IPGC Golf from The Haven
Monday, March 14, Pattavia – Stableford
CSS 72
Division 1 (0-15)
1st Allan Hanlon (13) 40pts
2nd Kevin Blake (7) 38pts
3rd Bob Heath (15) 37pts
3rd Alan Griffiths (13) 37pts
Division 2 (16+)
1st Norman Cheetham (16) 39pts
2nd Frank Dunstan (26) 37pts
3rd Shane Elder (21) 36pts
4th Russell Gilroy (18) 36pts
Alan Hanlon.
The trip up the 331 was well worth the effort as the course was found to be in very good condition and with the grass having been allowed to grow a little, the stimp meter reading was below 9, which made putting a lot less of a problem on the very contoured greens. All of which made for a good day’s golf and many good scores from the just one short of three division’s entries.
Allan Hanlon took command of the first division with his best score on this extended wintering trip to win by two from Kevin Blake, who was not surprisingly unfazed following his most interesting feat of the day. Bob Heath and Alan Griffiths eventually split third in a marathon count back that was exactly equal through the whole 18 holes, a very rare occurrence.
Norman Cheetham won the second division, also by a clear two points, and then looked on enviously when Kevin Blake collected his prize as he had also had a hole in one at a venue where there was no special prize on offer. Frank Dunstan tied up second place ahead of a count back that only went to the back nine between Shane Elder and Russell Gilroy, with Shane coming out the winner with a better 21 to 17.
There were no 2s in either division which would not have been useful in the event, as Kevin Blake holed out for the eagle on the 139-yard 13th hole, which was actually playing 120, with a beautiful wedge over the pin to a foot and a half which then spun softly back into the cup. The feat won him an IPGC hole-in-one golf bag by which to remember the day. In the post event interview, Kevin said “That it had been 25 years since he had achieved the previous one, so it was long overdue.”
Wednesday, March 16, Eastern Star – Stableford
CSS 72
1st John Carlin (19) 37pts
2nd George Oakley (19) 34pts
3rd Mark Williams (7) 32pts
4th Bob Heath (15) 31pts
5th Peter Skinner (12) 31pts
It had been a while since the group had visited this course, but following a rescheduling of fixtures the usual fortnightly trip to Khao Kheow was changed to Eastern Star and it was also found to be in good shape with the greens worthy of special mention.
John Carlin.
With a lot fewer players turning out there was just the one division to compete for on the day.
John Carlin had the best of the day and ensured that his handicap would be reduced, for the next few outings at least, to its lowest for over a year.
George Oakley is just getting a handle on the courses here as he prepares to return to South Herts, where the sun has not been seen since he left, and took yet another prize with second place ahead of Mark Williams in third.
Bob Heath was involved in yet another count back but this time it was settled far more quickly as he won with a better 17 to 13 on the nine to leave old club mate, Peter Skinner, champing at the bit in fifth place.
After the solo performance from Kevin on the previous outing once again there were no 2s in either division.
Friday, March 18, Phoenix (Ocean & Lakes) – Monthly Medal
Division 1 (0-15)
CSS 75
1st Walter Panichi (2) net 72
2nd Chris Smith (0) net 75
3rd Peter Skinner (12) net 78
4th Mark Lang (7) net 78
5th Paul Hubbard (10) net 79
Division 2 (16+)
CSS 75 NC
1st Brendan Dunne (28) net 74
2nd John Carlin (19) net 75
3rd Chris Ross (24) net 76
4th Mark Armstrong (25) net 78
5th Serge Straeten (17) net 80
After the previous rescheduling had to be rearranged, again following the cancellation of another tournament, the Monthly Medals were set to be played once again at Phoenix where the first division players were designated to play from the blue tees and the second division from the whites.
It was also the first sight that all of the hopefuls had had of the new layout of the Lake nine where the old number five has been changed to a par four and the sixth to a par five. The first change seemed to be a reasonable hole with maybe the Stableford rating perhaps needing to be readjusted, but the sixth as a par five at index 16 is almost unplayable in the accepted sense of a par five and should surely be revisited by the designer.
Allied to many other changes, which were presumably made in order to make the course a far more difficult test of golf, it all added up to a bad result for almost all of the players with only the winner of the first division making par and the CSS for both tees going out to 75, with the whites becoming non-counting.
Walter Panichi.
Walter Panichi was the winner in the first division, at level par, winning by three from scratch player Chris Smith – the difference being the sixth hole on the Lakes where Walter scored a birdie and Chris clocked up a double bogey, in an otherwise very close encounter. Both players qualified for the Gold and Silvers in December.
Peter Skinner surprised himself by taking third after winning a count back over Mark Lang with a better net 28 to 31 on the last six after they had tied the nine at 41 apiece. That left Paul Hubbard another shot adrift in fifth.
The second division was led in by Brendan Dunne with a very commendable net two over par to win by one from John Carlin, with John at least managing to qualify for the Gold and Silver Medals, Brendan having already having done so earlier in the year.
Brendan Dunne.
Chris Ross slipped into third place another shot behind and Mark Armstrong finished in fourth, with Serge Straeten taking the last step of the podium for the Medals in fifth.
Once again there were no 2s in the second division but Mark Lang and Chris Smith shared the roll over pool in the first division.
Note: If you would like to play with The Haven group, you can contact 038 710 989 or call in to The Haven Hotel, 185 Soi 13, situated 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 8.15 on a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on the days that you wish to play. If you would like to leave your golf clubs at The Haven, there are usually lockers available at a nominal charge. A schedule of courses to be played can be found on our web site at www.thehaven-hotel.com.
