Pattaya golfing stalwart, Peter ‘Blacky’ Blackburn is retiring from golf organizing after seven dedicated years in the position.
He is currently coordinating golf at Phantom Golf Society and will continue there until the end of May. Peter’s decision to retire will allow him time to travel without the constant commitment of day to day organizing.
“It’s been a rewarding experience and has given me the opportunity to meet hundreds of golfers from all over the world” Peter said this week. “Organizing golfers can be a bit like herding cats at times but the satisfaction of a good day’s golf happily completed is worth it every time. I’ll still be out on the course occasionally but as I enter my 70’s I want to free up time to see a little more of the region and concentrate on my other interests,” he added.
Peter Blackburn.
Peter is Pattaya Sports Club Vice-President and a member of the PSC Golf Chairman’s Committee and Golf Handicap Committee. Former PSC Golf Chairman, Mark West, paid tribute to Peter’s dedication over the years.
“Peter has been a tireless worker for the PSC while still finding the time to run the golf at various venues,” Mark said. “It is fitting that he was voted in as our Vice-President this year. He was an invaluable help to me as Golf Chairman and is a good friend.”
Originally from Perth in Western Australia, Peter moved to Pattaya in 2009. From 2010 to 2012 he organized golf with Café Kronborg on Soi Diana before co-founding and organizing golf days with Peter Grey at The Growling Swan Bar in Soi Chaiyaphum from 2012 through 2014.
During his time there, he assisted Peter Grey and local golfing identity Mike Gosden with a fund-raising endeavor initiated by Mike called Deefa the Dog, where after the day’s presentation competing golfers are asked to stuff a toy dog with donations of baht notes. This generosity from the venue has raised many thousands of baht for local charities over the years.
In 2014, Peter co-founded The Phantom Golf Society at Christian Boysen’s Phantom Bar on Soi Buakhao.
“I’ve had the privilege of coordinating golf for a number of local hospitality venues and have made some life-long friends in the process” Peter says. “Pattaya is a golfer’s paradise with so many excellent courses within an easy drive of the city and we’ve been able to arrange many good deals with course management over the years to the benefit of all.
“My thanks to all the golfers I’ve been involved with over the years for your companionship and I’ll no doubt run into many of you on the course or at one of the 19th holes around town,” he said.
