple of times we opted for the other combination and were able to get our first four ball away off A1 twenty minutes ahead of schedule at 9.40 am.
It was very overcast, in fact looked like threatening rain, but we were optimistic and proceeded to enjoy the golf course which was as usual in terrific shape with lush fairways and beautifully prepared greens. We breezed round the first nine in just on two hours and the skies were starting to look menacing after a couple of holes on B nine and sure enough the heavens opened and for about 10 minutes we had the lot – thunder, lightning, strong wind and very heavy rain but after 10 minutes it was all over and we were able to carry on as if nothing had happened. The course had not been at all affected by the mini storm and we pushed on and completed a very enjoyable round in four hours & five minutes.
The winner in A Division was Mike “Hunter” Gosden who had 41 points and John Davis came second with 39 points. In third place was Martin “Toddy” Todd who scored 37 points and “Buffalo” Bill Steinman was fourth with 35 points.
Ken Graham won the B Division with 39 points, 2 points ahead of Bob Akapita in second place and Alain “Inspector Clouseau” Taddei came third with 35 points with Dave Neal claiming fourth spot with 32 points.
With 2 players on 34 points a count back was required to decide the winner in C Division and it was Andrew “Turtle” Allen (20 point back nine) who got the “chocolates” from Gary Monley (19 point back nine) in second place. Tony Campbell came third with 32 points and Gary Williams was fourth with 31 points.
The Growling Swan NAGA Award, was won by the returning Niall Stuart.
Division A (0-15)
1st Mike Gosden (13) 41pts
2nd John Davis (14) 39pts
3rd Martin Todd (8) 37pts
4th Bill Steinman (10) 35pts
Division B (16-25)
1st Ken Graham (16) 39pts
2nd Bob Akapita (16) 37pts
3rd Alain Taddei (16) 35pts
4th Dave Neal (24) 32pts
Division C (26+)
1st Andrew Allen (33) 34pts
2nd Gary Monley (32) 34pts
3rd Tony Campbell (28) 32pts
4th Gary Williams (28) 31pts
Near Pins: A3 – Bill Steinman, A6 – Gerd Riedler, B3 – Dave Neal, B8 – Andrew Purdie
Long Putts: A9 – Hugh O’Donnell, B9 – Gary Monley
Note: Growling Swan Golf welcomes golfers of any persuasion – low & high handicappers alike, female golfers and beginners. We generally play Mondays & Thursdays, meeting at The Growling Swan in Soi Chaiyapoon at 8.00 am with transport departing at 8.30 am. For bookings or more information please contact Peter on 0806 351 386 or email to petermalcolmblackburn @gmail.com.
We also play bowls out of the Growling Swan every Wednesday and Sunday. Sunday is Lawn Bowls and Wednesday is Indoor Bowls. For more information please contact Paul Rennison on 0843 454 005.
