PSC Golf from The Growling Swan
Monday, Sept. 24, Pleasant Valley – Stableford
Another excellent field of 20 golfers was signed up for the trip to the picturesque Pleasant Valley golf course and under overcast skies after very heavy rain overnight we assembled at The Growling Swan.
It was good to welcome back Bob Akapita from Gove in the Northern Territory of Australia; Neil Skilton returning from his 3 week trip to the UK; Walter Baechli after finishing his cycling tour of Ireland & the UK; and Eddie Townsend, formerly from Perth but now residing in Pattaya. It was sadly time to wish bon voyage to Stephen Newton who is returning to work but at the time of writing is not sure where!
John Pierrel, Ebrahim, Peter Grey & Alain Taddei
Departing in 2 mini-vans right on time at 8.30 am we proceeded up No.7 with many glances upwards at the weather but despite the few pessimists amongst us we were confident of a fine day. After a 38 minute drive we were at the course which was very quiet and just had to wait for one four-ball to tee off before we got our first group away 25 minutes ahead of schedule at 9.35 am.
Apparently the course had been under water the day before so no carts were allowed on the fairways which meant winter rules through the greens were in place. The course was indeed very wet in parts but with relief, completely playable and looking in fine condition although the greens did appear to be fairly slow on the front nine.
After completing our first nine in 2 hours we encountered some very ordinary greens on the back nine which, according to the knowledgeable amongst us was mainly due to the huge amount of recent rain. We battled on however and finished the round in the very good time of four hours and not a drop of rain was sighted on the day. The ‘rain gods’ had smiled on us once again!
We were able to have 2 grades with four podium spots in each. A Grade was for handicaps 0 to 17 and B Grade for 18 and over. We had nearest the pins on all the par threes and longest first putts on the 9th & 18th greens which were collectively sponsored by The Growling Swan, Mike Gosden, Dave Neal, Stephen Newton, Kevin Waycott & Bob Akapita. Many thanks to these guys for their generosity!
The A Grade was won by yours truly with 37 points, 1 point ahead of Neil Skilton (17 point back nine) who beat Ebrahim (15 point back nine) into third place on a count back. Chris Stewart’s fine 74 gross (eagle on the par five 15th using four iron, four iron to a metre) secured him 4th place with 35 points.
The consistent Duangjai Tusagad (Kae) won the B Grade with a fine 38 points and in a count back for second & third on 37 points Stephen Newton (21 point back nine) eased Walter Baechli (19 point back nine) into third spot with Roy Dayton fourth on 35 points.
A Flight (0-17)
1st Peter Blackburn (11) 37pts
2nd Neil Skilton (7) 36pts
3rd Ebrahim (16) 36pts
4th Chris Stewart (1) 35pts
B Flight (18+)
1st Duangjai Tusagad (34) 38pts
2nd Stephen Newton (28) 37pts
3rd Walter Baechli (18) 37pts
4th Roy Dayton (22) 35pts
Near Pins: 5th – Walter Baechli; 8th – Neil Skilton; 13th – Bob Akapita; 17th – Chris Stewart
Long Putts: 9th – Ebrahim; 18th – Walter Baechli
The Compass Cap (awarded for the worst score on the day) was won by Wendy Bernek and was naturally received in good spirit. Deefa the Dog was back and whilst being paraded by his Master, Hunter, several donations to charity were collected from the ever generous Growling Swan Golf crew.
Thursday, Sept. 27, Crystal Bay A & B – Stroke/Monthly Mug
Despite the pessimistic forecasts from the so called Growling Swan meteorological “experts” the previous evening, I and most others were confident of a fine day and a terrific field of 28 assembled at the G.S. in readiness for the fourth Monthly Mug.
We were happy to welcome Neils Hansen & Jan Lovgreen from Denmark who are both here for another seven months. Also Sandy Leiper, who “disappeared” for a couple of weeks and Tom Cotton who is recovering from a delicate surgical procedure. It was also good to see Robbie Pollack from Sydney, Australia having a game with us for the first time. It was sadly time to say farewell to Chris Stewart who will shortly be returning to Mandurah, Western Australia & Bob Akapita who has to return to his work in Gove in the Northern Territory of Australia.
