The Pattaya Golf Society (IPGC) at Rabbi’s Elephant Bar
The Pattaya Golf Society fulfilled its booking at a chaotic Green Valley on Monday, 3rd February to find no caddies available at 10:30am. An hour later saw some of the group teeing off, but unhappy and hungry caddies were redirected immediately from the eighteenth tee to the first to complete a nine to ten hour “shift” with no break. Little wonder there were a lack of caddies!
As a result most of the field felt this was not going to be their day but the large field made the best of it. With the cut at seventeen and under the top flight saw Wichai Tananusorn take third place with 32 points whilst John Topping made second place his own with 33 points. The flight winner was Canadian golfer John Chelo with an excellently crafted 35 points.
In the second flight Murray Edwards was third with 35 points, one behind Martin Hennessy on 36. The flight winner was amiable Scottish giant Michael McGuigan whose round of 39 points saw him score eleven on the front nine and an incredible 28 points (yes, twenty-eight) on the back, playing par golf for six holes, all off a handicap of 31!
Michael has history with the group, so it was not totally unexpected. This prompted fellow winner Chelo to muse that “even a blind squirrel sometimes finds nuts”!
Sharing the ‘2’s pot were Chris Smith, Dennis Lea and Robbie Taylor and the Booby Bevy went to Alan Flynn for his 10-19 split.
What a memorable day it had been with absolute chaos on the first tee and amazing round the result of it all. Nice one “Squirrel”!
King for a day, Richard the First
The Society treated itself to a competition day out at Bangpra on Wednesday, 5th February on a course which was impeccably presented with rolling fairways and quick and testing greens. The large field was divided into two flights at fifteen and under for the stableford event.
In the second flight Mr Len, Jim Ferris and Dennis Lea all shared second place with 32 points each whilst Larry Putter showed he had come to grips with his new Odyssey putter with an efficient 33 points for the win.
In the top flight Alan Flynn’s pedigree again showed as he took third place with 33 points, one behind Mike Earley’s very solid 34 points. The flight winner, with the best points score of the day, was Richard Dobson who has successfully come through a crusade against ill-luck and mistimed shots which has dogged his game for a few weeks now. His 36 points represented his best effort this trip.
There were birdie ‘2’s for Larry Slattery and Paul Sturgeon whilst an unlucky Wichai Tananusorn took Rabbi’s non-winners’ beer and Shelagh Sturgeon enjoyed the Booby Bevy for her low score of the day.
Bangpra certainly knows how to make a golf day almost perfect.
Caven conquers Crystal Bay
The PGS ended its golfing week with a visit to Crystal Bay on Friday, 7th February, to play a stableford competition on the A and B nines which were not in the best of conditions, with slow and very bobbly greens. It must be a headache to regularly maintain greens, especially when courses such as Crystal Bay are so well populated in high season, but other courses manage somehow. Perhaps communication is the problem?
The two flights were divided at fifteen and under and in the first flight Rick Schramm played very solidly for his third place finish with 33 points, whilst Pete Sumner’s 35 points represented the best gross of the day. The flight winner was Aussie Andrew Purdie with 37 points.
In the second flight PJ Mitchell and big Michael McGuigan shared third place with 35 points, just one behind Jim Ferris’s level par 36. The flight winner with the best points total of the day was Niall Caven and his 39 points was his best score with the group.
The sole ‘2’ of the day was recorded by Yvonne Earley on the long A5th.
The boss for the day, David Thomas inexplicably forgot to award the Booby Bevy, which would have put him in the frame as well but he had already identified Dave Moriarty for the beer with his six and eighteen split.
Thus ended another successful week out of Rabbi’s Elephant Bar in Soi Buakhao when all the fields were fully booked well in advance and all the golfers played their part well in representing the group on some quality courses.
