IPGC golf from The Haven Weekly Report
Monday, April 21, Bangpra – Stableford
CSS 72
1st Russell Exley (9) 35pts
2nd Yukio Kikuchi (20) 35pts
3rd Mike Dabanovich (12) 34pts
4th Phillip Cass (21) 33pts
5th Bruce Kusyk (13) 33pts
A week of three fine but certainly not easy courses started out at Bangpra where the low season has brought some sense to the starting times once again. As usual the course was in tip top shape although the greens were noticeably a lot slower, enabling most of the entries to complete a reasonable round as opposed to the tee to green and oops, which is more the norm.
(From left) Mark Lang, Markku Tynell & Russell Exley.
Russell Exley made one of his rare appearances and showed that one may not necessarily need to play or practice regularly to be confident standing over the ball. His one over handicap, aided by a very nice back nine of two under handicap, earned him a win with a better 20 to 18 over the inward half to deny Yukio Kikuchi a rare win.
Mike Dabanovich also demonstrated that lack of play may not determine ones form as he took third place just one behind the leading pair.
Phillip Cass won another count back over Bruce Kusyk by a clear margin of 17 to 13 to take fourth as Bruce slipped coming home following an excellent opening nine holes.
There were no 2’s in either division.
Prior to the presentations being made there was a welcome for Barry Williams together with welcome backs for Kazuo Takimoto, Johnny Clements and Paul Magowan.
Wednesday, April 23, Khao Kheow A & B – Stableford
CSS 73
1st Mark Lang (8) 34pts
2nd Stephen Bugden (5) 29pts
3rd Russell Gilroy (14) 27pts
4th Norman Cheetham (13) 27pts
5th John Carlin (16) 27pts
Another good course in great condition saw another good attendance including a fair level of low handicappers taking part. Mark Lang returned from the cold climes of Europe, also having not hit a ball since leaving Thailand in early January, to win by five shots ahead of his nearest challenger. Mark’s round could have been even better as he completed the front nine with 20 points but then uncharacteristically dropped three shots in the first four holes of the back nine but held on to finish on level two pointers for the win.
Stephen Bugden ran him the closest but still a long way behind after he had started with a couple of zeros on the opening half and could not raise his game sufficiently on this tough course through the back nine, but he did sufficient to take second spot.
There followed a logjam of three who had to be separated by a count back, which Russell Gilroy won to take third with 10 over the last six holes as Norman Cheetham could manage just 8 after they had tied the nine on 14 a piece. That left John Carling in fifth as he could amass just 11 on the last nine after a good start to his round but seven single pointers on the back nine saw his challenge fade dramatically.
Once again there were no 2’s in either division.
Before the presentations there were welcome backs for Mark Lang, Stephen Bugden, Norman Cheetham and John Wood.
Friday, April 25, Greenwood – Monthly Medals
CSS 73
Division 1
1st Mark Lang (8) net 74
2nd Trevor Schirmer (14) net 76
3rd Russell Gilroy (14) net 76
Division 2
1st Markku Tynell (23) net 74
2nd Shuichi Kodaka (19) net 75
3rd Terry Hodgkiss (22) net 76
In keeping with the two courses played earlier in the week, Greenwood, where the B & C nines were found to be in excellent condition, proved to be a tough test of golf for all levels of ability with both Medals being won with scores off two over handicap, which saw the CSS for the day go out to 73.
The first division was led in by Mark Lang who once again showed his quality, taking his first monthly Medal out of The Haven with a solid round that was good enough by two to see him home. Mark starting out inauspiciously, using his handicap up on the outward half, but he then swept back on two over gross to finish as a worthy winner. He became the fifth player in the first division to qualify for the Gold and Silver Medals to be held in December.
Second place went to Trevor Schirmer after he won a count back over Russell Gilroy. Russell had the edge on the front nine by a single stroke but Trevor then repeated that on the back nine to take the position with a better 39 to 40 net.
The second division was also a very close contest with Markku Tynell also becoming the fifth different winner in the year to add his name to the list for the second division Gold and Silver Medals quest. Markku’s round was just sufficient to see off the close challenge of Shuichi Kodaka, who always manages to turn in a competitive round in the medals, by a single stroke over the last four holes, to leave Shuichi in second spot.
Terry Hodgkiss slipped into third place just one more back after a solid performance which sadly dropped off right at the end as he finished an otherwise good day with two doubles.
There were no 2’s in the second division but at last the multi-rollover first division pool was taken, being shared between Mike Dabanovich and Stephen Bugden.
Before making the presentations the Doc, who is almost back to full health, welcomed back Terry Hodgkiss and Paul Young.
Note: If you would like to play with The Haven group, you can contact mobile 094 567 5726 or call in to The Haven Hotel, at 185 Soi 13, between Beach Road and 2nd Road. All transportation to the course is arranged and you do not need to sign up prior to the day, but you should be there by 8.15 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on the days that you wish to play. A schedule of courses to be played can be found on our web site at www.thehaven-hotel.com.
