PSC Golf from The Growling Swan
Monday, June 22, Pattana – Stableford
Some stray cats were still heading home as 20 Growling Swan golfers were heading to Pattana on Monday. Pattana’s service was exemplary and the course was presented in fantastic condition, especially the lush greens which were a treat to putt on.
The weather was perfect with a gentle zephyr breeze keeping tempers cool as the course certainly bared its claws. We played B & C nines off the yellow tees – at 6,200 yards is seemed a little short in length, however the gusting breezes and numerous water hazards sorted out a few errant drives.
Lindsey Slender & Mark Holcombe.
Andrew Allen always has an eventful day at golf and today he became quite miffed. His caddie withdrew his driver from his golf bag at an obscure angle and snapped the shaft. The course marshal kindly lent Andrew another driver and arranged for his to be repaired. The problem was, at a cost of 1,200 THB.
The returning Richard Hurley played a fine round (76 gross) to win with a leg in the air. Mark Holcombe, John Anderson and gentleman Jim Groves rounded out the placings.
1st Richard Hurley (7) 40pts
2nd Mark Holcombe (12) 36pts
3rd John Anderson (29) 36 pts
4th Jim Groves (12) 34pts
Near Pins: B3 Martin Kempton, B7 John Anderson, C2 Mark Holcombe, C7 Khan Speechley
Long Putts: #9 Khan Speechley, #18 Richard Hurley
Thursday, June 25, Greenwood – Monthly Mug
They came out of the woodwork for the Growling Swan Monthly Mug tournament as 3 buses headed out to the popular Greenwood GC. On the way, the rain gods were angry and we waited for some 20 minutes after arrival for the rain to abate. After the first group teed off, never a drop of rain was seen again. A perfect day!
Greenwood is always popular due to the reasonable green fee rates and general course condition, however, for the first time in this scribe’s memory the usually perfect greens were suffering badly from some mystery affliction. Though they played reasonably well, they looked to have some disease. Let’s hope they are fixed sometime soon!
Chris Jaconovic and Richard Hurley.
On a day when conditions weren’t easy, Mark Holcombe proved to be a wet track specialist to eke out his first Monthly Mug win. After a few months perfecting his wrist cock in Geelong, Eric Black made a fine comeback to snare A Grade honours while Lindsay Slender’s (B Grade winner) performance pleased his new swing coach, Kev Waycott.
Bent Agerbo continued his good recent form and Scott Baumgarten awoke from his slumber to glean a podium finish.
Monthly Mug
1st Mark Holcombe (12) net 68
A Flight
1st Mark Holcombe (12) net 68
2nd Eric Black (15) net 69
3rd Bent Agerbo (19) net 71
4th Martin Kempton (13) net 73
B Flight
1st Lindsay Slender (24) net 71
2nd Geri Crilly (28) net 73
3rd Scott Baumgarten (27) net 74
4th Patrick Poussier (23) net 79
Near Pins: A2 Martin Kempton, A6 Bent Agerbo, B2 Sal Brizzi, B5 Bent Agerbo
Long Putt: #9 Martin Kempton, #18 Chris Jaconovic
Note: For some serious golf with a dash of fun, the Growling Swan welcomes golfers of all persuasions. We generally play on Mondays and Thursdays at any one of the fine courses around Pattaya. Please contact Peter Grey for bookings or any information on 0861 503086.
The Growling Swan also caters to the bowls enthusiasts. Bus transport departs the GS on Wednesdays at 10 AM to play at Cocos on undercover synthetic greens and on Sundays at the same time for open grass bowling at The Retreat. Please contact Paul Rennison on 0843 454005 if you wish to partake. The cost including return bus transport, bowling fees and a hot lunch is less than 400 baht so great value for a day out.
