PSC Bunker Boys Golf
Monday, March 29th
Kabin Buri, Ally Ellison Scholarship Fundraiser
Day 1 Texas Scramble
Eight Bunker Boys made the trip to Kabin Buri to participate in the Ally Ellison Scholarship Fundraiser organised by Dale Shier of the Golf Club Bar and hosted by Olivier Daniel of Serenity Resort and Spa. This has become an annual event to raise funds to pay for Steve Ellison’s daughter’s education, a very worthy cause. Over fifty golfers made the trip up from Pattaya
The Kabin Buri Country Club course was competition-ready and in pristine condition so there was no room for any complaints about the course or the weather. Surprisingly the game was played off the yellow tees which shortened the course considerably. The Bunker Boys A team of Jay Babin, Myles Knowlson, Steve Durey, and Lance Conway-Jones put in a respectable score of net sixty-four but they were well back from the winning group who were all low handicap golfers apparently and delivered a score of net fifty-seven, a round that contained five pars and thirteen birdies.
Day 2 Team Event (best three Stableford team scores) and best individual
On the second day where the format was individual Stableford, and the best three of four team scores, it was the turn of the B team to shine. The team of Jimmy Carr, Geoff Parker, Mark On, and Tony Robbins took out the team first place with a score of one hundred and twenty-two points. Jimmy Carr took the individual prize with a very hot round of forty-two points, a net sixty-six. Jimmy also snared a near pin while Tony Robbins with his short straight drive won the beer turret.
The evening culminated with a dinner at Serenity Resort and Spa where there was also a raffle of golf memorabilia to add to the scholarship fund. As always the service, food, and accommodation at Serenity were first class thanks to the overseeing eye of our host Olivier Daniel. Thanks go to both Olivier and Dale for the huge amount of effort that went into organising and running the event which as always ran like clockwork. Also, thanks go to all those who participated and made this worthy cause a success.
Wednesday, March 31st
Greenwood A & B.
1st Michael Brett (16) 40 points
2nd Jay Babin (23) 38 points
Near pins Jay Babin & Steve Durey.
A very unpleasant day for the last game of March at Greenwood where we were allocated the A & B nines. With the C nines closed the course was busy as there were two other societies playing. As always the course was in very fine shape; however, the same could not be said of the weather. Thunder rumbled all around for most of the day, lightning strikes were regular, some way too close for comfort. Rain began to fall early in the round and by the finish of the fourth hole, it was lashing down coming almost horizontal at times in the wind so that a break of at least one hour was required.
Thereafter it continued to rain lightly till the end of the A nine. Some had enough by then and decided to quit; however, the real golfers continued on and were rewarded as conditions improved markedly on the B nine. By the end of the round conditions were almost pleasant again.
Despite the difficulties, a couple of good scores were returned with Michael Brett taking first place with forty points. Jay Babin was also in fine touch, chipping in from about forty meters for a birdie, and also putting in from off the green to amass thirty-eight points. Only two near pins were taken going to Jay Babin and Steve Durey.
Friday, April 2nd
Crystal Bay C & A
1st Roger Awad (20) 38 points
2nd Tony Robbins (17) 37 points
3rd Michael Brett (14) 35 points
Near pins Tim Ray, Lance Conway-Jones, Steve Durey, & Roger Awad.
The first game of a new month was played at Crystal Bay where we were allocated the C & A nines. While we were there we noted that the B nine was being prepared for play after a long layoff. It is to be hoped that they take better care of the tee-boxes and the bunkers on that nine than the two that are in use. In particular, the tee boxes are uneven and generally shabby and the bunkers are in dire need of some TLC. The fairways were nice on both nines but the greens were too slow for most people’s liking.
Crystal Bay is a course where high scores are the norm and for a couple, it looked like that might be the case again on Friday, but in the end, a couple of respectable scores were returned.
First-time winner Roger Awad was on fire with a succession of easy pars, but he struck a rock in the middle holes, then recovered well to post a score of thirty-eight points. Second-placed Tony Robbins whose handicap is now close to what it should be was one shot behind. Michael Brett, cut two on handicap from Wednesday, endured a horror stretch mid-round before recovering somewhat, took third place with thirty-five. All the near pins were taken with one each going to Tim Ray, Lance Conway-Jones, Steve Durey, and Roger Awad.
The March golfer of the month was Steve Durey who as expected won with distance to second place. His handicap is now approaching somewhere more appropriate to his ability and form.
