IPGC Golf from The Haven
Monday, June 29, Pattaya C. C. – Stableford
CSS 72
1st Bruce Hilde (16) 34pts
2nd John Carlin (20) 33pts
3rd Markku Tynell (22) 33pts
4th Tom McCarthy (20) 33pts
5th Phil Cass (15) 33pts
A week of very mixed fortunes and results started out inauspiciously at the very competitively priced Pattaya Country Club. Here the green fee is almost half that of other frequently utilized local courses and the new clubhouse continues to attract new arrival’s attention, whilst the renovated course also improves slowly, although it should be noted that the fairways on both nines are very good indeed.
(L-R) Bruce Hilde, Hal enjoys his lobster and Phil Cass.
The condition of the course played its part in the day’s scoring, with the CSS for the day remaining at 72 as the scoring was very close almost throughout the field.
Bruce Hilde, having slipped out a stroke in handicap since his last win, did just enough to win by the slimmest of margins today, having to birdie the eighteenth which netted him four points, to add to the five points he had scored on the previous two holes. It enabled him to take the win by a single point ahead of a four-way count back for second place.
John Carlin, almost unbelievably, won that count back with 18 for second and could easily have won but for a bad read from his caddy on the last hole and a subsequent 7 for 1, but her earlier reads had been good enough to secure the place.
Markku Tynell took third place after he returned 17 for the last nine, even having dropped three points over the last two holes, and Tom McCarthy placed fourth with 16 points as he finished steadily taking 14 from the last seven holes. That left Phil Cass in fifth, after he had left one too many zeros out there in a very uncharacteristic in and out performance.
There were no 2’s in either of the divisions.
Wednesday, July 1, Greenwood A & B – Stableford
CSS 75 NC
1st Hal Hart (21) 34pts
2nd Markku Tynell (22) 34pts
3rd Kevin Blake (8) 32pts
4th Tom McCarthy (20) 32pts
5th Bruce Hilde (16) 31pts
6th Graham Davis (7) 31pts
The second outing of the week was an altogether very different experience as the visit to Greenwood, where the course was in very good condition, found the hopeful’s attempts at mastering it fall woefully short, with the strong winds playing a major part in the proceedings. It resulted in the course easily coming out the winner and the CSS for the day spiraling up to 75 and becoming non-counting for upward review of handicaps.
Hal Hart returned to his winning ways when the lobster meal is on the line, although without Alwyne being around due to a long term injury, to foot the bill opportunities are few and far between.
In Alwyne’s absence he found another ready punter to fill in and ensure that his epicurean days are not quite over yet. But he needed to win a count back to win the day’s competition, which he did by the narrowest of margins with a better 17 to 16 over Markku Tynell, taking a stunning eight points from the last three holes as Markku just failed to keep the pressure on after a very strong opening half.
Kevin Blake returned to take third place after he won a count back over Tom McCarthy with a better 16 to 15, also taking eight points from the closing three holes.
Bruce Hilde won another count back for fifth with a better 18 to 13 over Graham Davis as the latter succumbed to the effects of jet lag through the final three holes.
Once again there were no 2’s in either of the divisions.
Friday, July 3, The Emerald – Stableford
CSS 71
1st Phil Cass (15) 38pts
2nd Bruce Hilde (16) 38pts
3rd Shuichi Kodaka (16) 31pts
With the course easily running out the winner during the previous visit by the group for last month’s Medals, and which saw the CSS for the day shoot up to 75, there was a lot of trepidation amongst the starters with quite a few taking the easy way out and opting for another venue, but in the event, with the winds having abated and the temperature tolerable, the scores were much better, so much so that the CSS went down to 71.
Phil Cass returned to his steady play, when he can be relied on to always be in contention, as he took the day’s top honour after winning a count back with a stunning five under handicap 23 points on the back nine, scoring eighteen of them from the last six holes as he played them in gross level par.
Bruce Hilde in second place was the unlucky one to find Phil in such good form as he scored 20 points on the back nine, which would normally have proved to be sufficient for the win, but not on this occasion.
Shuichi Kodaka took a very lonely third seven shots behind the leaders as the rest of the field was left far behind.
There were no 2’s in the second division but Phil Cass made it a double celebration with the sole one in the first division to sweep the multi roll over pot.
Note: If you would like to play with The Haven group, you can contact 038 710 988 or call in to The Haven Hotel, 185 Soi 13, situated between Beach Road and 2nd Road. 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. If you would like to leave your golf clubs at The Haven, there are usually lockers available at a nominal charge. A schedule of courses to be played can be found on our web site at www.thehaven-hotel.com.
