PSC golf from The Growling Swan
Monday, Nov. 25, Pleasant Valley – Stableford
It was another beautiful, sunny day in Pattaya as we gathered at The Growling Swan in readiness for our departure to the picturesque Pleasant Valley Golf Course. We had 27 golfers signed up to play and everyone showed up on time so our 3 mini vans were able to get going a couple of minutes ahead of our 8.30 am departure time.
We had previously welcomed back Graham Rice from Gove in the Northern Territory of Australia, Mark Stapleton returning from Melbourne, Victoria, Gerry Crilly from Pattaya after a few weeks break & Colm Mullen with us for the very first time from Dublin.
It was a fairly short journey to the course which was completed in 37 minutes and there was a fair bit of activity there so plenty of time to relax and prepare. Our first four-ball got away 3 minutes ahead of our scheduled tee time of 10.00 am and in glorious weather conditions we proceeded fairly slowly due to heavy traffic ahead.
Mike Gosden, Patrick Poussier, Nolan Wise & Roy Dayton.
The golf course was in excellent condition with the greens much improved on the last time we played there and with lush fairways that were a bit damp in parts the stage was set for some good scores, which indeed turned out to be the case. It was an extremely enjoyable round of golf with terrific company and it took four hours & thirty minutes with a couple of stops for drinks.
We had 2 Divisions – Division A for handicaps 0 to 16 and Division B for handicaps of 17 & over with four places in each. There were also rewards for nearest the pin on the four par 3’s and longest first putts on the 9th & 18th greens.
I must first mention the Hole In One on the 17th by Roy “Plums” Dayton, so congratulations to him and now the only 2 Aces recorded at Growling Swan Golf have been recorded by Roy and his partner Kae (Emerald last year).
Peter Blackburn (left) presents the Kevin Grose Memorial Shield to Fred Dineley.
With a great score of 45 points it was Mike “Hunter” Gosden who took first place in A Division and with 2 golfers on 41 points a count back was required which saw Ted Morris (20 point back nine) take second spot from your writer, Peter “Blacky” Blackburn (18 point back nine) in third place. Mark “Westy” West finished fourth with 39 points.
For his second win in a row it was Nolan Wise who won Division B with a fine 43 points and Roy “Plums” Dayton was second with 41 points, helped of course by his 1 for 5 on the 17th. Ebrahim came third with 37 points and John Davis rounded off the podium with 35 points.
Division A (0-16)
1st Mike Gosden (14) 45pts
2nd Ted Morris (12) 41pts
3rd Peter Blackburn (12) 41pts
4th Mark West (15) 39pts
Division B (17+)
1st Nolan Wise (36) 43pts
2nd Roy Dayton (26) 41pts
3rd Ebrahim (18) 37pts
4th John Davis (20) 35pts
Near Pins: 5th – Peter Blackburn, 8th – Mike Gosden, 13th – Alain Taddei, 17th – Roy Dayton
Long Putts: 9th – J J Harney, 18th – Frank Donnelly
The Growling Swan NAGA Award, (awarded to the golfer who has the worst score on the day) was won by Patrick Poussier and he accepted the award like the good sport that he is.
Thursday, November 28, Treasure Hill – Stroke/Monthly Mug & Kevin Grose Memorial Shield
This was another very special day in the history of The Growling Swan as not only was it the 18th Monthly Mug, it was also time to remember our very good friend Kevin Grose who tragically passed away here in Pattaya one year ago.
Mine Host Peter Grey suggested we have a Memorial Day in memory of Kevin and he organized and supplied a perpetual shield in honour of the occasion. We decided that whoever won the Monthly Mug would also get their name on the shield.
It was an early start, a 9.00 am tee time and although I did my best to let everyone know that we were departing an hour earlier than normal it did catch a few “napping” and we ended up with a very good field of 30 with three people “missing the bus”.
We welcomed Scott Leszcynski back from Canada and also Growling Swan Delinquents Geoff Phillips and Jeff Mellon. It was also time to farewell Graham Rice who is returning to Gove in the Northern Territory of Australia after a week here and resident Fred Dineley who is returning to Wanneroo in Western Australia for a few weeks.
