PSC golf from The Growling Swan
Monday, August 11, Greenwood A & C – Stableford
With several overseas visitors in town for Thursday’s tournament in memory of Tony Olcorn, our Monday field was understandably boosted and we had 36 golfers on the start sheet, of which 35 were in the competition.
Hearty welcomes were handed out to Robert Pearce from Gosnells Golf Club in Perth, Western Australia, Joseph Miller from Atlanta, Georgia in the USA, Michael Prideaux & Tony Power from Melbourne, Hitoshi Abe and his pal Hiro from Japan and from Brisbane David Marshall, Alby Uppington, Mike Seaton, Bucha Seaton & Ron Carnall.
Scramble winners: Glen Kendall, Fred Dineley, Russell Calcutt & Ron Gillett.
All were on time including Patrick so we departed the GS 3 minutes ahead of schedule and arrived at the golf course to find it reasonably busy with several Thais there due to it being a Public Holiday. Regardless of this we were able to pay an excellent green fee rate of 550 baht by using their voucher system which was excellent value at this fine golf course.
After sorting out the vouchers, checking in and the usual preparation we were ready to go and we had been allocated to play C & A nines in that order. The weather was fine but hot & humid and the course was in splendid condition with some of the greens very quick to catch out the “bold putting” players, of which I was one several times. We proceeded at a fine pace and although slowing down a touch in the heat we managed to complete a very enjoyable round of golf in four hours & five minutes.
Scoring was tough on the day as only 2 golfers played to their handicap or better and it was Michael Prideaux who won A Division with a fine 37 points and 3-handicapper, Mike Allidi, came second with 35 points. With 2 players on 33 points a count back was required which resulted in “Buffalo” Bill Steinman (18 point back nine & 14 points on the last 6 holes) securing third place from Robert Pearce (18 point back nine & 12 points on the last 6 holes) in fourth spot.
In Division B it was Alain “Inspector Clouseau” Taddei who finished on top with 34 points, just 1 point ahead of Tony Power in second place. Another count back was needed with 2 golfers scoring 31 points and the result of that saw Jayson Schembri (18 point back nine) finish third from Keith “Kissy” Buchanan (15 point back nine) in fourth spot.
Michael Prideaux, Alain Taddei, Bucha Seaton & Geri Crilly after Monday’s round at Greenwood.
With the best score of the day, 40 points, it was Geri “Birdy” Crilly who easily won the C Division, with Alby Uppington coming second on 32 points and veteran Hugh O’Donnell finishing third with 28. In yet another count back for fourth spot it was Sandy “Cindy Lauper” Leiper (13 point back nine) who scraped in ahead of Tiziano Dal Pastro (11 point back nine).
The Growling Swan NAGA Award for the worst score on the day was won by Bucha Seaton
Division A (0-13)
1st Michael Prideaux (12) 37pts
2nd Mike Allidi (3) 35pts
3rd Bill Steinman (10) 33pts
4th Robert Pearce (9) 33pts
Division B (14-21)
1st Alain Taffei (16) 34pts
2nd Tony Power (17) 33pts
3rd Jayson Schembri (16) 31pts
4th Keith Buchanan (14) 31pts
Division C (22+)
1st Geri Crilly (26) 40pts
2nd Alby Uppington (26) 32pts
3rd Hugh O’Donnell (32) 28pts
4th Sandy Leiper (33) 26pts
Near Pins: A2 – Michael Prideaux, A6 – Michael Prideaux, C3 – Hitoshi Abe, C6 – Robert Pearce
Long Putts: A9 – Tiziano Dal Pastro, C9 – Hugh O’Donnell
Thursday, August 14, Plutaluang N & W 4-Person Scramble/Stroke
It was almost exactly one year ago that we were playing Plutaluang when our good friend Tony “Spaggoni” Olcorn collapsed and tragically passed away in the vicinity of the green on the par three N6, apparently from heart failure. Tony was from Brisbane, Australia, and we decided to hold a memorial day in his honour, with many of his friends from Brisbane coming over to partake in the event.
There were 12 people that made the journey and also a terrific response from our Pattaya golfers, which boosted the field to 46 – our second best field ever.
We arrived at the Navy course to find plenty of caddies waiting for us and not too many other golfers there. After check in we were pleased to hear that we would be playing the North & West nines and we all assembled at the North 1 tee where a few words were spoken and a minute’s silence was observed by all. We sent the 2 three-balls off first in fine and hot conditions with not much wind.
The golf course was in fantastic shape although some fairways were hard and dry, but the greens were in the best shape most of us had ever seen them here and on a few greens putting from above the hole posed problems, particularly on the N6 green which had a very tricky pin spot and it was suggested that “Spaggoni” was looking down on us with a wry smile on his face.
Once again there was drama on the course as one of the kids who were swimming in the water at the back of the N3 Lighthouse hole got into some difficulty and a couple of our guys went to assist, namely Aaron Shorten who “stripped off” and jumped in to help the kid who was indeed struggling. Upon reaching the safety of dry ground the kid, along with his mates then ran off into the bush – T.I.T.
We proceeded at a very good pace and our four-ball completed the round in the very good time of four hours & ten minutes. It had been a lot of fun with many new friends being made and was enjoyed by all.
The groups were formed by doing a random draw, putting high handicappers with low ones, and there were rewards for the first five places. There were also prizes for nearest the pin on the par threes and longest first putts on the N9 & W9 greens.
The winning team on the day and receiving the Tony “Spaggoni” Olcorn Memorial Shield, kindly sponsored by Russell Calcutt, consisted of Glen Kendall, Fred Dineley, Ron Gillett & Russell “Donkey” Calcutt with a net score of 56.6. In second place was the team of Ebrahim, Ken Hole, Gary Monley & Tony Campbell with a net 59 and coming third were John Pierrel, John Davis, Seesa Phompinmon & Sandy “Cindy Lauper” Leiper with net 59.6.
Finishing fourth on the day were Mike “Hunter” Gosden, David Marshall, Aaron Shorten & Alan Evans with a score of net 60.5 and in fifth place came Robert Pearce, Steve Rosser, Hugh O’Donnell & Andrew “Turtle” Allen (net 29 back nine) with net 61, winning on a count back from Martin Kempton, Stuart “San Miguel” Rifkin, Mick Seaton & Toby Kreegher (net 31 back nine).
Near pins went to Geri Crilly (W3), Alby Uppington (W8), John Davis (N3) and Tony Campbell (N6) while the Long Putt awards were won by Ken Hole (N9) and Sandy Leiper (W9).
Because it was a team event there was no NAGA award today so it was then back to The Growling Swan where there was a unanimous decision that the day had been an outstanding success and a fitting tribute to our good friend Spaggoni – May he rest in peace.
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 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.
