IPGC Pattaya Golf Society at Rabbi’s Elephant Bar
On ANZAC Day, 25th April, more than a smattering of Aussie golfers joined the Pattaya Golf Society in a monthly medal event at Crystal Bay, over the A and C nines which were finely prepared with excellent greens. The track is currently one of the best in the area and offers far better value for money than the likes of Green Valley.
The large field was divided into two flights at thirteen and under. In the second flight Paul Bartlett joined Brian Shaw and John Mason in runner-up place with net 77, the latter insisting his game is more focused and honed to medal play – and who can argue with his credentials as a former medal winner! The flight was won by Jim McNeill with an excellent net 74.
John Mason.
In the top flight Stuart Thompson and Ray Jackson shared third place with net 77 and Trevor Chappell posted his second consecutive runner-up place with net 75. The winner was American Larry Bland who recorded net 73 to deny an all-Australian leaderboard.
Stuart Thompson and Wichai Tananusorn shared the ‘2’s pot with Wichai’s effort on C7 also guaranteeing him the Booby Bevy as his tee shot struck a tree and ricocheted onto the green giving him the birdie opportunity.
Again the day was ably marshalled by John Mason and his return to UK in the near future will give Mr Len a headache as he continues his recovery after recent surgery.
Crystal Bay had been the perfect way to start the golfing week.
Normal service resumed
The Pattaya Golf Society visited Eastern Star on Wednesday, 27th April to play a stableford competition on the course, shortly to go under the greenkeeper’s knife yet again. The course is a challenging track and the general condition is good but the greens have become extremely awkward to control and the sixth is getting smaller every year.
The field played as a single flight and competition was fierce for the minor placings with Gubbi Innvaer, Ronnie Ramsay and Larry Slattery sharing fourth place on 31 points. Ahead sharing runner-up place were Ray Jackson and Masa Takano on 32, but after an aberration at Crystal Bay two days previously normal service was resumed with the return of Wichai Tananusorn to the top of the lists with 35 points and the best gross of eighty for the day.
Paul Bartlett received the ‘2’s pot for his excellent effort on the shrinking sixth green and Pat Murphy received the Booby Bevy after a claim that he was always overlooked for the awesome award.
The day was well marshalled by Wichai and it was good to see him back in his customary consistent form at Eastern Star.
Queens beat the Ace – PGS Golf for Fr. Ray Day
A large field of warm-hearted golfers entered the latest PGS “Golf for Fr Ray Day” event at Emerald on Friday, 29th April, to play a stableford pairs multiplier competition. Seventeen teams took part in the monthly event which is rapidly becoming the flagship of the PGS monthly schedules.
The chosen charity for the year is the Fr. Ray Foundation Outreach project which offers hope to Pattaya’s streetkids and so far this year the project has benefitted by more than sixty thousand baht in just four months. The warm-hearted generosity of Pattaya golfers is certainly overwhelming.
Essentially the event is all about fun and the format on this day was perfect. Generous individual members had sponsored six technical prizes and there were the usual ‘2s prizes up for grabs. Near pins were won by Mam Morel, Noi Emmerson, John Mason and Chris Smith whilst Jean Morel took the prize for nearest the pin with his second shot on the second hole whilst Jim Ferris’ third shot on the fourth hole took the award there.
In the competition proper there was a tie for fourth place with Tim Lazecki and Masa Takano posting 64 points to share with Paul Bartlett and John Mason. In third with 70 points was the pairing of Nile Sheehan and scratch golfer Chris Smith and barely one point ahead was the runner-up team of Yves and Pranee Bosset. The winners were the lady golfers Mam Morel and Noi Emmerson who recorded a resounding 88 points, with Noi scoring forty four points on her card alone.
The fun wasn’t over though as the thirteenth hole witnessed the rare feat of a hole-in-one. John Mason had locker 13 and he was the thirteenth golfer to drive the hole in the competition but his skillful five-iron was nothing to do with luck as the ball disappeared into the hole on the second bounce. Such was the impact of the shot that it was rumoured that CNN had interrupted coverage of some wedding to break the news.
The PGS is profoundly grateful to all who had contributed to the success of the event. It had certainly been a fun day to remember and the next charity event will be at Emerald on Friday 27th May and will take the format of stableford 1-2-3 for three-balls with a sign-up sheet available in Rabbi’s Elephant Bar in Soi Buakhao from a week before. Once again the real winners were the kids in the Outreach Centre on Soi Thepprasit.
