PSC Golf from the Café Kronborg
Monday, March 5, Crystal Bay A & B – Stableford
There were a couple of late cancellations but we had a waiting list which gave us a full field of 32 golfers to take on the popular Crystal Bay golf course. We welcomed Kevin Callahan from Newcastle, NSW, Australia and Art Sohlin from Detroit, Michigan, USA. Sadly we were saying farewell to Carole & Richard Kubicki who were returning to the UK the following day after their annual long holiday in Pattaya. Bon voyage to them and we all look forward to seeing them again just before Xmas.
After departing the Kronny a couple of minutes early at 0813hrs we headed off down Highway 3 and arrived at the course 46 minutes later in beautiful weather conditions. We were allocated A & B nines and invited to tee off as soon as we were ready which meant our first group got away 27 minutes ahead of schedule at 0933hrs.
Peter Hammond, The Admiral, Deefa the Dog & Mike Gosden.
There was a Korean ladies four-ball in front of us who were fairly quick on the first nine but as it got hotter they tended to “run out of steam”, which resulted in a very slow back nine of two hours & thirty five minutes. The course was up to its usual immaculate standards with the slick greens once more posing problems for those left with long downhill putts. As mentioned previously B nine was slow and we had a couple of enforced drink breaks which saw us complete the whole round in four hours & fifty minutes.
Scoring on the day was quite reasonable although nobody managed to reach forty points which is unusual when we play this venue. The winner of A Flight was Mike Gosden with 39 points, 1 point ahead of Leif Kirkgaard in second place who in turn was 1 point clear of Dr Paul Cardwell in third spot. Aussie Martin Todd was fourth with 36 points and on 34 points in a four way count back for fifth place it was Richard Kubicki (20 point back nine) who took the honours ahead of Takeshi Hakozaki (17 point back nine), Mike Allidi (17 point back nine) and Ken Bernek (16 point back nine).
Peter Hammond took out the B Flight with 37 points and in a two way count back on 36 points. Elias Magnusson (19 point back nine) finished second with Tom Cotton (16 point back nine) in third spot. There were four golfers on 34 points scrambling for fourth & fifth places and on a count back Carole Kubicki (17 point back nine, 14 points on last 6 holes) finished fourth with Bo Cardwell (17 point back nine, 11 points on last 6 holes) in fifth place. The unlucky ones were Jan Lovgreen (15 point back nine) and Peter O’Brien (14 point back nine).
A Flight (0-20)
1st Mike Gosden (11) 39pts
2nd Leif Kirkgaard (20) 38pts
3rd Paul Cardwell (17) 37pts
4th Martin Todd (9) 36pts
5th Richard Kubicki (12) 34pts
B Flight (21+)
1st Peter Hammond (23) 37pts
2nd Elias Magnusson (21) 36pts
3rd Tom Cotton (24) 36pts
4th Carole Kubicki (24) 34pts
5th Bo Cardwell (29) 34pts
Near Pins: A5 – Walter Baechli; A8 – Bo Cardwell; B4 – Carole Kubicki; B6 – Mike Allidi
Long Putts: A9 – Peter Hammond; B9 – Peter Hammond
The Compass Cap (awarded for worst score on the day) was awarded to Beat Michel and Hunter paraded Deefa the Dog who once more collected many donations to charity from the ever generous Kronny crew.
Thursday, 8th March – Royal Lakeside – Stableford
Another full field of 32 golfers were signed up for the competition at the popular Royal Lakeside Golf Club and we assembled at Café Kronborg in readiness for a slightly later than usual departure. There were hearty welcomes handed out to Ulf Larsson from Sweden and also Arne Max & Liselotte from Denmark. It was also time to say bon voyage to Ulla & Kjeld Ravn who are returning to Denmark after their long annual holiday in Pattaya.
Graham Buckingham, The Admiral, Deefa the Dog & Mike Gosden.
Due to a 1030hrs tee off time we departed the Kronny at 0828hrs and headed off down Highway 7 and just 58 minutes later arrived at the course where as is often the case we were invited to tee off as soon as we were ready, which enabled our first group to get away 35 minutes early at 0955hrs.
The weather was good although somewhat overcast as we proceeded at a “cracking pace” and enjoying the excellent condition of the course we completed our front nine in just under 2 hours. Unfortunately after 11 holes we came to an abrupt stop as the threatening thunderstorm hit and we sheltered under a nearby “resting hut” for about 25 minutes until the worst part was over. We continued in drizzling rain and although the fairways were soggy for a while the greens amazingly were perfect with very little sign of what had just transpired.
It is a credit to the greenkeeping staff and the quality of this golf course as a similar occurrence at many courses would have meant the end of the competition for the day. Even allowing for a drinks break and the 25 minute storm delay we completed our full round in four hours & twenty five minutes.
This golf course was once again the winner as not one golfer played better than handicap and of course the scoring on the second nine was mostly very ordinary due to the adverse conditions. There was a three way count back with 34 points to determine the first 3 spots in A Flight with last start winner Mike Gosden (16 point back nine) emerging as the victor from Ulf Larsson (14 point back nine) in second place and in third spot was Brian Gabe (13 point back nine). Another 3 golfers contested fourth & fifth places with 33 points and Martin Todd (18 point back nine) edged out Tore Eliassen (17 point back nine) with Dr Paul Cardwell (16 point back nine) just missing out.
Yet another count back was necessary to decide the winner of B Flight with Graham Buckingham (21 point back nine) beating Mike Winfield (16 point back nine), both with a creditable 36 points. In third place was Leif Kirkgaard with 35 points, one point ahead of Bjarne Kjaer in fourth spot and Eddie (The Eagle) Glinsek finished fifth with 33 points.
A Flight (0-19)
1st Mike Gosden (11) 34pts
2nd Ulf Larsson (16) 34pts
3rd Brian Gabe (19) 34pts
4th Martin Todd (9) 33pts
5th Tore Eliassen (14) 33pts
B Flight (20+)
1st Graham Buckingham (22) 36pts
2nd Mike Winfield (22) 36pts
3rd Leif Kirkgaard (20) 35pts
4th Bjarne Kjaer (20) 34pts
5th Eddie Glinsek (34) 33pts
Near Pins: 3rd – Mike Gosden; 6th – Peter Hammond; 12th – Mike Gosden; 15th – Martin Todd
Long Putts: 9th – Ulf Larsson; 18th – Mike Gosden
The Compass Cap (worst score on the day) was awarded to the luckless Art Sohlin and Hunter paraded Deefa the Dog who collected many donations to charity from the ever generous Kronny crew.
