Pattaya Sports Club Links Golf Society
Friday, May 14
Khao Kheow Country Club C+A
Stableford
The morning had already heated up by the time our twenty-one golfers arrived at their carts, and then some headed for the driving range.
Another society teeing off ahead of us; however, our first group, a three ball, still got away 13 minutes early. The pace wasn’t quick, but acceptable, as the first group finished nine holes in a tick over two hours.
It may have been the heat of the day that scores were kept fairly low, as the two nines we played were in very good condition. The fairways were well grassed, although there was still the odd wet area, the greens were the usual true running, good paced, Khao Kheow greens.
One thing unique, it seems, to Khao Kheow, is that they have, for a long time, had problems with the tee boxes looking more like rough. It is obviously a local problem.
Karl Flood has had some good recent scores and this time his solid 35 points got him a long-awaited win. Karl walks on course a lot and managed to beat the heat as well as the rest of the group.
Newcomer Frenchman Chris Alanices, playing his second game with us, scored 32 points to take second spot after winning a three way countback at that score.
Paul Anderson had a run of ordinary scores but has now found some form. He has taken third place, losing a countback against Chris but winning another countback over Dave McKey, who settled for fourth.
Thierry Petrement scored 31 points to win yet another countback and grab the fifth and final place.
Two more newcomers, Nick Crossan and Craig Boyd, won ‘best nines’.
Near Pins: Mike Tottenham, Martin Patch, Karl Flood, and Mike Firkin.
Winners at Khao Kheow
1st Place – Karl Flood (15) – 35 pts
2nd Place – Chris Alanices (24) – 32 pts c/back
3rd Place – Paul Anderson (22) – 32 pts c/back
4th Place – Dave McKey (20) – 32 pts
5th Place – Thierry Petrement (11) – 31 pts
Best Front Nine (non winners) – Nick Crossan – 18 pts
Best Back Nine (non winners) – Craig Boyd – 18 pts
Overhead, some clouds were turning a darker shade of grey but really didn’t look as if rain would be a problem. How wrong can you be? A slight drizzle for a few minutes quickly became very much heavier.
The first three groups finished the round during the drizzle, the others got a bit wetter, although it was some short relief from the heat of the day.
