PSC Golf Bunker Boys at The Ranch
Saturday, April 16, Blue Sapphire A&B (blue tees) – Stableford
1st Les Cobban (8) 35pts
2nd Lee Butler (19) 33pts
3rd Mark Stanley (8) 33pts
Near Pins: Les Hall, Lee Butler, Mark Stanley, Colin Gregg.
The full cast of 12 players headed out to the Canyon course which is about 30 minutes from Kanchanaburi town on good roads. The course is set on an old abandoned open cast copper mine surrounded by hills and set between manmade emerald blue lakes. This is a peaceful layout in a rural setting and has many holes where water comes into play, especially on the par threes. A good test of golf with close finishes for the top three spots.
Monday, April 18, Evergreen Hills – Stableford
1st Les Hall (23) 35pts
2nd Jimmy Carr (18) 34pts
3rd Mark Stanley (8) 33pts
Near Pins: Les Hall, Lee Butler, Mashi Keneta, Les Cobban
All our golfers set out for the hour journey south to this heavily wooded area near the Myanmar border. A gem of a course which is not too long and favors accuracy over length, with both the 16th and 17th holes having island greens which claimed their share of golf balls. Not too much English from the caddies but the great big Thai smiles overcame that problem.
Unfortunately two golfers signed for incorrect scores resulting in Les Cobban losing out on pole position after disqualification.
Tuesday, April 19, Mida Kanchana – Stableford
1st Mark Stanley (8) 34pts
2nd Les Cobban (8) 34pts
3rd Geoff Parker (14) 34pts
Near Pins: Ross Schiffke, Mark Stanley,Lee Butler.
All our intrepid golfers headed west to a course originally called Lion Hills Golf Club, about 35 minutes away. The scenic views with pine forests make this an enjoyable location to play golf but the holes were predominately flat with the fairways in desperate need of a little tender loving care and slightly undulating greens which were easy to read.
The top three positions were ties so a count out determined the final podium places.
Wednesday, April 20, Dragon Hills – Stableford
1st Mark Stanley (8) 40pts
2nd Ross Schiffke (18) 36pts
3rd Les Cobban (8) 36pts
Near Pins: Lance Conway Jones, Lee Butler, Tom Mc Dowell, Mark Stanley, Ross Schiffke.
All our players stopped off at this course on the way back home after traveling for one and a half hours. This 18-hole layout is spread out in lush mountainous jungle, valleys and hills with the back nine the more impressive as you play through parkland settings. Hole 12 is an island green with a carry of about 170 yards, which made it challenging for our golfers.
After a quick shower everyone headed back to Pattaya after missing out on all the Songkran fun.
The result of the best 4 stableford scores out of the 5 games played was very close with Les Cobban winning the trophy with a score of 141 points, edging out Mark Stanley by one but Mark is ahead by 3 points on the golfer of the month at this stage.
There were only good comments about the accommodation at Good Times Resort in Kanchanaburi and we will definitely be staying there again next year.
Friday, April 22,Khao Kheow C&A (yellow tees) – Stableford
1st Ross Schiffke (18) 34pts
2nd Colin Gregg (11) 33pts
3rd Mark Stanley (8) 33pts
Near Pins: Ross Schiffke, Frank Quinlan, Colin Gregg, Lance Conway Jones.
A poor turnout after the away games as some of the golfers were relaxing at home out of the heat. The course was in its usual good condition with plenty of greenery but the greens were like putting through treacle and we can only assume that the greenskeeper is protecting the greens from the heat by letting them grow a little longer.
There were also many other golfers on the course which slowed down our three-ball groups but we still finished in good time. Scores were not that good with no players equaling or beating their handicaps.
