PSC Golf from The Growling Swan
Monday, Oct. 29, Eastern Star – Stableford
Even though we had two “no shows” we were still left with our best ever field of 30 golfers eager to tackle the challenging Eastern Star Golf Course. They started to arrive at The Growling Swan nice & early and we were very happy to welcome Pattaya Sports Club President, Tony Oakes who was keen to have another game with us. Also Bob Akapita back for another week’s R & R from his work in Gove in the Northern Territory of Australia and also once more another good friend, Paul Sharples from his work in Oman.
It was terrific to see Jean Claude Lhoste from France back in Pattaya for several months and electing to play golf with us. We also had a contingent of newcomers from Geraldton in Western Australia who are in Thailand for a golfing holiday and we welcomed Greg Hill (now residing in Pattaya), Mark Rossiter, Ian Jones, Mike Quill, John Lee, Neil Herd & Paul Kelly. We wished Bon Voyage to Geoff “2 corsets number 2” Bracegirdle who was returning to Perth, Western Australia in a few days time.
Paul Quinn, Duangjai Tusagad & Mike Allidi.
After waiting several minutes for one of the “no shows” we finally departed the GS five minutes later than scheduled at 8.35 am and with the Monday morning traffic not too bad on Sukhumvit South we arrived at Eastern Star in just 41 minutes and the course did not appear too busy. The weather was fine but hot and our first four-ball teed off ten minutes ahead of schedule at 9.55 am.
The golf course was in very good condition with greens that were firm & true and at times fairly slick and there were very few areas that were still suffering from the recent heavy rain. We managed to complete our first nine holes in a little over two hours and after a quick drink stop at the halfway mark proceeded at a leisurely pace, somewhat slower as the sun was now beating down and humidity was quite high. We were all walking, so I for one was certainly a bit slower than normal but we managed to complete the round in four hours & fifteen minutes after enjoying the game and the company.
As the scores indicated the golf course was the winner on the day with just one golfer playing to his handicap.
With the excellent field we were able to have, for the first time 3 grades with four podium spots in each. A Grade was for handicaps 0 to 14, B Grade for 15 to 22 and C Grade for 23 and over. We had nearest the pins on all the par threes and longest first putts on the 9th & 18th which were collectively sponsored by The Growling Swan, Bob Akapita, Geoff Bracegirdle, Paul Kelly, Mark Rossiter & Roy Dayton. Many thanks to these golfers for their generosity.
Two handicapper Mike Allidi once more showed the way and his gross 73 gave him 37 points which enabled him to win the A Grade by two points from Mark Rossiter in second place. Tony Oakes finished in third place with 32 points and John Pierrel (13 point back nine) was fourth on a count back from Mike “Hunter” Gosden (12 point back nine), both having 27 points.
The B Grade was won on a count back by Paul Quinn (16 point back nine) from Alain “Inspector Clouseou” Taddei (14 point back nine) in second spot with both scoring 32 points. Another count back was required to decide third & fourth places with Greg Hill (16 point back nine) beating Geoff “two corsets number two” Bracegirdle (14 point back nine), both having 29 points.
In C Grade it was Kae who was victorious with 34 points and veteran Kevin Dinan finished second with 32 points. In third place came Graham “Grunter” Buckingham on 28 points and Max “two corsets number one” Bracegirdle finished in fourth place with 24 points.
A Flight (0-14)
1st Mike Allidi (2) 37pts
2nd Mark Rossiter (14) 35pts
3rd Tony Oakes (11) 32pts
4th John Pierrel (12) 27pts
B Flight (15-22)
1st Paul Quinn (18) 32pts
2nd Alain Taddei (18) 32pts
3rd Greg Hill (17) 29pts
4th Geoff Bracegirdle (18) 29pts
C Flight (23+)
1st Duangjai Tusagad (33) 34pts
2nd Kevin Dinan (27) 32pts
3rd Graham Buckingham (24) 28pts
4th Max Bracegirdle (28) 24pts
Near Pins: 3rd – Piet Andersen, 6th – Mike Gosden, 17th – Mike Allidi
Long Putts: 9th – Mike Allidi, 18th – Paul Quinn
The Growling Swan NAGA Award, (awarded to the golfer who has the worst score on the day) was narrowly won on this occasion by Sandy “leaperfrog” Leiper and as is usual for him he accepted the award in fine spirit.
