PSC golf from The Outback Golf Bar
Monday, July 2, Khao Kheow – Stableford
There were only six Outbackers today playing B & C but with very little wind and an overcast day it seemed a perfect day to play golf. The staff were very pleased to see us and we managed to tee off on B 20 minutes early; the first three holes were undergoing weeding on the fairways so we decided to pick and place, although it seemed that the rest of B course was fine except that the tee boxes needed cutting.
On C course a couple of the greens had previously been sabotaged but appear to have been rectified now and generally the greens were pretty slick throughout the 18 holes we played. Unfortunately, there were a few holes where the fairways were GUR but in another few weeks the course should be back in good shape but in all fairness we should give the staff credit for the amount of time and effort they spend on trying to improve the course.
John O’Keefe & On Lloyd – second with 49pts in Friday’s Birthday Bash.
Without further ado, congrats are in order to Suzi Lawton (39pts) for winning the day from Rob Earle (37) and John Stafford (31) and welcome back to them both.
There was only one ‘2’ and Suzi got that as well.
1st Suzi Lawton (17) 39pts
2nd Rob Earle (23) 37pts
3rd John Stafford (18) 31pts
Monday, July 2, Burapha – Stableford
At Burapha today for our normal Monday outing and although in the middle of a quiet low season, we still managed 19 players. We played B and D which is a little unusual; as normally with A & B it’s from the blue tees and with C & D, it’s from the whites. So to even it up, we played B from blue tees and D from the white tees but it didn’t affect the scores as the first five places all played to handicap or better.
B course was in great condition and the greens were especially good but D course greens have not fully recovered from recent renovations and were a little bumpy and slow.
The pace of play was great for the first eight holes but then we caught up with a 5-ball and things slowed down but we still managed to complete the course in under 4 hours. The day started off very muggy and overcast but cleared up early and then we had clear skies and a lovely breeze to keep the conditions, great for golf.
The day belonged to Andy Makara who had the best score of the day (41pts) and played some great golf off his 27 handicap which has quickly been reduced to 25. One of the Kiwis, Dion Lane, who struggled with his game when he first arrived, continued to show improvement with 37pts to beat Paul Bourke with the same score, on count back.
Paul Greenaway and Barnsey filled the remaining podium places with 36pts each.
There were two ‘2’s from Barnsey and John Cunningham.
1st Andy Makara (27) 41pts
2nd Dion Lane (11) 37pts
3rd Paul Bourke (9) 37pts
4th Paul Greenaway (9) 36pts
5th Robert Barnes (13) 36pts
Tuesday, July 3, Pattaya C.C. – Stableford
On the way to golf this morning it felt more like a warm summer’s day in England with that persistent light drizzle which doesn’t go away rather than Thailand and we can never be sure what it’s going to turn into here. Well, fortunately nothing and after a few holes it cleared up altogether albeit a little muggy.
Mark is seen receiving his birthday cake.
PCC were once again happy to see us with our seven players and the other three we saw on the course and that was just about it, so a lovely pace of play on greens that were good but on fairways that appeared desperately short of rain, but were already greening up from the rain overnight.
General Jack was out again for the second week in a row and scraped in with a win after chipping in for par on the last hole to make 34pts and beating Dave Earthrowl on count back.
1st Jack Moseley (20) 34pts
2nd David Earthrowl (21) 34pts
3rd Barry Chadbourn (19) 31pts
Tuesday, July 3, Laem Chabang – Stableford
It was an overcast day and spitting with rain with just 10 at Laem Chabang, to play the just reopened A nine together with B. A disappointing number considering the excellent rate to play here, just 1900 Baht incl cart and we’ve just upped the number of tee times to five!
B Course has been closed for the last couple of months so we were pleased to see that it had recovered well from all the work they had done to it; the fairways were good but the rough was deep in parts and the greens were as good as ever, making putting a challenge to us all.
However, the course played quite easy (well for some of us) from forward tees but both Sel and Barnsey put excellent rounds together scoring 41pts and 40pts respectively and have been suitable cut despite protestations that the course played short.
There was just one ‘2’ from Mike Missler.
1st Sel Wegner (13) 41pts
2nd Robert Barnes (13) 40pts
3rd Mike Missler (12) 36pts
Wednesday, July 4, Siam Plantation – Stableford
What a bizarre start to our day at Plantation; John Low, after signing in, went to pick up his bag from just outside the office, lost his footing and took a swim in the ornamental pond near the door. Not content to just step in, he fell and was wet from head to toe, suffice to say that all those present including the staff had a great laugh at John’s expense.
