PSC golf Bunker Boys @ The Ranch
Monday, July 28, Green Valley – Medal
It was a cloudy morning with a fresh breeze blowing as we teed-off to tackle the popular Green Valley course for our second stroke play competition of the month. Everything progressed smoothly for the first seven holes, but then a heavy rain shower moved in and we were forced to take a 10 minute break at the nearby drinks stop.
Although the rain eased off, there was still persistent, light drizzle for the next few holes, but the condition of the course wasn’t seriously affected, and the conditions actually became quite pleasant for the final half dozen holes.
Stars of the week, Rab McDonald, Geoff Cox and Geoff Parker celebrate back at The Ranch.
A few of the less hardy golfers had decided to call it a day, and duly received a rain check for nine holes, but the more hardy golfers still had an enjoyable round as the weather improved. Geoff Parker managed to take one stroke off Colin Greig on the 18th hole to take first place, and Tony Robbins was a further stroke back to take third.
1st Geoff Parker (14) net 72
2nd Colin Greig (7) net 73
3rd Tony Robbins (14) net 74
Near Pins: Colin Greig, Colin Hammond and Steve Durey.
Wednesday, July 30, Plutuluang N & W – Stableford
Our last game of the month took us to the Navy course on a bright sunny morning to play a Stableford competition on the difficult North and West nines.
The race for the Golfer of the Month title was still wide open, with recent good performances from Geoff Parker and Tony Robbins bringing them up to challenge Gerry Cooney, who has led the way for most of the month. The star of the day however, wasn’t one of the title contenders, it was Geoff Cox who produced a stellar performance with a round that included one birdie, and 11 pars giving him an unbeatable score of 44 points (79 gross off his 15 handicap!).
To put Geoff’s achievement in perspective, this is the best score that your scribe can remember on these two nines in the history of the Bunker Boy’s society, and was certainly Geoff’s best performance in recent years.
Tony Robbins was the best of the title contenders, but a closing run of only two points over the last three holes, deprived him of the second place finish which would have secured him the title. Colin Greig took the second place spot on a count back with nineteen points on the inward nine against Tony’s seventeen.
Geoff Parker sneaked into fourth place with 32 points (including a two stroke penalty for playing the wrong ball), but it was enough to win the July title by a margin of one point, ahead of both Gerry Cooney and Tony Robbins who ended tied in second place.
1st Geoff Cox (14) 44pts
2nd Colin Greig (7) 35pts
3rd Tony Robbins (14) 35pts
Near Pins: Geoff Cox (2) and Colin Greig (2).
Friday, August 1, Emerald – Medal
Near perfect golfing weather today to start the new month with a medal competition at The Emerald course. It’s fair to say the course has improved significantly since our previous visit last month, with most of the new grass on the fairways beginning to bed in, and the greens returning to their previous good condition.
The course was quiet and the round progressed smoothly with the leading three-ball completing the round in well under four hours.
It was a day when Rab McDonald re-found his form after a slump which has seen his handicap rise from 11 to 15 over the first fifteen games of his visit. Rab’s score of net par was enough to clinch the top spot one stroke ahead of Colin Grieg, with Steve Durey taking third place a further stroke behind.
We welcomed back Lee Butler today after almost a year’s absence from golf whilst he was concentrating on building a new house, and his caddy made it a memorable day by driving straight over a concrete post and breaking the drive shaft of the buggy! Fortunately Lee was playing in the final group, and after waiting for a replacement buggy to arrive, it took the group the best part of an hour to play the final two holes, and still nobody caught them up.
At the presentation Rab McDonald received his KPK Food voucher and was in high spirits (supplying an endless stream of jokes) for the first time in weeks –amazing how a return to form can make the world seem a brighter place!
1st Rab McDonald (15) net 72
2nd Colin Greig (7) net 73
3rd Steve Durey (21) net 74
Near Pins: Rab McDonald (2) and Mashi Kaneta.
Note: The Bunker Boys are a PSC affiliated golf society, who now play out of The Ranch bar on Pattaya 3rd Road (in front of the fire station, and almost opposite the Buffalo Bar). We play on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, so if you enjoy a fun day out, and a friendly but competitive golf competition why not come and join us.
We meet at The Ranch at 9 a.m. for breakfast and transportation, and new players are always welcome. Contact “Buff” on 086 046 5091 or 080 605 5663 for all enquiries or got to website: www. bunkersociety.com.
