PSC golf from The Growling Swan
Monday, April 28, The Emerald – Stableford
The Emerald was the venue for our first game of the week and we had 17 golfers on the starting sheet after one late withdrawal. We welcomed back Australian Peter Bye and also good friend Volker Buley from Germany who has returned for another 3 weeks in Pattaya. It was sadly time to say farewell to Brad “Bad” Todd who will shortly return to Perth, Western Australia, Ian “Bat” Masterson who is returning to Belfast, Ireland and good mate Frankie “Hollywood” Sharratt who is going back to Derby, UK after 6 months in Pattaya and Australia.
Our 2 mini vans departed the GS 5 minutes earlier than scheduled at 8.25 am and headed south, arriving at the course 50 minutes later to find it practically deserted. There was no rush so we took our time with preparation and sent our first four-ball away 10 minutes early at 9.50 am.
Bill Steinman, Frankie Sharratt & Ian Masterson.
The weather was hot and thankfully there was some breeze to cool things down as we proceeded with no-one in sight ahead of us. The course was very dry and the greens were just alright although several were quite slow.
As it was very hot we stopped a couple of times for drinks which caused the round to be slow and we completed the 18 holes in four hours & forty minutes. It had been another enjoyable day with excellent company.
It was very tight at the top of Division A with 2 golfers on 37 points and the count back resulted in “Big” Bill Steinman (19 point back nine & 12 points on the last 6 holes) being awarded first place ahead of Mike “Hunter” Gosden (19 point back nine & 11 points on the last 6 holes) in second spot, with Gerd Riedler coming third with 36 points.
Dick Braimbridge, Niall Stuart & Ebrahim.
There was another very close finish at the top of Division B as there were 2 on 39 points so another count back was necessary which saw Ian “Bat” Masterson (23 point back nine) finish first and Geri Crilly (19 point back nine) was second, with Ebrahim in third spot with 36 points.
Division A (0-13)
1st Bill Steinman (10) 37pts
2nd Mike Gosden (12) 37pts
3rd Gerd Riedler (8) 36pts
Division B (14+)
1st Ian Masterson (35) 39pts
2nd Geri Crilly (26) 39pts
3rd Ebrahim (14) 36pts
Near Pins: 5th – John Davis, 13th – Bill Steinman
Long Putts: 9th – Frankie Sharratt, 18th – Geri Crilly
The Growling Swan NAGA Award (awarded to the golfer who has the worst score on the) was won by the departing Frankie “Hollywood” Sharratt and he accepted the award like the good sport that he is.
Friday, May 2, Crystal Bay A & C – Stableford
It was once again time to visit one of our favourite golf courses, Crystal Bay, and we had 18 golfers on the starting sheet. We assembled at The Growling Swan and welcomed Adrian Schmidt from Darwin, Australia and it was good to have Takeshi Hakozaki from Japan back with us once more.
Everyone was on time so our 2 mini vans departed the GS right on schedule at 8.30 am and we headed North up Sukhumvit Road, arriving at the course 45 minutes later. The course appeared to be fairly quiet and we were allocated the C & A nines to be played in that sequence so our first group, a three-ball, teed off 10 minutes ahead of our booked time of 10.00 am.
It was hot and humid with ominous looking rain clouds above and in fact as we putted out on C1 it did start to rain but by the time we had completed C2 it had stopped. The golf course was in fine condition with lush fairways and very well maintained greens and we proceeded at a good pace for three holes until we caught up with a very slow four-ball in front of us who did slow us down considerably for the rest of the round.
The humidity was very high after the rain so we took the opportunity to have a few drinks breaks while waiting for those in front of us and we completed the round in four hours & twenty minutes. Nonetheless, it was a very enjoyable day on a very good golf course with excellent company.
Ebrahim continued his very good form and won the A Division with a fine 39 points, 3 points ahead of John Davis in second place. With 2 golfers on 32 points a count back was required to determine third spot which went to your writer, Peter “Blacky” Blackburn (15 point back nine), who just edged out Alain “Inspector Clouseau” Taddei (12 point back nine).
There were more count backs in Division B and with 2 people on 34 points it was Dick “The Reverend” Braimbridge (16 point back nine, 12 points on the last 6 holes & 5 points on the last 3 holes) who was declared the winner from Frank “Woody” Donnelly (16 point back nine, 12 points on the last 6 holes & 3 points on the last 3 holes) in second place. Another count back was needed to decide third place and it was Russell Calcutt (16 point back nine) who was victorious over Volker Buley (12 point back nine) with both scoring 32 points.
Division A (0-18)
1st Ebrahim (14) 39pts
2nd John Davis (14) 36pts
3rd Peter Blackburn (11) 32pts
Division B (19+)
1st Dick Braimbridge (36) 34pts
2nd Frank Donnelly (22) 34pts
3rd Russell Calcutt (35) 32pts
Near Pins: A8 – Peter Bye, C7 – Ebrahim
Long Putts: A9 – Frank Donnelly, C9 – Geri Crilly
The Growling Swan NAGA Award was won by Niall Stuart and he wore the cap for quite some time while back at the bar.
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. All are welcome and for anyone that is interested the transport leaves The Growling Swan at 10.00am on each of those mornings. For more information please contact Paul Rennison on 0843 454 005.
