IPGC golf from The Haven
Monday, May 13, Khao Kheow A & C – Stableford
CSS 75 NC
1st Darryl Kellett (16) 30pts
2nd Mike Hill (19) 29pts
3rd Terry Hodgkiss (23) 27pts
4th Rodney Nabbe (10) 26pts
Khao Kheow is one of the courses that will be featured by the Haven groups during the low season as a combination of great layout, good condition and very reasonable prices combine to give the player a great day’s golf. It seems the management here have not been led down the slippery slope of attempting to drive up the prices for groups of less than twenty green fees, unlike some other courses in the area.
Darryl Kellett.
It is to be hoped that some of those courses that have taken this policy as standard will soon understand the situation that the world economy is experiencing at the present time and get back to reality.
Having run second twice the previous week, Darryl Kellett at last took the top step of the podium today even though his score was not one that he would be writing home about. It was however on the day a very good round, given the difficulty of the course and the conditions. With the wind blowing seemingly in all directions at once, keeping the ball on the short stuff was more than most could achieve as the returned cards bore testament. Darryl’s secret weapon “The Caddy Masterer” played its part in his win with its only weakness, the inability to tell the depth of water.
Mike Hill kept at it, taking just one blob during a round that he struggled to keep on course and might have spoilt Darryl’s day albeit for a slip up on the last hole, but he had done enough to earn second place ahead of Terry Hodgkiss in third and Rodney Nabbe in fourth.
Even though the course was playing at possibly its toughest, both of the 2’s pools were taken with the second division being swept by Terry Hodgkiss while Lex McDonald and Darryl Kellett shared the first division.
Before the presentations were made there were welcome backs for Rodney Nabbe, now known as “Gentleman Rod” due his habit of opening doors for everyone, and Allan Heavey, who was sporting a new set of clubs, woods, putter and bag, purchased at a local sale in Darwin before leaving home, unfortunately they had sold out of swings which caused a few problems during the workout with them on this occasion.
There was also a farewell and good wishes for Mike Hill, who was returning to Blighty, among other things, to assist with the coaching of the England cricket team in preparation for their upcoming games with New Zealand and Australia via his Twitter account.
Wednesday, May 15, Bangpra – Stableford
CSS 74
1st Allen Raaen (9) 35pts
2nd Terry Hodgkiss (23) 35pts
3rd Darryl Kellett (16) 33pts
4th Trevor Schirmer (12) 33pts
5th Markku Tynell (25) 31pts
It is always a pleasure to play Bangpra, as long as one keeps an eye out for the scavenging monkeys who will have anything out of an unguarded golf cart in the hopes that it might be food, but the caddies are generally well versed at keep them at bay while the player concentrates on knobbling it around them.
Allen Raaen.
The conditions had softened two days after Monday’s tribulations and although the greens were slow, due no doubt to the recent wet weather and lack of mowing, the rest of the course was in good condition, although there was very little run on the fairways.
Allen Raaen’s fine round to win the day was a lesson in application, with his card not including a six or more on any hole and then he won the count back with a better 13 to 10 to deny the improving Terry Hodgkiss a long awaited win. But Terry’s card showed that it surely will not be too long before he closes out a few wins and the handicap starts to drop once again as he finished with four 3-pointers and no zeros.
Darryl Kellett again showed strongly with a return that for a change beat out Trevor Schirmer on a count back by a margin of 16 to 15, with Markku Tynell in fifth place a couple more adrift.
As happens quite frequently at Bangpra there were no 2’s in either division, no doubt due on this occasion to the positioning of the tees on the par 3s which were about as far back as they could possibly be. The second on the A nine was playing around 186 yards, into a stiff breeze, from just in front of the blues as a point in case.
Friday, May 17, The Emerald – Stableford
CSS 71
1st Markku Tynell (25) 39pts
2nd Hal Hart (22) 37pts
3rd Rodney Nabbe (10) 35pts
4th Terry Hodgkiss (23) 34pts
5th Darryl Kellett (16) 34pts
Clear skies and light winds greeted the hopefuls as they prepared to take on the tricky Emerald layout, designed mostly by Sir Nick Faldo, strewn with his signature bunkers and featuring more that the usual number of small greens, but always fun to play with its challenging stances that can be found even in the center of the fairways.
Markku Tynell.
Markku Tynell was at last repaid for the hours spent on the practice range as he returned his best score for more than a year. That was good enough by two win ahead of Hal Hart, who whilst not featuring amongst the mentions always seems to be at the receiving end of his wagers. Markku’s win came in spite of the fact that his card showed a couple of zero pointers but also included a couple of fours and six threes, five of which were on the back nine with one of the zeros being on the last.
Hal also had a couple of four-pointers in his score and surely he will soon be featuring higher up the winning lists if his play continues to improve.
Rodney Nabbe found the course more to his length as he put in his best of the week in the hopes that next week’s scores may well be better with a possible win in sight. He took third place ahead of Terry Hodgkiss who had to win a count back over the week’s podium ever-present Darryl Kellett, which he did with a better 18 to 15 to continue Darryl’s underperforming record in count backs recently.
After a solid start that saw him playing to a new handicap that had been reduced by two strokes, Trevor Schirmer had lost the will to live after a run of nine holes when he scored just seven points up to the 12th hole and then closed out the last four holes with just two points for his worst return since returning from Oz.
Back at The Haven there was a welcome back for Roar Berger.
Note: If you would like to play with The Haven group, you can contact mobile 082 219 0965 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.
