Jomtien Golf with the IPGC
Monday, Sept. 14, The Emerald – Stableford
The weather forecast in this area for the week was abysmal, and this after not seeing any rain for many months here.
The playing numbers are starting to climb very gradually and we had two divisions out on Monday with an equal cut of 1-12 and 16+.
Al Griffiths returned the best score of the day, winning division 1 with 37 points while Paul Smith, playing off a 1-handicap, took second on 35 and Jerry Sweetnam completed the podium in third with 33.
(L to R) Roar Berger, Paul Smith and Al Griffiths.
In division 2, Welsh boy Curtis Hessler topped the standings with 33 points, two up on Neil Gamble in second and in the points again was Miss Nut, third with 29.
Near pins went to (Div 1) Neil Gamble (2), Paul Smith and Chris Voller, and (Div 2) Don Head.
Paul Smith birdied the 13th and Iain Usher the 5th to split the rollover ‘2’s pot in division 1 while there were none in the second flight.
Friday, Sept. 18, Eastern Star – Stableford
After Wednesday’s game was cancelled due to some of the worst weather conditions we have ever seen here, there were 14 cancellations for Friday’s trip to Eastern Star and we were all left wondering what conditions to expect when we arrived. A phone call informed us that there were no buggies allowed but we set off anyway and found the course, as expected, to be deserted with only one 2-ball ahead of us.
We just had enough players for two divisions and the ‘pick, clean and place’ ruling was implemented from the first tee.
As we made our way around the course we were totally surprised by its condition; it was a lot greener than the previous Friday, especially on the fairways, but there was still a lot of run on them. There were a few bunkers with water in but everyone enjoyed the round today.
Steve Godfrey was the winner in division 2 with 36 points, one ahead of Tony Thorne in second. There were two scores of 35’s in division 1, with Bill Bertram beating Mikael Andersson 19/15 on the back nine to take top spot. Nobody likes to see that!
Near pins went to (Div 1) Wilf Latham, Jerry Sweetnam (2) and Chris Voller, and (Div 2) Steve Godfrey.
Jerry Sweetnam birdied the 3rd and Steve Godfrey the 6th to take the ‘2’s pots in division 1 & 2 respectively.
