IPGC Golf from The Haven
Wednesday, April 20, Pattana A & C – Stableford
CSS 73
1st Shuichi Kodaka (18) 37pts
2nd Mike Hill (21) 32pts
3rd John Carlin (18) 29pts
4th Phil Cass (16) 26pts
5th Terry Hodgkiss (24) 25pts
6th Bruce Hilde (17) 25pts
A very quiet restart to the golfing activities from The Haven following the usual break for Songkran commenced at the beautiful Pattana Golf Club & Resort, where the A and C courses were the designated nines.
Mark Cooper.
Playing from the yellow tees with the par 6 included saw the CSS for the day stay at 73 as the heat and lack of practice appeared to affect the players. All that is apart from Shuichi Kodaka, the winner, who easily took the top step of the podium by five clear shots as he stormed his way around the back nine, the A course, finishing with twenty three points and five under handicap for the inward half.
The nearest challenger was Mike Hill, in second place, and he was in turn three ahead of third placed John Carlin.
Phil Cass struggled into fourth just in front of a count back for fifth and sixth between Terry Hodgkiss and Bruce Hilde, which the former won with a better 12 to 11.
There were no ‘2’s in the first division but Phil Cass celebrated the Thai New Year with a big win in the second division after cleaning out the multi rollover pool and then blowing the horn following the presentations.
Before those presentations there were welcome backs for Mike Hill, Phil Cass, Bruce Hilde and Geoff Potter together with a farewell to John Carling who was returning to his original roots in the East End of London for a few weeks in an attempt to recapture a long lost youth.
Friday, April 22, Pattaya C.C. – Stableford
CSS 72
1st Mark Cooper (14) 38pts
2nd John Ryan (4) 37pts
3rd Mike Dabanovich (11) 37pts
4th John Tallett (24) 37pts
5th Shuichi Kodaka (18) 34pts
6th Mike Hill (21) 34pts
The usual fortnightly visit to The New Pattaya Country Club, as it is now named, was once again a pleasant experience with the course generally being in very good condition, although the greens on the back nine are still a little worse than those of the front nine. The scoring reflected the condition and the CSS for the day stayed at a level 72 with many of the competitors making the required standard.
Shuichi Kodaka.
It was a lottery as to who would be the eventual winner when four players stood on the eighteenth tee tied for the lead, each having scored 35 points up to that point. It fell to Mark Cooper to take the day’s top honours as he took three points from the hole whilst the other three could only garner just the par two points, leaving Mark with his first lottery win, he being not normally allowed to win one back home.
That left a three-way count back for the next places won by John Ryan who finished with 19 and second place, followed in by Mike Dabanovich in third with a better 12 to 11 over the last six which left John Tallett in fourth after he had tied the back nine on 18.
After such good and close scoring came another count back for fifth and sixth which Shuichi Kodaka won with a better 17 to 15 to leave Mike Hill to take the final step on the podium after he had begun the day looking a likely strong contender for the top step with a strong opening nine holes at one under handicap.
Once again there were no ‘2’s in the first division but Leigh Abbey and Fumiaki Matsuura shared the second division pot with one each.
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 throughout the year can be found on the web site at www.thehaven-hotel.com.