After that the day just got better as the course was in great condition and some of the scores showed that the players are definitely responding to the great challenge that Siam presents. 15 Outbackers played C (Pineapple) and A (Sugar Cane) off the white tees and as usual the starters were very efficient and we all teed off on time and completed our round in just under four hours even though our front group caught up with a five-ball but the marshalls were there to make sure everybody kept up.
Tim Knight continues to improve in Thailand and with the best score of the day of 40 points on his 17 handicap has now been cut to 16 and Tim is now on the lowest he has ever been – well done Tim.
Jim Bryan is a great lover of Siam and is now becoming something of a specialist at the course, posting another excellent score of 37pts, which included a great two on A6, whilst Dion Lane (11) and Ron Dickie (7) both put in consistent rounds to fill the minor places with 36 points and 35 points respectively.
There were two ‘2’s; one from Jim, mentioned before, and the other from John Player on C8.
1st Tim Knight (17) 40pts
2nd Jim Bryan (16) 37pts
3rd Dion Lane (11) 36pts
4th Ron Dickie (7) 35pts
Wednesday, July 4, Pattana – Stableford
With lowest of low seasons upon us, it’s difficult to predict and maintain numbers at the wide choice of golf courses on offer each week; clearly illustrated by just 4 Outbackers travelling to Pattana today.
Once we arrived and checked in, we had the course to ourselves yet again and started twenty minutes early. The A course was in good condition after it had been closed for a while but the greens could have been better i.e. rolled and cut, as they were bumpy and slowwww, whereas on B course the greens were like ice.
I don’t think any of our four ball could fault the overall course condition and it’s excellent value with a green fee voucher and definitely worth the drive.
1st Murray Hart (14) 32pts
2nd Suzi Lawton (17) 29pts
3rd John O’Keefe (17) 27pts
4th Robert Barnes (12) 26pts
Friday, July 6,
Green Valley – Pairs Stableford
44 Outbackers played in Mark McDonald’s (Tubz’) 4BBB (pairs stableford) Birthday Bash at Green Valley at the new tee off time of 9.30. Unfortunately we didn’t tee off on time due to the starters allowing a late two-ball to take their place on the tee, but at least once we got started the field flowed and most groups completed the course in under four hours.
The course itself was in good condition but the greens are very slow, especially compared to Siam Plantation, Laem Chabang and Burapha and have actually got slower over the last few weeks. The new cart paths are nearly finished but there are still a large number of areas that should be marked GUR and common sense must prevail, as none of the areas are marked appropriately.
This (2-ball pairs) is another great format which allows the two players in the team to play their own game and own shot for the complete round, unlike a scramble, yet allows some relief knowing that you have a partner to back you up, if you screw up. It’s particularly helpful on the greens when one of the team is already down for so many points and it allows the other player a free hit, not having to worry about the putt back.
Some great scores were recorded with the winners coming from two Green Valley specialists/members, Jack Butler and Ed Horrocks who combined extremely well for an amazing 51 points and won a novelty prize as well for the most number of holes under par (13).
Second was the pairing of John O’Keefe & On Lloyd with 49pts and third were Terry Phur & Gerry Power with 48pts and they beat David Dunstan & Bob Barnes on count back. Absolutely incredible scoring, with 15 of the 22 teams scoring 40pts or more!
As well as the prizes for the most holes under par, Mark also sponsored 500 Baht vouchers for the four near pins won by; David Day (hole 4), Pete Stonebridge (hole 9), Dave Dunstan (hole 12) and Wayne Cotterill (hole 16). The NAGA prize went to Greg Hirst & Lee Rigglesworth.
There were six ‘2’s; two on hole 4 from Paul Greenaway & Greg Hirst; one on both holes 9 & 16 from Robert Barnes & Bob Lindborg and two more on hole 12 from Ed Horrocks & Mark McDonald.
Other stats: Best Aggregate Score Front Nine (26pts) Rob Earle & Barry McIntosh; Back Nine (27pts) Jack Butler & Ed Horrocks; Par 5’s (14pts) Robert Barnes & David Dunstan; Par 4’s (27pts) Dion Lane & John Low; Par 3’s (13pts) Jack Butler & Ed Horrocks.
Overall Results
1st Jack Butler & Ed Horrocks 51pts
2nd John O’Keefe & On Lloyd 49pts
3rd Gerry Power & Terry Phur 48pts
4th David Dunstan & Robert Barnes 48pts
