IPGC Golf from The Haven
Monday, July 18, Greenwood A & B – Stableford
CSS 72
1st Graham Davis (8) 36pts
2nd Mike Dabanovich (11) 34pts
3rd Phil Groves (9) 31pts
4th Tom McCarthy (21) 30pts
5th Shuichi Kodaka (18) 28pts
6th Phil Cass (15) 27pts
A seesaw week of golf for the group started out at the always welcoming Greenwood course which was suffering a bit following heavy overnight rain, and that restricted the carts to the paths only and triggered the automatic ‘lift and place’ in the fairways local rule. The heavy going had an effect on most of the field with just the leader able to match his handicap and the course playing a lot more than the 6,500 yards shown on the card.
To the benefit of the players and the detriment of the course management, the course was almost empty, which bodes ill for the future with many other local courses suffering from the same lack of golfers. One possible outcome could see a radical advance in the business plans of some of them with the caddy/greencarers situation being reviewed as they appear to be getting fewer and greener as the chances of the newbies getting a bag three times a week fade into a distant memory. A possible policy of no compulsory caddy, at least for the regular groups, and an increase of a couple of hundred baht on the green fee would see a win/win situation for both the golfers and the managements and a certain uptick in sales.
Graham Davis continues to perform around his handicap level and on this occasion it proved to be enough to win ahead of Mike Dabanovich, who could well have snatched it all away but for a scrappy finish which garnered him just five points from the last three holes and so having to settle for second place.
Phil Groves, although not getting back to his old form and level of golf, continues to appear regularly on the podium as he did once again in third spot, just one ahead of forth placed Tom McCarthy. Shuichi Kodaka took fifth also one in front of sixth placed Phil Cass.
There were no 2s in either of the divisions.
Wednesday, July 20, Khao Kheow A & B (yellow tees) – Stableford
CSS 71
1st Jon Batty (8) 39pts
2nd Mike Dabanovich (11) 37pts
3rd Phil Groves (9) 35pts
4th Phil Cass (15) 31pts
5th Jens Gunnarsson (12) 27pts
6th Serge Straeten (18) 26pts
What is usually the toughest course on the weekly scheduled turned out, on this occasion, to be the easiest with the CSS for the day dropping down a stroke as the course was found to be in absolutely great condition considering the amount of rain it had obviously absorbed during the week.
Jon Batty continues to enjoy a real purple patch of golf as he took the day’s top honours with a sparkling three under handicap return to win by two from the week’s bridesmaid, Mike Dabanovich, after the latter had finished strongly by taking ten points from the last four holes, but a couple of zeros earlier in the round did the damage to the card.
Phil Groves was again in the mix for the lower steps after playing several holes well, dropping a few points around the course but finishing well ahead of fourth placed Phil Cass.
Jens Gunnarsson got his first mention of this trip in fifth with Serge Straeten a point behind him after a very speckled round.
Once again there were no 2s in the first division, but Serge Straeten made his day almost worthwhile when he rapped in one from ten feet on the 168 yard B3 hole and which interestingly was playing so hard that nobody else even scored a three.
Friday, July 22, Pattaya C.C. – Monthly Medal
CSS 75 NC
Division 1 (0-15)
1st Graham Davis (8) net 78
2nd Phil Cass (15) net 80
3rd Trevor Schirmer (13) net 81
Division 2 (16+)
1st Terry Hodgkiss (25) net 75
2nd Markku Tynell (22) net 80
3rd Tom McCarthy (21) net 80
The toughest day of the week was left until the end when the monthly medals took place, with the two playoff spots available for the end of year Gold and Silvers in each division for first and second places. This was held at Pattaya Country Club as the usual Phoenix Gold venue was in the final stages of preparation for the King’s Cup to start the following week.
The course was severely affected by the weather which had seen rain storms over the area for the whole week, fortunately all during the night and early morning. Again a local ‘lift and place’ rule was in play but that did little to mitigate the difficulties that the players had to deal with throughout their rounds. The redesigned greens have certainly made the course a very different proposition, rewarding good placement on the greens but punishing heavily other weaker efforts.
Graham Davis was pleased to take the first division medal, although not playing up to his normal standard, as Phil Cass took second place and Trevor Schirmer doing very well to take third.
Terry Hodgkiss had the best return of the day against his handicap to win the second division well ahead of a count back for second, which Markku Tynell won over Tom McCarthy with a better 39 to 42.5 after Tom had looked like a likely winner after nine.
Once again there were no 2s in the first division but Tom McCarthy made up slightly for missing out for the playoffs with the sole one in the second division sinking a very nice putt on the 178 yard A5 hole.
Note: The Haven golf group has now relocated to Soi Lengkee, on the corner of the road leading to the Vogue Hotel, where there are good parking facilities but sadly no room for club storage at present but that is in hand. The kitchen renovations have now been completed and a full restaurant service is in operation and the supply of beverages continues, at ice cold temperatures with the hotel section in full swing.
If you would like to play with The Haven group, you can contact 094 465 5002 or call in to The Haven, 315/13 Soi Lengkee, situated between Third Road and Soi Buakhao. All transportation to the course is arranged and you do not need to sign up prior to the day, but you should be there by 8.15 on a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on the days that you wish to play. A schedule of courses to be played throughout the year can be found on the web site at www.thehaven-hotel.com.
