IPGC Pattaya Golf Society at Rabbi’s Elephant Bar
A large group of Pattaya Golf Society enthusiasts gathered at Green Valley On Monday, March 14, to play a stableford competition, very ably marshalled by Wichai Tananusorn. With the cut set at fifteen and under the two flights got underway on time and in the second flight there was the uncommon result of three golfers sharing the top spot with 33 points each, viz, Larry Bland, Rod Stevens and a resurgent Pat Murphy whose golf is now on a different planet since a knee transplant a couple of months ago!
The top flight saw better scores with Wichai posting 36 points for third place, just one behind Rick Schramm’s 37 points in second. The winner was Stuart Thompson, posting the best gross of the day, 78, with his forty points. It was his best performance since an outing at Greenwood in May 2009 and since then he has overcome more physical challenges than most would care to accept. On this day his application and stoicism were handsomely rewarded.
There were four ‘2’s with Wichai, Steve Evans, Ya Riley and Rob Lamond all sharing the pot and the Booby Bevy was reserved for PGS coordinator Mr Len, making his return to the presentation after a miserable week in hospital. The prospect of up to three months recuperating before treading the fairways again is not a pretty one but he could well learn a few lessons from the day’s hero Stu Thompson.
Wan for the ladies
On Wednesday, March 16, the Pattaya Golf Society braved the chilly blasts off the Gulf and travelled inland to Khao Kheow to play a stableford competition over the B and C nines off the longer yellow tees. The course has been in excellent condition all high season and the unseasonal rains have freshened up the track delightfully.
The field was divided into two flights at fifteen and under and in the top flight Wichai Tananusorn and Larry Bland shared the runner-up slot with fine scores of 37 points each, just failing to match the winning score of 38 points recorded by Steve Jones.
In the second flight a reinvigorated Rod Stevens shared second place with playing partner Harry Langkoff with scores of thirty whilst the only lady in the field, Orawan Meeraka, cocked a snoot at the rest of the field with an excellent forty points for the win.
Larry Bland recorded the only birdie ‘2’ of the day on C8 and “manager” for the day, John Mason targetted Banjo Bannister for the Booby Bevy after he managed a ‘2’ with his second ball on the signature Island hole, holing a monster thirty-footer after putting his first effort in the watery depths.
The golfers all enjoyed the cooler conditions and Khao Kheow was certainly a good challenge for the PGS.
A fine day for the two Larry’s
The Pattaya Golf Society visited the expansive Crystal Bay golf club on Friday, March 18, to play a stableford event over the C and A nines. The day remained cool throughout making conditions perfect for the field which was cut at fifteen and under for the event. Ably marshalled by Dave Moriarty the group got underway before time and, apart from the Korean habit of touring the course looking for an empty tee box and punctuating everyone else’s day, they found progress good.
In the top flight Austrian Peter Ditz scored 34 points to share second place with Rob Lamond whose best gross score of eighty could find no peer, and Larry Bland took the win with a level par return of 36 points.
In the second flight Jim Ferris returned 35 points for third, one behind Jomtien’s “Windmill” man, Alan Duckett, whilst Larry Slattery remained the only one to break par with a winning score of 37 points.
Gordon Everingham took the second flight ‘2’s pot for his fine effort on C7 and the Booby Bevy was awarded “in absentia” to Jim Ferris for his gaffe of inadvertently playing the wrong ball on A3 which cost him the chance of the flight win.
Golf at Crystal Bay had been a pleasurable experience as always and for the two Larry’s it had been a good way to finish the week.