Everyone was on time so we headed off down Sukhumvit in three mini vans right on schedule at 8.30 am and after a fairly good run we arrived at Crystal Bay just 40 minutes later. The golf course had received quite a lot of rain over the last few days so carts were not allowed on the fairways which meant winter rules through the greens were once more in place.
Wendy Bernek, Kae & Peter Blackburn.
After waiting for a couple of groups coming through from B nine we were able to get our first four-ball away on A nine 10 minutes ahead of our scheduled 10.00 am tee time. The weather was fine but fairly hot & humid with very little wind with the exception of much wind from The Growling Swan “delinquents” group who had recruited Max “Two Corsets” Bracegirdle to lend “support” to Peter Grey in the absence of Fred Dineley, who was not present due to family reasons.
The course was naturally wet in places but drying out quickly although the greens were considerably slower than normal. We proceeded at a very good pace and got through the A nine in right on two hours and this pace was continued through the B nine enabling us to complete the full round in four hours exactly, which for a stroke round is very good for us. A very enjoyable round of golf with great company in our group and of course the weather was fantastic once again.
In addition to the Monthly Mug winner we were able to have 2 grades with five podium spots in each. A Grade was for handicaps 0 to 17 and B Grade for 18 and over. We had nearest the pins on all the par threes and longest first putts on the 9th & 18th greens which were collectively sponsored by The Growling Swan, Mike Gosden, Dave Neal, Stephen Newton, Kevin Waycott & Bob Akapita. Many thanks to all out sponsors!
It was fantastic to see Ebrahim have his first win with us and he took out the fourth Growling Swan Monthly Mug with a very fine net 67. The winner of A Grade was the consistent John Pierrel who had a very good net 68 with Mike “Hunter” Gosden in second spot with net 71. Playing on his home course Takeshi Hakozaki finished third with net 73 and in a count back for fourth & fifth your writer (net 35 back nine) just pipped Niels Hansen (net 36 back nine) with both golfers having net 74.
In B Grade it was Alain “Inspector Clouseau” Tassei who finished first with a very good net 69 and in another count back on net 72 it was Dave Neal (net 36 back nine) who finished second from Tom “T.C.” Cotton (net 38 back nine) in third place. Brad Todd’s net 73 was good enough for him to secure fourth place with Roy Dayton fifth on net 74.
Monthly Mug
1st Ebrahim (16) net 67
A Flight (0-17)
1st John Pierrel (11) net 68
2nd Mike Gosden (12) net 71
3rd Takeshi Hakozaki (11) net 73
4th Peter Blackburn (11) net 74
5th Niels Hansen (14) net 74
B Flight (18+)
1st Alain Taddei (18) net 69
2nd Dave Neal (23) net 72
3rd Tom Cotton (22) net 72
4th Brad Todd (22) net 73
5th Roy Dayton (22) net 74
Near Pins: A5 – John Pierrel; A8 – Mike Allidi; B4 – Ken Bernek; B6 – Thientong Charoenrung
Long Putts: A9 – Tom Cotton; B9 – Roy Dayton
Back at The Growling Swan for presentations we thanked Peter Grey for sponsoring this very popular monthly event and also for providing the delicious chicken supper which enabled Geoff Phillips to go without a meal for the next two days.
The Compass Cap (awarded for the worst score on the day) was won by Robbie Pollack who unfortunately left the Growling Swan to go and pick up his lady but failed to return to collect the award. Deefa the Dog was present of course and whilst being paraded by his Master, Hunter several donations to charity were collected from the ever generous Growling Swan Golf crew.
Many of us stayed back and as usual Peter Grey rang the bell later in the evening, obviously delighted at not having to wear the Compass Cap although it was revealed that “Two Corsets” may have had something to do with this. Details are available “offline” to any interested parties. Another great day with many laughs!
Note: Growling Swan Golf welcomes golfers of any persuasion – low & high handicappers alike, female golfers and beginners. We generally play Mondays & Thursdays, meeting at The Growling Swan (formerly The Bunker Bar) in Soi Chaiyapoon at 8.00 am with transport departing at 8.30 am. For bookings or more information please contact Peter on 0806 351 386 or email to [email protected].
