IPGC golf from The Links
Tuesday, November 13, Pattana – Stableford
With the High Season supposedly now upon us, The Links is back to having regular fixtures, but with Green Valley on Sunday being washed out by a truly torrential storm after 14 holes, it was off to Pattana on Tuesday for the first completed fixture of the season, with the B and C courses our challenge for the day.
Expecting the course to be soft with no roll after the downpours of the previous two days, we decided to play off the shorter yellow tees, but after teeing off on the tough starting hole on the B course, it was apparent that there was not even a need for preferred lies on the fairways, which were pristine and bone dry on the whole. Indeed, the B course especially must be just about the best around at the moment, for general condition and pace of the greens, with the C course a little less conditioned, and the greens a little slower.
The scoring was generally good around the shortened course, with the round of the day going to Jon Batty, bettering his handicap for the first time in 5 months, carding a gross 77, mainly due to some outrageous scrambling around the greens. Second place went to Frank McGowan, who nowadays is never far from a podium finish, with 37 points including an excellent 21 on the back 9, with Joe McArdle a further point back in third.
The ‘2’s pot was shared by Ben Durham and Jon Batty.
1st Jon Batty (10) 41pts
2nd Frank McGowan (17) 37pts
3rd Joe McArdle (14) 36pts
4th Martin Kelly (12) 34pts
Thursday, November 15, Mountain Shadow – Stableford
As a precursor for the PAGS tournament later in the month, we decided to visit Mountain Shadow today, a rare fixture in our calendar for some reason, but a true test of golf off the blue tees.
The course is generally in good condition, except for numerous bare patches just off the fairways, every one of which I seemed to find, but the greens are currently running a little slower than in previous years.
As usual around this tough golf course, points were hard to come by, and none of the field could match their handicap. Andy Galvin, recently returned from Ireland for the high season, took the spoils with a creditable 34 points, one ahead of Peter Skinner and Frank McGowan, with Peter taking second place by virtue of an 18–15 count back.
The ‘2’s were shared by Joe McArdle and Ben Durham.
1st Andy Galvin (18) 34pts
2nd Peter Skinner (10) 33pts
3rd Frank McGowan (18) 33pts
Note: The Links depart from the hotel on Soi Buakhao at 10.30am on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 9.45am for Green Valley every Sunday. Sign up at the hotel or contact Jon on 080 021 1034. A full schedule of courses can be found on the IPGC website.
