IPGC Golf from The Haven
Monday, June 13 Bangpra Stableford
CSS 73
1st Tomas Nilsson (12) 34
2nd Mike Hill (20) 33 cb 18
3rd Shuichi Kodaka (18) 33 cb 16
4th Larry Gibb (21) 30
5th Garry Hookey (16) 29
With the weather taking a dramatic change for the wet we may well be looking forward to greener pastures in the near future compared to the burnt offerings the players have had to endure over the past few weeks. Bangpra was one of the worst affected courses but has seemed to have benefitted the least from the recent spate of rain in the area. There are still many areas that require some attention from the greens keepers and surely it will not be too long before the members start to raise their voices for some change for the better.
Tomas Nilsson managed to deal with the conditions better than the rest of the field and ran out the winner by the narrowest of margins ahead of a count back for second place.
That was won by Mike Hill with a better 18 to 16 which then left Shuichi Kodaka in third spot.
Larry Gibb slipped into fourth place just one ahead of fifth placed Garry Hookey but several in front of the rest of the bedraggled hopefuls.
Unsurprisingly, but is quite usual at this course, there were no 2s in either of the divisions.
Wednesday, June 15 Pattana, A & B courses Yellow tees Stableford
CSS 72
1st John Entsuah (13) 42
2nd Markku Tynell (23) 40
3rd Johnny Clements (25) 37
4th Tomas Nilsson (12) 36
5th Garry Hookey (16) 35 cb 21
6th Neil Skilton (5) 35 cb 16
Pattana was as usual found to be in excellent conditions and deserving of particular mention were the greens which were running fast and true with a good amount of check available to those with the striking ability with their approach shots. The CSS for the day reflected the course’s playability as it moved down to 72 for the par 73 eighteen played on the day.
John Entsuah led in a high scoring day at six under but was fortunate that second placed Markku Tynell seemed to get tangled in some sort of anchor chain as he managed just 17 from the inward half after going out in five under handicap and looking as though he would be getting his handicap down to below 20 once again. But sadly a couple of zeros put paid to his chances of a career best score and he had to settle for second place.
Johnny Clements made it another happy return to the group as he took third place three shots behind but one under handicap. He was followed in by Tomas Nilsson having scored two better than in his previous outing to finish three positions worse.
Garry Hookey won a count back for fifth and sixth with Neil Skilton after carding a better 21 to 16 over the B courses.
There were no 2s in the second division but John Entsuah underlined his day’s powerful performance with the sole one in the first division to sweep the rollover pot clean.
Before the presentations were made there were welcome backs for Tom McCarthy, Gabe Dakwa and John Entsuah all from the USA, and Johnny Clements and the day’s group organiser, once again, Markku Tynell, the proud father back from Finland after helping to celebrate his second son’s doctorate as he joined his brother with the same degree in medicine. Now he will have an alternative source for his prescriptions in the event of those Thailand headaches in the future.
Friday, June 17 Pattaya Country Club Stableford
CSS 71
1st Bruce Hilde (16) 39
2nd Phil Cass (16) 38 cb 21
3rd Larry Gibb (21) 38 cb 17
4th Mike Hill (20) 36 cb 21
5th Markku Tynell (23) 36 cb 13
Pattaya Country Club is improving steadily following the recent renovations to the back nine and the results can be seen in the scoring that now regularly sees the CSS reducing down to 71 as the course and especially the greens start to bed in and the players gain more experience with the vastly different greens with their undulations and no go areas for approach shots.
Bruce Hilde returned from the far north, after celebrating his marriage with his new bride with an extended honeymoon in and around the family estates, to play a few events before returning to the USA to show her the extent of his homelands during the warmer season and finished with a bang when returning his best score since returning south.
In the event it was a close run thing as he ended up just one ahead of a count back for second between Phil Cass and Larry Gibb which saw Phil win with a better 21 to 17, as they finished with mirror image cards.
Mike Hill won another count back for fourth and fifth with Markku Tynell closing out their rounds with 21 and 17.
With the good scores returned all around the group it was unusual that there were no 2s in either divisions.
Prior to the prize giving’s there was a farewell for Bruce Hilde together with many good wishes for his travels.
The Haven golf group have now relocated to Soi Lengkee, on the corner of the road leading to the Vogue Hotel, where there are good parking facilities but sadly no room for club storage.
Whilst the kitchen in being renovated, there is a limited range of food available, but the supply of beverages continues, at ice cold temperatures and the hotel section is in full swing.
Note: If you would like to play with The Haven group, you can contact 094 465 5002 or call in to The Haven, 315/13 Soi Lengkee, situated between Third Road and Soi Buakhao. 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. A schedule of courses to be played throughout the year can be found on the web site at www.thehaven-hotel.com