Fred Dineley (3rd left) accepts the Monthly Mug from Peter Grey (left), with JJ Harney, Geoff Phillips, Gary Monley & John Davis looking on.
Our 3 mini vans departed 7 minutes behind schedule at 7.37 am after waiting for a “straggler” and we headed off to Treasure Hill and after a good run up 331 arrived at the golf course just 48 minutes later to find things fairly quiet there. After waiting for a couple of groups to tee off we sent our first four-ball away right on the scheduled time of 9.00 am in very good conditions with a nice cooling breeze.
The course was looking very good with the greens firm and true and it was interesting to find several new tee boxes which changed the look of the holes and all in all it was a very good challenge of golf which most found out.
The traffic ahead of us soon cleared and we proceeded at a steady pace, although alas we were slowed down somewhat by the fact that it was a stroke round and a couple of us spent several minutes looking for golf balls after errant shots. The “Crocodile” hole played its usual tricks and claimed Frankie & I and I still cannot understand how they arrive at the handicap index of that hole!
It was however an extremely enjoyable round of golf which was completed in four hours & twenty seven minutes.
We had 3 Divisions – Division A for handicaps 0 to 16, Division B for handicaps 17 to 26 & Division C for handicaps of 27 and over with three places in each Division. There were also rewards for nearest the pin on the four par 3’s and longest first putts on the 9th & 18th greens plus rewards for a birdie on the par 3 second hole & longest drive on the 18th.
There were many people to thank on the day including Scott Leszcynski and his son Kojo plus Sportscene for assisting with sponsorship, JJ Harney who sponsored the birdie on the par 3 second hole and Tony Campbell who sponsored the longest drive on the 18th hole. Also, of course, many thanks to The Growling Swan for sponsoring the Monthly Mug and the Kevin Grose Memorial Shield, plus a delicious supper.
The winner of the Monthly Mug & The Kevin Grose Memorial Shield with an excellent score of net 66 was Fred Dineley. Division A was won by JJ Harney with a fine net 70, with Mike “Hunter” Gosden second on net 76. With 2 golfers on net 77 a count back was required which resulted in Colm Mullen (net 37 back nine) taking third place from Sal Brizzi (net 39 back nine).
John Davis won Division B with net 71 and Duangjai “Kae” Tusagad was second with net 74, 1 stroke better than her partner Roy “Plums” Dayton in third spot.
Division C was won by Gary Monley with a very good net 71 and second place went to Andrew “Turtle” Allen with net 84 and Dick “Reverend” Braimbridge was third with net 89.
Monthly Mug
1st Fred Dineley (25) net 66.
Division A (0-16)
1st JJ Harney (11) net 70
2nd Mike Gosden (14) net 76
3rd Colm Mullen (15) net 77
Division B
1st John Davis (20) net 71
2nd Duangjai Tusagad (20) net 74
3rd Roy Dayton (26) net 75
Division C
1st Gary Monley (35) net 71
2nd Andrew Allen (35) net 84
3rd Dick Braimbridge (36) net 89
Near Pins: 2nd – Sal Brizzi, 6th – Graham Rice, 13th – J J Harney, 17th – Fred Dineley
Long Putts: 9th – Mike Gosden, 18th – Frank Donnelly
Birdie on the 2nd: – Sal Brizzi
Long Drive: Sal Brizzi
The Growling Swan NAGA Award was won by Geoff Phillips and Max then paraded Deefa the Dog who collected many donations for the needy in Pattaya from our generous Growling Swan golfers.
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 petermalcolmblackburn @gmail.com.
We also play bowls out of the Growling Swan every Wednesday and Sunday. Sunday is Lawn Bowls and Wednesday is Indoor Bowls. All are welcome and for anyone that is interested the transport leaves The Growling Swan at 10.00am on each of those mornings. For more information please contact Paul Rennison on 0843 454 005.
