PSC golf Bunker Boys @ The Ranch
Monday, Oct. 28, Mountain Shadow – Stableford
Fifteen golfers departed from The Ranch on a bright sunny morning to test their skills on the tricky Mountain Shadow course. We were able to tee off a few minutes ahead of schedule and quickly found that the fairways were in good shape, and the greens were as slick and difficult as ever.
We welcomed back Tony Scambler at the start of his annual visit, and Mashi Kaneta was also making a welcome return after a few weeks absence.
Reg Smart presents the KPK voucher to medal champion Peter Habgood.
The scoring was better than one normally expects here, and four players managed to better their handicaps on the day, but no one could match Mashi, who took the top podium position with 39 points. Tony Robbins birdied three of the first four holes on the back nine which helped him to a score of 21 points on the inward nine – good enough to take second place on a count back ahead of Bernie Ruschmeyer.
John Graham re-found his form after a recent slump, but his score of 37 points (which on many occasions would have been good enough to win here) was only sufficient to take fourth place.
1st Mashi Kaneta (14) 39pts
2nd Tony Robbins (15) 38pts
3rd Bernd Ruschmeyer (12) 38pts
4th John Graham (10) 37pts
Near Pins: John Graham, Peter Habgood, Tony Scambler and Neil Hurst.
Wednesday, Oct. 30, Green Valley – KPK Foods Medal
We welcomed back Keith Norman today at the start of his annual visit, and he immediately made his presence felt on the 1st tee, by almost decapitating PJ Redmond (who was also making a return after being ill for a couple of weeks) with an over- enthusiastic practice swing.
The weather was perfect and the course was in good shape, so conditions were ideal for producing some good scores as our seventeen players teed off on schedule.
In the event six players played to their handicap or better, but no one could match our resident medal expert Peter Habgood who once again proved unbeatable in what is, after all, the true form of the game. Peter has now won six out of the last nine medal competitions (four of them at Green Valley), so there’s no doubt who the favourite will be on our next visit.
Peter’s good friend Reg Smart (who also hates medal competitions!) produced his best stroke-play performance for a long time, but his level par net score was only good enough for fifth place.
Mashi Kaneta produced another great performance, but a double bogey on the 18th hole (his only real blemish on the back nine), cost him the chance of victory, and he was forced to settle for second place. Bernie Stevens was playing only his second game since his return and made a welcome return to the podium in third place, one stroke better than Steve Durey.
Today was the final game of the month with three players still in contention for the Golfer of the Month title. Tony Robbins produced the best performance of the three, but his net 73 score was only good enough for seventh place on the day, and left him in a tie on 51 points (for the best six scores during the month) with Geoff Parker. Geoff, despite having a disastrous couple of holes at Green Valley, was subsequently awarded the title on the count back (seventh best score), in a contest which was the tightest so far this year.
1st Peter Habgood (19) net 67
2nd Mashi Kaneta (14) net 68
3rd Bernie Stevens (15) net 71
4th Steve Durey (19) net 72
Near Pins: Bernie Stevens, Steve Durey, and Keith Norman (2).
Friday, Nov. 1, Pleasant Valley – Stableford
Your scribe is increasingly becoming a fan of this course which has unfairly been dubbed “unpleasant valley” in the past by some disingenuous golfers. The fact that we are always made to feel welcome by the friendly staff, plus the fact that the high season prices are reasonable, and the course is generally in good condition, will keep it as a regular fixture on our schedule.
The weather was fine and we teed off on schedule, with an apparently empty course ahead of us. The only drawback today was that it soon became obvious that the greens have suffered badly in the recent wet weather, but hopefully they will recover in a few weeks time.
There was no stopping Neil Hurst today, who ran away with the first prize with an impressive score of 42 points. Neil parred eight of the first nine holes and despite a couple of minor hiccups on the inward nine, finished with fourteen pars for the round and a gross score of 78 off his (soon to be reduced) handicap of 12.
Neil was the only golfer to better his handicap on the difficult greens, leaving Keith Norman and Tony Robbins to scrap it out for the minor places.
1st Neil Hurst (12) 42pts
2nd Keith Norman (12) 34pts
3rd Tony Robbins (15) 33pts
Near Pins: Andy Brady, Keith Norman, Steve Durey and Neil Hurst
Note: The Bunker Boys is a PSC affiliated golf society that now plays 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.
The 8th Annual John Preddy Memorial Charity Golf Tournament will be held on the 22nd November 2013 at Crystal Bay Golf Club. Entry fee of 1,700 baht includes green fee, caddy fee, free buffet and lucky draw ticket plus individual and team stableford prizes. Interested players and sponsors may contact Buff on the telephone numbers above.
