PSC Golf from The Growling Swan
Monday, Jan. 20, Plutaluang, East & South – Stableford
We had our smallest contingent of players for quite some time as there were 17 golfers on the starting sheet but it was a happy bunch who turned up at The Growling Swan in readiness for our trip to the Plutaluang Golf Course.
Departing the GS right on schedule at 9.00 am we headed South down Highway 3 and after a very good run arrived at the Navy Course 40 minutes later. It was a hive of activity with golfers everywhere and we were fairly certain that it would be a slow round but Hey! – the sun was shining, the grass was green and the course was looking in very good shape.
Tristan Freeman, Ernie Picken & Tom McMahon.
We were told that it would be East & South nines in that order so we trundled down to E1 where there was just one group of four Thai golfers waiting to commence. At 10.15 a.m. we got our first four-ball away and that was 33 minutes earlier than our booked tee time and we proceeded at a steady pace although there were hold ups on just about every shot. The golf course was in good condition although some of the fairways were very dry but the greens were in good shape with a mixture of quick and slow and that did catch a few people out.
This is a very good course and excellent value for money but you must expect a slow round, particularly at this time of year and be prepared for four-balls in front suddenly turning into six-balls as happened to us on the back nine. Despite the delays it was a very enjoyable round with excellent company and it was completed in the very slow time of four hours & fifty minutes.
Duangjai Tusagad & Mike Gosden.
There were just four golfers who played to their handicap or better and it was Mike “Hunter” Gosden who won Division A with a very good 42 points, with your writer, Peter “Blacky” Blackburn second just one point further back and the consistent John Davis took third place on 35 points.
The B Division winner was Duangjai “Kae” Tusagad with 39 points and Ian “Bat” Masterson was second with 36 points, 2 points ahead of Nolan “No-one” Wise in third place.
Division A (0-17)
1st Mike Gosden (13) 42pts
2nd Peter Blackburn (14) 41pts
3rd John Davis (17) 35pts
Division B (18+)
1st Duangjai Tusagad (20) 39pts
2nd Ian Masterson (36) 36pts
3rd Nolan Wise (36) 34pts
Near Pins: E5 – Ebrahim
Long Putts: E9 – Peter Blackburn, S9 – Kevin Waycott
The Growling Swan NAGA Award (awarded to the golfer who has the worst score on the day) was won by Jayson Schembri who accepted the award like the good sport that he is.
Thursday, Jan. 23, Greenwood, C & A – Stableford
An excellent field of 34 departed the GS at our scheduled time of 8.30 a.m. and we headed off and got a fairly good run up 331, arriving at the course after a 52 minute drive. It did not seem to be too busy and we were allocated the C & A nines in that order and our first four-ball teed off 7 minutes after our booked time of 10.00 a.m.
It was quite cool and there was a bit of a stiff breeze which didn’t make it any warmer and with no groups immediately ahead of us we were able to maintain a steady pace throughout the first nine. The golf course was in very good conditions and the greens were the quickest I have seen them in a long time and presented problems if you were above the hole and a fair distance away.
After completing C nine in two hours & five minutes we arrived on the tee on A1 to find a Marshall directing us to B1 as there was a fairly large and very noticeable bush fire at the bottom of A1 so off we went and teed off on B1. After our tee shots on B4 two Marshalls arrived and told us that we had to return to the A nine and continue our round by teeing off on A4. To cut a long story short they had directed just our group to the B nine and everyone else was proceeding on the A nine – TIT. We then became Group 2 and after all the messing around we completed our round in four hours & forty five minutes but notwithstanding the turmoil it had been a very pleasant round with very good company.
The winner in Division A was Sal Brizzi with a fabulous 42 points, 72 gross and was unfortunately not absent at presentations as he was not feeling very well so was laying down in one of the mini vans. I made the comment that it could not have been tiredness from hitting too many shots! In second place came veteran Don Richardson with 37 points, one point more than Gerd Riedler in third spot and Mike Allidi was fourth with 32 points.
Division B was won by Tom McMahon who had 34 points and Max “Corsets” Bracegirdle was second with 33 points. Third place went to the consistent John Davis on 32 points and Alan “Colonel” Sanders finished fourth with 31 points.
There was a count back at the top of C Division with 2 golfers on 38 points and it was Tristan Freeman (23 point back nine) who was declared the winner with his good mate Craig Wearne (16 point back nine) finishing in second place. Ian “Bat” Masterson came third with 37 points and Shane “Jockey” Young was fourth on 32 points.
Division A (0-16)
1st Sal Brizzi (6) 42pts
2nd Don Richardson (13) 37pts
3rd Gerd Riedler (9) 36pts
4th Mike Allidi (2) 32pts
Division B (17-26)
1st Tom McMahon (17) 34pts
2nd Max Bracegirdle (26) 33pts
3rd John Davis (17) 32pts
4th Alan Sanders (25) 31pts
Division C (27+)
1st Tristan Freeman (36) 38pts
2nd Craig Wearne (36) 38pts
3rd Ian Masterson (36) 37pts
4th Shane Young (29) 32pts
Near Pins: A2 – Don Richardson, A6 – John Davis, C3 – Gary Monley, C6 – Roy Dayton
Long Putts: A9 – Ian Masterson, C9 – Tom McMahon
The Growling Swan NAGA Award was won by Ernie Picken and Max kindly paraded Deefa the Dog and of course collected many donations for the needy in Pattaya from our generous Growling Swan Golfers.
Note: Growling Swan Golf generally play Mondays & Thursdays, meeting at The Growling Swan in Soi Chaiyapoon at 8.00 am with transport departing at 8.30 am. For bookings or more information please contact Peter on 0806 351 386 or email to petermalcolmblackburn @gmail.com.
We also play bowls out of the Growling Swan every Wednesday and Sunday. For anyone that is interested, please contact Paul Rennison on 0843 454 005.
