PSC golf from The Golf Club
Khao Yai was the destination for the 2014 edition of the Mulberry Ryder Cup and 16 golfers from around the world came on board to take on 16 of England’s finest. Playing at Rancho Charnvee, Panorama, Khao Yai Golf Course and Lotus Valley, it made for a very memorable 4-day competition. These road trips are always great fun and like they say, what happens on the road stays on Facebook.
Notables for this 11th annual event were Mark Stanley and Nick Handscombe with 3½ wins each and Russell Exley, who had the biggest winning margin with 10 and 8. The final score was England 24 v R.O.W. 16.
Team England with the Rest of the World side on the final day in full team kit.
Big thanks to England Captain Jeff Calrow and a gracious losing effort by R.O.W. Captain Nigel Flanagan and of course our pal Mr. Steve Mulberry. Cynics may say that this is just an excuse for a drinking get-a-way, and those cynics may just be right.
Also, we will return to Khao Yai for our annual Songkran pilgrimage on 15th -20th of April so see Steve for further details on how to escape the madness in the cool mountain air!
Monday, Jan. 13, Green Valley (white tees) – Stableford
1st Phil Williams (12) 37pts
2nd Henry O’Brien (22) 36pts
3rd Bob Finley (16) 33pts
3rd Walter Baechli (16) 33pts
Just a bit of chaos at the start, but the Green Valley experience is still a great one. Near perfect conditions greeted us this morning as both the golf course and the weather were glorious. Only one golfer bettered their handicap today and Phil Williams got round with 37 Stableford points to take the top spot.
England Captain Jeff Calrow with ROW skipper Nigel Flanagan and host Steve Mulberry.
That legendary Scotsman Henry O’Brien ended just a shot back on 36 while Cap’t Bob Finley figured all square with the colourful Walter Baechli, both on 33 points to finish off the leaderboard.
Wednesday, Jan. 15, Plutaluang E & S (white tees) – Stableford
1st Phil Smedley (12) 36pts
2nd Phil Lee (12) 32pts
3rd Sean Hastings (18) 31pts
It has been ages since we played Navy so it was good to get back there at long last. The course was in good shape and a high season green fee rate of 700 baht put a smile on everyone’s faces. If the weather was this good all year round I reckon we would have a population of a million in no time. You hardly build up a sweat these days and the nights are the coolest in my 15 years here.
Today must have been the Captain’s Day as our one and only Phil Smedley dominated the competition and was 4 shots ahead of 2nd place. Well done Smedders!
Friday, Jan. 17, Silky Oaks (yellow tees) – Stableford
1st Phil Lee (12) 30pts
2nd Ray Powell (16) 29pts
3rd Jayson Schembri (19) 28pts
Ray Powell, Jayson Schembri and Phil Lee, Friday’s top survivors.
In retrospect, maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to play off the yellow tees. I mean, 6,500 yards doesn’t sound too bad looking at the scorecard, but those 200+ yard carries over water and the wind factor made some of the boys pull out what little hair they have left.
We had a former Navy Admiral state he didn’t see that much water in all his years at sea. As it was, we had to admit several golfers for psychiatric counseling, such a terrifying experience it was. The lakeball concession got a big boost, so there was some good news to report. It turned out to be an expensive round with dozens and dozens of balls gone and why they can’t make those balls float is beyond me. It was definitely a reality check!
Spectacular par 3 at Khao Yai Golf Club.
As you can see, Phil Lee was the best score at 30 Stableford points. That was as good as we could muster. It was a tough old slog out there and we are all just happy to survive and it is all over. We promise to stay to the whites from now on!
Thanks for joining TGC again for another week of golf in paradise. Stay classy, Pattaya!
Note: The Golf Club is located on Soi LK Metro. We try to schedule summer “Sports Days”, so come join us for a seriously fun day out. Just call 085 434 3377 or see our website www. golfclubpattaya.com and for more information mail us: [email protected] and see updates at www. facebook.com/golfclubpattaya… all handicaps welcome!
