The Golf Club weekly review
This is the ninth year we have ventured up to Khao Yai province and based ourselves in the town of Pak Chong to escape the madness of a Pattaya Songkran. Overall we had a great trip, albeit a hotter one than normal. We can usually count on it being a few degrees cooler up there (75 minutes north of Bangkok) but this trip was a hot one.
We stayed at the Hill Hotel which is convenient, being right in town so the ladies on our trip were not isolated. I noticed all rooms had new air conditioners and management advised all hallway carpets were being tiled this summer. The swimming pool is the biggest in town! There is a new restaurant called Moosse that is just to the right 80 yards after you leave the hotel to the right that we were all very happy with.
Thursday was just a travel day so we had a leisurely 3 hour 45 minute drive up including 2 breaks.
Friday was our first comp day at Rancho Charnvee and when Gary and Steve finally found the course, we teed off. Even our caddies mentioned pin placements were wicked but the course was in great shape. Last year it was bone dry but now is back to the lush greens we are used to here.
Michael Winterburn won the day with 36 points and Alan Rothwell was right behind with 34. Alan has won this twice before but recent back issues may be a problem.
That night we all met up with our darksider buddies from The Players Lounge for some nosh down at the Rim Tarn Inn, and let’s just say the beer and wine was certainly flowing freely.
Saturday was optional golf at Bonanza and with a Songkran weekend promo of 1,350 with buggy how could you say no? The course was empty and in beautiful shape.
Sunday was our second comp day and the venue was the Seve Ballesteros designed Mountain Creek. This was voted the least favourite course of our trip and it was supposedly redesigned but you could hardly notice. Alan Rothwell and Fred Graham shared the win with each on 35 and Phil Smedley struggled for third with 30.
Monday was our third comp day and Panorama was the venue. This is a lovely parkland course with some dramatic elevation changes and as the name may indicate, some stunning views. Fred Graham waltzed through here with a winning 39 points and great to see our new friend Rita Zoebeli come in tied for second with the ‘Muscles from Brussels’ Frank Tordeur at the 37 point mark. We fully expect to report Rita shooting her age in no time!
Tuesday was a rest day for some and an optional golf day for others. Some went to the fabulous Toscana Valley and others returned to the Bonanza they enjoyed so much on Saturday. Toscana was great but there is still a lot of construction going on all around the golf course as the multi-million baht housing project is well under way. You just wouldn’t believe the size of some of those houses! It is by far the biggest 5-star golf resort development in Thailand. The project is owned by Green Valley and thanks go to Khun Nirand for getting us our tee times at this exclusive golfing destination.
The last round of the trip was saved for the incredible Khao Yai Golf Club. This is a Jack Nicklaus golf design and it is spectacular both in layout and the setting. Voted the best course of the trip, K.Y.G.C. also had the best scores. It also blessed us with the coolest weather as overcast skies brought down the temperature to a very comfortable afternoon out there.
It was moving day for some of the punters and this was the only day we had our lads hit the 40 mark. Europe was represented by Walter Baechli and Frank Tordeur who got things together in a big way with each of them hitting 40 points. It was our Aussie mate Fred Graham who cleaned up today and 42 points was his winning score.
Our Man of the Mountain tour is based on the three best scores out of the four comp rounds played so at the end of it all it was a bit of a surprise to see Fred Graham pull through with a total of 110 combined points for his first winning cowboy hat! It was that final 42-point round that put Freddie in contention and end up with overall victory.
Fred Birch had one of the near pins but Michael Winterburn was all over those par-3’s and scooped all the other three prizes.
