IPGC golf from The Haven
Sunday, December 4, Pattaya C.C. – Stableford
CSS 71
1st J.J. Harney (10) 39pts
2nd John Connolly (19) 36pts
3rd Joe McArdle (12) 36pts
4th Charlie Lapsey (9) 36pts
With sufficient tee times for the numbers requiring to play at Green Valley becoming extremely difficult to arrange, a change of venue was organised at Pattaya Country Club where the green fee is the same and as it is only half the travel distance may well prove to be a permanent fixture for Sundays.
Certainly there were no complaints with either the condition or the speed of play which also turned out to be around 45 minutes quicker than usual.
Garry Barling.
J.J. Harney took his first win for a while with a very tidy three under handicap round that left the three chasing players adrift by three points. They were led in by the inform John Connolly who prevailed in second place with the best count back of 20 as Joe McArdle, with 19, took third spot and Charlie Lapsey rounded out the podium with 18 over the back nine.
Roar Berger had the only ‘2’ of the day to sweep the pool.
Monday, December 5, The Emerald – Stableford
CSS 72
1st Garry Barling (9) 43pts
2nd Rodney Hayes (13) 34pts
3rd Yasuo Suzuki (11) 32pts
4th Stephen Lewis (19) 31pts
5th Rodney Nabbe (10) 30pts
After a fairly quiet start and middle of his golfing holiday in Pattaya, Garry Barling at last showed his real colours and true form with a stunning seven under return that was easily the best round of the week. It earned him a two shot reduction in handicap to take back to his home club in Wollongong south of Sydney, where they are already preparing a feast in celebration of the event. His close chums and travelling companions were extremely grateful for the cut as it meant that they might have half a chance of getting some of the cash back that he lost on this trip when he returns home.
Paul Hartley.
Rodney Hayes managed to make another podium placing without troubling the handicapper, as two over proved to be sufficient to claim second place ahead of Yasuo Suzuki’s four over, with a card that did not earn him his usual return for his last appearance in Pattaya prior to his trip home to Tokyo.
Stephen Lewis kept it going fairly well and although he was not so happy with the final number it was a good result on the day with so many of the other contestants unable to get to grips with the course.
Rodney Nabbe had another of those days that he will want to forget but still finished ahead of many others who struggled on the day.
There were no 2’s in the second division but Garry Barling and Rodney Nabbe shared the first division pot.
Before making the presentations The Doc welcomed new members Leena and Risto Kopu and also welcomed back Oili and Rainer Helling together with Jukka Sariola, Mike Hill and Rodney Hayes.
There were also farewells for the day’s winner, Garry Barling and Rodney Nabbe together with Yasuo Suzuki.
Wednesday saw everyone playing in the IPGC Monthly medals, where none of them made an impression except The Doc who was scoring the hard way.
Friday, December 9, Rayong C.C. – Stableford
CSS 73
1st Paul Hartley (19) 37pts
2nd Dave Howden (12) 33pts
3rd Stephen Lewis (19) 32pts
With many courses deciding that the 9th together with the 12th of December would be a good opportunity to up the rates to holiday prices, a move to Rayong Country Club was in order to mitigate the cost somewhat. Unfortunately many of the usual faces were missing due to other attractions on the day.
But it still proved to be a good call as the course was in very good condition with the greens especially proving to be very flat, true and fast, with the rest of the course (excluding the deep rough) also in good condition, so it was quite surprising that the scoring was not so good which caused the CSS for the day to move out to 73.
Paul Hartley managed to keep the drives pretty straight and took full advantage of his undoubted length to record a very welcome win by a clear four points from Dave Howden in second.
Stephen Lewis was again surprised to find he was in the lineup at the pay window with a four over day.
There were no 2’s in either division.
Prior to the prize presentations there were welcomes for new members Darrell Carlson and Matt Smith and welcome backs for Wilf Wellman, Dan MacCarthy and George Pittam.
Note: The Haven group now departs Soi 13 at the earlier time of 9 am until further notice. If you would like to play with the group you can contact mobile 082 219 0965 or call in to the 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 8.30 on Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays and 9.00am on Sundays on the days you wish to play. A schedule of courses to be played can be found on our web site at www.thehaven-hotel.com.
