PSC Bunker Boys Golf
Monday, June 14th
Green Valley Golf
1st Steve Durey (20) 42 points
2nd Kevin LeBar (14) 39 points
3rd Jay Babin (22) 39 points
4th Niall Glover (19) 35 points
5th Bob Paine (22) 35 points
Near pins Kob Glover, Jay Babin, Gerry Cooney, & Kevin LeBar.
A very good field of eighteen for the first game of the week at Green Valley, and recently we have had the best low season numbers for a long time. The Green Valley Course was not at its best but was still fairly good. The greens were quick compared to courses we have played recently.
Weather-wise it was relatively mild with a blustery wind blowing, sometimes quite strongly. It tried to rain a couple of times, in fact, a few drops fell but quickly blew away and there were no holdups. The first group was finished at least an hour before the last group made an appearance for the presentation.
Very good scoring yet again with Steve Durey taking first place with forty-two points despite a wipe on the seventeenth. Kevin LeBar put in a strong effort to finish second with thirty-nine points edging out Jay Babin into third on countback. All the near pins were taken with one each to Kob Glover, Jay Babin, Gerry Cooney, and Kevin LeBar.
Wednesday, June 16th
Pattavia Golf Course
1st Niall Glover (19) 41 points
2nd Lance Conway-Jones (12) 38 points
3rd Geoff Parker (18) 37 points
4th Kevin Lebar (13) 36 points
Near pins John Early, Lance Conway-Jones, Roger Awad, & Paul Smith.
For those whose Alzheimers didn’t kick in today and remembered to bring either their driving license or passport, the reward was an all-in fee of eight hundred baht; surely the best value golf in Thailand. An equal biggest field of the year (nineteen) took advantage of this exceptional offer. The course was again in excellent condition, the greens were back to their slippery best and with some evil pin placements, the course bared its teeth today.
Weather-wise we were lucky to have had only a short rain break mid-round, despite looking like it might hang around for longer. The temperature was ok as a cool breeze kept things comfortable.
The difficulty of the course and the wind made for low scores overall; however, Niall Glover was totally unaffected by these challenges and returned an excellent score of forty-one points, his second good score this week.
Lance Conway-Jones took second with thirty-eight, his best score for some time. Geoff Parker, now back to his consistent best, took third with thirty-seven points, while Kevin LeBar brought up the rear with thirty-six points at his home course and with his favorite caddie.
Paul Smith, Roger Awad, Lance Conway-Jones, and John Early on debut with the Bunker Boys all took a near pin.
Friday, June 18th
Greenwood Golf Club B & C (Medal)
1st Kevin LeBar (13) Net 73
2nd Gerry Cooney (20) Net 73
3rd Bob Paine (22) Net 74
4th Les Cobban (7) Net 74
Near pins Peter Kelly, Gerry Cooney, Bob Paine, & Michael Brett.
A rather unpleasant day weather-wise for Friday’s round at Greenwood, where we were allocated the B & C nines. Some dark clouds were in the sky above Greenwood and rain was seen tumbling down in the distance. As the wind was blowing from the direction of the rain we knew that sooner or later it would hit us and sure enough by the seventh hole it was pelting down. After a delay of thirty minutes play resumed in very light rain which eventually abated.
Before the rain, the course was a little damp but ok; after the rain, it became necessary to implement the pick, clean, and place rule as both plugged and mud balls were common. The greens were perhaps the best we have seen for some time.
A new experience for Kevin LeBar taking first place at the Bunker Boys with a net seventy-three, edging out Gerry Cooney on countback. Bob Paine and Les Cobban were also separated on countback in third and fourth respectively. Near pins went to Peter Kelly, Bob Paine, Gerry Cooney, and Michael Brett.
Friday we had an issue with the scourge of golf, i.e. slow play. The first group finished a full hour and a half before the fourth group, a totally unacceptable situation. It seems some players need a rocket under them – all golfers should be ready to play when it’s their turn, when it’s a group of four it’s hard to know who is dragging the chain although most have a fair idea. It’s impossible to penalise a whole group if just one person is the source of the problem.
Travelling Bunker Boys
Most of the Bunker Boys in the UK who haven’t been able to join us in “The City of Fun” for so long had a get-together at Silverdale in the Lake District recently for some golf and a few social drinks. It was nice to see all the happy smiling faces together with partners after such a long lockdown. We understand our Aussie mates from Melbourne are on tour shortly to Queensland for more golf and recreation. It seems the only Bunker Boys not traveling are the ones in Pattaya who are in a form of lockdown, although from Monday 14th there has been a lifting of some restrictions, but no bars open. Maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel as many are chomping at the bit to get away somewhere.
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