PSC Golf from The Ferdinand Golf Bar
Monday, August 10, Bangpra – Stableford
Another week started off with a visit to Bangpra, and with the motorway open after months of diversions we were there ahead of schedule and off the first tee 15min before our allotted time slot. With just a 2 and a 3-ball in front and with good weather we anticipated a quick round.
Normally we are privileged to have Walter (Rainbow) Baechli’s colourful attire add some sparkle to the day but on this occasion his garb was overshadowed by the dazzling form of ‘golden oldie’ Barry Oats. I think he must have had his oats for breakfast as he stormed to the front with a 4 for 4 on the first hole and a birdie for 4pts on the par-5 fifth.
Barry Oats rolls back the years.
‘The Donkey’ was keeping Barry in his sights until the sixth hole when he got stuck in a bunker, after which he tried to join his cousins on Blackpool beach by hitting every other bunker on the course. He was last seen selling ice creams.
Barry meanwhile completed the front nine with 22pts and started the back nine in a similar fashion. He had a slight wobble at the end due to the pressure but still finished with an impressive 40pts.
There was a fierce battle for second spot between Ian (San Miguel) Pickles and Walter (Rainbow) Baechli, with San Miguel just pipping the Rainbow on the last.
1st Barry Oats (21) 40pts
2nd Ian Pickles (15) 32pts
3rd Walter Baechli (15) 31pts
Tuesday, August 11, Treasure Hill – Stableford
We had a late change of venue today to take advantage of the special rate at Treasure Hill. We had not played this course for a long-long time, mainly due to the length of travel and no special discounts, so we all looked forward to a day on this beautiful but very tough layout.
As expected, the course was in excellent condition and after a few holes we realized that it had not gotten any easier. You really have to thread your way around here, avoiding the many trees in the middle of the fairways.
Alistar Gall.
The best score on the front nine was only 16pts, so we knew no records were going to be broken. Ian Pickles had to retire after nine holes (hurt back) but he timed it just right as a couple of holes later the heavens opened up. It was then a dash to the nearest shelter and a 1 hour delay.
After the rain stopped we carried on and the scores surprisingly improved slightly. We finished up with The Donkey narrowly winning on 30pts, followed by Alistar Gall & Tip Briney in that order after Alistar edged the count back.
1st Colin Davis (17) 30pts
2nd Alistar Gall (19) 29pts
3rd Tip Briney (25) 29pts
Thursday, August 13, St. Andrews – Stableford
We arrived at St. Andrews under grey skies and after getting out on the course everything seemed to be alright until the 2nd hole when the heavens opened up. Stuck between shelters we had no option but to huddle down in the carts with the brollies up until it all passed. 20 min or so later the rain stopped and we carried on.
The course was in beautiful condition apart from the greens which have not yet fully recovered from recent punching.
Nick Shaw started badly with 2 blobs but then steadied the ship to finish the front nine with 18pts and eventually took second place on 36. But the real power man was Alistar (The Untouchable) Gall – 13pts from the first 4 holes including a fantastic eagle on the par-6 with 3 great shots and an easy putt. He was still suffering from shock for the next 2 holes with a double and a blob but followed that with 3 pars for 23pts on the front. As always, however, it‘s a game of two halves and Alistar faltered a bit on the back nine for a only 16pts.
Alistar was partnered by Freddy (The Quite One) Starbeck who was his normal noisy self after spending most of the week at the range (he needs to spend next week on the putting greens).
In the battle for third place between John Pierrel & Colin ‘The Donkey’ Davis, the latter had to pull out all the stops to take the back nine and book a visit to the pay-window.
1st Alistar Gall (19) 39pts
2nd Nick Shaw (18) 36pts
3rd Colin Davis (17) 32pts
Friday, August 14, Eastern Star – Stableford
Friday we welcomed 3 new golfers to Ferdinand Golf Society; Denis Steele, Peter Dane & Keith Buchanan.
The course at Eastern Star was in very good condition with the greens faster than usual and some of the pin positions were tricky to say the least. A lot of the players seemed to be over-golfed, especially this scribe, but the newcomers played well. Out of a total of 12 golfers not one had a blob free round and only 3 had just one zero-pointer.
Colin Davis holes out for birdie.
Most of the players seemed to have their problems on the front nine, apart from Nick Shaw who was playing to his handicap but as the amber liquid went down so did his scoring. The back nine was a big improvement for some of the golfers, with Denis Steele having probably the best back nine of his life with 2 bogies, 6 pars & a birdie for 24pts.
There was a count back to split second and third, both with 20pts on the back nine, but Peter Dane came out on top with 8pts on the last 3 holes compared with Mick Coghlans 6.
There were no ‘2’s so a rollover to next week.
1st Dennis Steele (14) 38pts
2nd Peter Dane (25) 36pts
3rd Mick Coghlan (21) 36pts
Note: The Ferdinand Golf Bar is situated on Soi Buakhao 150m from Pattaya Tai (south) road. Anyone wishing to play with us just pop in and put your name on the list or call Colin on 089 826 0764. Transport is provided.
