The Golf Club weekly review
Monday, May 15, St. Andrews (white tees) – Stableford
T1st Gary Emmett (17) 36pts
T1st Terry Dyer (18) 36pts
3rd Bob Kenyan (16) 35pts
If you can’t stand the heat, get off the tee box, as the old saying goes. May is definitely the hottest and most humid month in Pattaya, and some days even our magical micro-climate cannot save us. The week started off hot, but a huge cell over South-East Asia came in mid-week. We had a hell of a storm (localized) but that helped cool things off and the rest of the week was overcast but fairly pleasant.
The usual suspects were up on the leaderboard, and a lucky visitor by the name of Bob Kenyan joined them with 3rd place. Gary and Terry have both had a heck of a run lately. Today it was Gary with a bit of an advantage as both had 36, but Gary edged out Terry with his win on the Caddy Smile near pin.
Tuesday, May 16, Pleasant Valley (white tees) – Stableford
1st Terry Dyer (19) 42pts
2nd Kenny Aihara (6) 40pts
T3rd Gary Hookey (20) 36pts
T3rd Robbie Taylor (14) 36pts
We only get out here 3 or 4 times a year, and the course gets mixed reviews on most outings. It is a fine little track but certainly not on the top of our playlist. To think that you will drive past Khao Kheow to get here makes me think twice about booking here again.
Those Aussies are back at it, with three of four slots on the podium. Gary Hookey and Robbie Taylor must have been feeding off each other and both ended tied for third with 36. It is good to see Kenny Aihara feeling better and scoring like he used to, and 40 points is good shooting on any course.
It was Terry Dyer (OK, a transplanted Kiwi!) who did best here today and his 42 is a great score. Nice shooting Terry!
Thursday, May 18, Greenwood A & B (yellow tees) – Stableford
1st Steve Coughlan (36) 42pts
2nd Peter Thomas (18) 41pts
3rd Terry Dyer (17) 40pts
Greenwood greeted us in superb condition and this course remains one of the best, and best value, in the Pattaya area. There was a bit of rain on the way out but that cleared by the first tee. These days, you must play ‘lift, clean and place’ for an enjoyable round for everyone. It was the A & B tracks that were assigned to us today so off to our 9:34 tee time with 16 golfers on the sheet.
Terry Dyer must be our golfer of the week and 40 points out here is a great number. Like Kenny, who took the NTP today, it is good to see Peter Thomas back in form and 41 points out here puts Pete back in the frame. That is keeping your cool when your wife outdrives you on the first hole! Has Pete found his mojo again?
Story of the month is our winner Steve Coughlan, who has been playing with us for years and never, ever won any comp. OK, he’s one of our high, high handicappers but that doesn’t stop Steve from loving the game and giving his best. Steve received a great round of applause at Capt. Phil’s presentation as finally Steve came good with his best ever score of 42 points! We gotta give some credit to Gary Emmett along with John & Jeff out at the St. Andrews Golf Centre for helping Coughlan with his game and hopefully we will see results like this more often, right Gary?
Friday, May 19, The Emerald (white tees) – Stableford
1st Kenny Aihara (6) 39pts
2nd Robbie Taylor (14) 37pts
3rd Mark Wood (8) 32pts
We round off the week with a jaunt down south to visit one of the nicest golf courses around, The Emerald. This is a Nick Faldo/Desmond Muirhead design that features the best collection of par-3’s of any course. Condition of the course was good, but not great as the greens had recently been sanded and a bit rough. That said, the guys had a great time out there.
Woody is back in the swing of things and 32 gets the flying Scotsman third place. Robbie Taylor is up there once more with a solid 37 on the card. Robbie doubled his pleasure by nicking that Caddy Smile near pin as well.
Winner, winner Chicken dinner goes to Kenny (nice shot) Aihara and 39 on the card puts him on top of the heap. With a 40 on Tuesday and 39 today, Kenny is back in form and looking forward to next week’s golf!
Lastly, I must mention our buddies from the Guzzlers and Famous Fattboyz Slo-pitch softball tournament this past weekend. Cheers to Bob Waraska and Armando Delsi for a great time out at the Siam Polo Park and hope you guys get back here soon!
