PSC golf Bunker Boys @ The Ranch
Monday, August 5, Phoenix Lake & Mountain – Medal
Four groups of golfers today for our visit to the nearby Phoenix course, on another bright and breezy day. The course continues to improve with each successive visit, several scruffy areas are being tidied up, and the tree planting project financed by the new owners is still continuing.
Our first group was able to tee off a few minutes ahead of schedule and the pace of play throughout the day was steady. The course was in excellent condition and the greens were running true, but surprisingly the scores were generally disappointing on the day.
Tony presents the KPK voucher to Colin Greig.
Gerry Cooney and Colin Greig were playing in the same group and had a nip and tuck battle until Colin put together a run of five pars on the finishing holes, to take the honours on the day by a single stroke.
Back at The Ranch, Colin was presented the KPK voucher and there was much debate as to whether we should increase the number of medal rounds that we play each month, since so many players performed badly today under the extra pressure.
1st Colin Greig (10) net 72
2nd Gerry Cooney (13) net 73
3rd Mashi Kaneta (15) net 74
Near Pins: Barry Murnin, Mike Johns and John Graham.
Wednesday, August 7, Burapha A & B – Stableford
Burapha offers great value on Sports Days during the low season (especially for our senior golfers who regularly use buggies), so it wasn’t surprising that the car park was almost full when we arrived at the course.
It transpired that three other local golf societies were also playing the course today, but we were still able to tee off just a few minutes later than our scheduled time. It was soon apparent that it was going to be a long day, and when we reached the tee box on the par three fifth hole all of our four groups were congregated there! At least it provided an opportunity to swap some banter and catch up on everyone’s progress over the first few holes, and the final group also had the opportunity to watch all the tee shots of the other competitors (not that it helped your scribe very much as I promptly hooked my shot straight into the water!).
The pace of play picked up a little after that stoppage and eventually the round was completed in a little over four and a half hours – almost like a premature start to the high season!
Mike Johns produced his best performance since his arrival a couple of weeks ago to take first place ahead of Tony Robbins on a count back, with Lee Butler also showing a return to form to take third place a single point behind.
1st Mike Johns (18) 35pts
2nd Tony Robbins (14) 35pts
3rd Lee Butler (15) 33pts
Near Pins: Tony Robbins, John Graham, Sean Murphy and Steve Durey.
Friday, August 9, Bangpra – Stableford
Seventeen golfers today, meaning we had three groups of three-balls leading the way, but the course appeared relatively quiet, and we were able to tee off slightly ahead of our scheduled time. Unfortunately it soon became apparent that there must have been some slow groups ahead of us and our groups began to stack up after the first few holes.
The course was once again in good condition and the weather almost perfect, but as on our previous visit the tees were in their back positions so the course was playing long, especially on the par threes.
Colin Greig is one of the longer hitters in our society and he duly capitalized on the conditions to card the best score of the day, finishing one point clear of Mashi Kaneta.
The par three seventeenth hole provided a stern challenge at 209 yards and many players elected to use their driver (Neil Griffin would have been in his element!), but John Graham showed how to do it, hitting his ball within five feet of the pin
1st Colin Greig (10) 37pts
2nd Mashi Kaneta (15) 36pts
3rd John Graham (9) 33pts
4th Tony Robbins (14) 30pts
Near Pins: Geoff Hart, Gerry Cooney, and John Graham (2).
Note: The Bunker Boys are a PSC affiliated golf society, who now play out of The Ranch bar on Pattaya 3rd Road (in front of the fire station, and almost opposite the Buffalo Bar). We play three times per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, so if you enjoy a fun day out, and a friendly but competitive golf competition why not come and join us.
We meet at The Ranch at 9 a.m. for breakfast and transportation, and new players are always welcome. Contact “Buff” on 086 046 5091 or 080 605 5663 for all enquiries. You can find all the news, schedules and results on our website at www. bunkersociety.com.