Thursday, Nov. 1, Plutaluang E & S – Stableford
Yet again we had a great turnout with our group of 28 after a couple of late withdrawals due to illness. The weather was terrific once more as we assembled at The Growling Swan to prepare for our drive to Plutaluang after not playing there for a few months.
Roy Dayton, Peter Grey & John Pierrel
There were many new arrivals and we were happy to welcome back Michael Catillon from France and local boys Ken Cornwall & Scott Leszynsky. Also newcomers Jorn Hansen from Denmark, Randy Lodinger from Texas, USA and Aussie Eddie Kost, now residing in Bangkok & Pattaya.
Sadly we were saying farewell to Ernie Picken who is returning to Melbourne, Australia and good friend Bob Akapita who is returning to his job in Gove in the Northern Territory of Australia.
We managed to depart the GS a couple of minutes earlier than our scheduled 8.30 am in three mini vans and after 43 minutes arrived at the course where there seemed to be plenty of activity. It appeared that all four nines were open and we were allocated the East & South nines where there was only one group ready to tee off in front of us. We managed to get our first group away 15 minutes early at 9.45 am and in superb weather conditions we proceeded at a good pace.
The course was in excellent shape with understandably a few soggy areas due to recent and overnight rains but it was good to be back at Plutaluang although most of us were finding it tough, as the scores indicated later. The greens of course were in direct contrast to what we had been playing on over the past few months with their traditional “slowness” but this certainly did not detract from the attraction of the golf course.
As mentioned earlier the weather was perfect and not too hot and we completed our first nine, East in two hours & ten minutes. We slowed down a bit on the second nine, South, and that was partly due to the necessity to look for straying golf balls (mostly mine) but we managed to complete the full eighteen in four hours & twenty minutes which included a couple of drink breaks. It was a very enjoyable round with very good company and a struggle for most with just one of the field of 28 playing to their handicap or better.
With the very good field we were able to have 2 grades with six podium spots in each. A Grade was for handicaps 0 to 18 & B Grade for 19 and over. We had nearest the pins on all the par threes and longest first putts on E9 & S9 which were collectively sponsored by The Growling Swan, Bob Akapita, Bernie McCart, Brendan Byrne, Eddy Kost & Mozart Bronze. Many thanks to these golfers for their generosity.
There was a clear winner on the day with the consistent John Pierrel taking out the A Grade prize with a great 37 points, 6 shots ahead of yours truly in second place. In a count back for third & fourth places it was Mike Allidi (16 point back nine, 12 points on the last 6 holes) who finished just ahead of Bob Akapita (16 point back nine, 9 points on the last 6 holes) with both having 30 points. Kiwi Lindsay Fry finished in fifth place with 29 points and in another count back it was Paul Hack (13 point back nine) who finished sixth from Randy Lodinger (11 point back nine), both having 28 points.
In the B Grade the winner was Roy Dayton with 34 points from Dick “Reverend” Braimbridge who finished second with 33 points. Veteran Kevin Dinan was third with 32 points just 1 shot ahead of his Irish mate Brendan Byrne in fourth spot. J C Lhoste was fifth on 30 points and the colorful Bjarne Kjaer rounded off the podium in sixth place with 27 points.
A Flight (0-18)
1st John Pierrel (12) 37pts
2nd Peter Blackburn (11) 31pts
3rd Mike Allidi (2) 30pts
4th Bob Akapita (12) 30pts
5th Lindsay Fry (9) 29pts
6th Paul Hack (11) 28pts
B Flight (19+)
1st Roy Dayton (22) 34pts
2nd Dick Braimbridge (36) 33pts
3rd Kevin Dinan (27) 32pts
4th Brendan Byrne (22) 31pts
5th J C Lhoste (23) 30pts
6th Bjarne Kjaer (19) 27pts
Near Pins: E2 – Ebrahim, E5 – Kevin Dinan, S4 – Kevin Dinan, S7 – Mike Allidi
Long Putts: E9 – John Pierrel, S9 – Kae
The NAGA Award was presented to Growling Swan Delinquents Skipper and mine host Peter Grey and as is usual for him he accepted the award in fine spirit. Peter wore the NAGA cap for a while but he did discard it, complaining about it giving him a headache. It was suggested that this was unlikely as he should be used to wearing it by now!
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 (formerly The Bunker Bar) 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 [email protected].
