PSC Golf from Tropical Golf Group
Tuesday, July 7, Khao Kheow – Stableford
Today we arrived on time and were told we were to play the A & B nines, for me the best 18 holes here at Khao Kheow. Naturally we had a wind all day; I do not know what it is about the Eastern Seaboard but it always seems to be windy, I suppose it could be because we are near the sea on most of the courses, but some of them are many miles inland.
Stood on the first tee the way ahead looked good and we were told we could use buggies on most of the course, but on one or two holes we had to be careful and keep to the rough. One difference on the day was that A8 was set up to play as a par 4, so the par for the course was to be 71; a small change but interesting as when it is a par 5 the tee shot is one of the most difficult around.
Derek Brook (left) and Takeshi Hakozaki (right) with one of BJ Lodge’s finest.
With the wind behind us the first four holes were not too bad but playing into the wind the over last 5 holes of the A course we found the going hard. The fairways were quite good but the greens were a bit on the slow side. On the B nine it seemed to be a little better manicured, but the wind was still up and the walkers started to tire, making this nine also hard work. The players finished the round very tired and we expected the scores to be not very good.
Back at BJ’s it was soon time for the results and it was seen that, except for one score, the course had been the winner. In the A Flight, 0 to 17, the winner with 32 points was Takeshi Hakozaki, ahead of a count back on 31 points that saw Paul Smith in second, Landis Brooks in third and Andre Van Dyk just losing out.
Tom Herrington (left) and Franck Martineau read about their great golf in Pattaya Mail.
We had two good scores in the B Flight as the winner, Derek Brook, had a very fine 40 points, as they say every dog has his day. In second place the other good score came from Barry Oats with 36 point, then in third we had a count back on 31 that saw Henry Wong in third and Nigel Perry just missing out.
As an aside, on the 18th hole today a dog pinched the near pin marker and ran off with it. Thanks go to the caddies who chased after it (the dog) and got back a much chewed marker.
Near Pins: Nigel Perry, AVD, Jon Dean, Daryl Evans.
Long Putts: Daryl Evans
Friday, July 10, Pattavia – Stableford
It was a cloudy and breezy Friday morning as fifteen hopefuls gathered at BJ’s Lodge to fuel up for the slightly longer drive to Pattavia. Getting the group and transport assignments for the day was easy. Negotiating a small soi choked with oversize tour buses was another matter. Eventually we made it to the freeway and were on our way.
There were two surprises this day, and both pleasant. The first was before we even got to the course; about 75% of the road into Pattavia has been resurfaced, and one no longer needs rejects from Monster Truck competitions to get to the course. The next surprise was on the condition of the course. Everything was, well, perfect: fairways, greens, and bunkers were all in excellent condition. Factor in around 1000 baht to walk, including caddie fee, and it’s well worth the extra drive. So who would take advantage of the course conditions?
Taking the center podium position was Tom Herrington (H/cap 13) with an impressive 38 points. The next two spots were decided on count-back, with newcomer Franck Martineau (13) just edging out Dick Warberg (18), each with 36 points. Good golf guys!
Near Pins: Ted Morris, Brian Parish, Jon Dean, Andre Van Dyk.
Long Putts: John Davis
