PSC Golf from The Growling Swan
Monday, Sept. 1, Bangpra – Stableford
Time to return to Bangpra, commonly known as “The Monkey Course” and after a late withdrawal plus one “no show” we were left with a healthy field of 23 ready to take on this challenging layout.
As we met at The Growling Swan welcomes were handed out to Norm Cheetham and Walter Panici, 2 friends of mine from my old golf club Gosnells in Perth, who are both regular visitors to Pattaya. We also said bon voyage to Robert Cross who will shortly be returning to Melbourne.
It was 8.30 a.m. when we left the GS and headed off in our 2 mini-vans and after driving through some rain it was fine when we arrived at the course 46 minutes later. It was quiet as usual and after checking in with our green fee vouchers we were all ready to go and we sent the three-ball off first at 9.50 a.m., which was 10 minutes ahead of schedule.
Marco Beer, Dave Neal & Mike Allidi.
The golf course was in great shape with the greens up to their normal tricks and with no-one ahead of our groups we were able to maintain a steady pace. We were subjected to some drizzle for about half an hour after about the third hole but it was nothing really and did not interrupt play or make any difference to the golf course. The three-ball shot away from us and we managed to complete our full round in four hours & fifteen minutes with all enjoying this fine golf course and the company was excellent as ever.
We had 2 divisions – Division A for handicaps 0 to 15 & Division B for golfers on handicaps of 16 and over with three places in each division. There were also rewards for nearest the pin on the par threes and longest first putts on the 9th & 18th greens.
With two “in form” golfers tied on 37 points a count back was necessary to decide the winner in A Division and Mike Allidi (19 point back nine) finished ahead of Martin “Toddy” Todd (17 point back nine) in second spot with John Davis coming third with 35 points.
In B Division it was Marco Beer who finished on top with a solid 36 points and another count back was needed to decide second & third places with 2 golfers on 34 points. The result was second place being awarded to Alain “Inspector Clouseau” Taddei (21 point back nine) with Thientong Charoenrung (17 point back nine) finishing third.
The Growling Swan NAGA Award for the worst score on the day was won by Dave Neal.
Division A (0-15)
1st Mike Allidi (2) 37pts
2nd Martin Todd (7) 37pts
3rd John Davis (14) 35pts
Division B (16+)
1st Marco Beer (16) 36pts
2nd Alain Taddei (16) 34pts
3rd Thientong Charoenrung (18) 34pts
Near Pins: 2nd – Martin Todd, 8th – Martin Todd, 12th – Walter Panici, 17th – John Pierrel
Long Putts: 9th – Peter Blackburn/Patrick Poussier, 18th – Walter Baechli
Thursday, 4th September4 , Crystal Bay, A & C – Stableford
It was a fine and sunny morning as we made our way to The Growling Swan in readiness for our monthly trip to the Crystal Bay Golf Course and after a late withdrawal due to family illness and two late inclusions we were left with a healthy field of 29.
We welcomed back our good friend Nolan Wise from Australia, Paul Moloney from his work in West Africa, Bill Hewitt & his lady Samorn Tamamsri from Pattaya, Vaughan Jackson & Dennis Jackson from Perth, Australia and Dave Corey from Queensland. It was time to say goodbye to another good friend, Marco Beer who will shortly be returning to Switzerland but will be back with us in a couple of months.
Bill Steinman, Dennis Jackson, Samorn Tanamsri & Andrew Allen.
All were on time so our 2 mini vans departed the GS on schedule at 8.30 a.m. and after an excellent run north on Sukhumvit we arrived at the golf course just 41 minutes later. It was very quiet there so after check in we presented ourselves to the starter who informed us that we would be playing the C & A nines in that order. We were invited to tee off at our leisure and our first four ball got away fifteen minutes ahead of schedule at 9.45 am.
The weather was perfect and with not a soul in sight ahead we proceeded at a fairly good pace and finished the first nine in a little over 2 hours. The course was in fine shape although the greens were somewhat “multi grassed” and bumpy but it did not seem to trouble several of the field who posted some good scores. I personally feel that many of us over criticize some golf courses when we have not played very well, therefore I will report that the course on the day was very “entertaining”. Slowing down on the second nine as it got hotter we managed to complete a thoroughly enjoyable round of golf in four hours & ten minutes.
We had 3 divisions – Division A for handicaps 0 to 15, Division B for golfers on handicaps of 16 to 25 and Division C for handicaps of 26 and over with three places in each division. There were also rewards for nearest the pin on the par threes and longest first putts on the A9 & C9 greens.
“Buffalo” Bill Steinman finally found some form after a week off and was the winner of Division A with a fine 40 points, just 1 point ahead of your writer Peter “Blacky” Blackburn in second spot with John Davis in third place after carding 38 points.
The ladies did very well in B Division where Samorn Tamamsri scored a terrific 42 points to win and with 2 golfers on 38 points a count back was required to sort out second & third places. The result was that Thientong Charoenrung (21 point back nine) won that particular encounter with her boyfriend Dave Neal (17 point back nine) who finished in third place.
The Division C winner was Andrew “Turtle” Allen with a steady 36 points and in another count back with 2 golfers on 34 points it was Russell “Stud” Calcutt (19 point back nine and 44 putts for the day) who got third spot from Sandy “Cindy Lauper” Leiper (15 point back nine).
Division A – 0 to 15
1st – Bill Steinman (10) – 40 points
2nd – Peter Blackburn (12) – 39 points
3rd – John Davis (14) – 38 points
Division B – 16 to 25
1st – Samorn Tamamsri (24) – 42 points
2nd – Thientong Charoenrung (18) – 38 points
3rd – Dave Neal (25) – 38 points
Division C – 26 & over
1st – Andrew Allen (33) – 36 points
2nd – Russell Calcutt (33) – 34 points
3rd – Sandy Leiper (34) – 34 points
Near Pins: A5 – Dave Neal, A8 – Geri Crilly, C4 – Phil Taylor, C7 – Paul Moloney
Long Putts: A9 – Takeshi Hakozaki and C9 – John Davis.
The Growling Swan NAGA Award (awarded to the golfer who has the worst score on the day and discreetly their score is not made public) was won by visitor Dennis Jackson and he accepted the award like the good sport that he is. Andrew then kindly paraded Deefa the Dog and of course collected many donations for the needy in Pattaya from our generous Growling Swan Golfers. Back at The Growling Swan the beers were Aussie cold as usual and low priced so many of us relaxed and stayed for quite some time reminiscing over another very fine day out.
Note: Growling Swan Golf, the home of friendly golf in Pattaya welcomes golfers of any persuasion – low & high handicappers alike, female golfers and beginners. We generally play Mondays & Thursdays, meeting at The Growling Swan in Soi Chaiyapoon at 8.00 a.m. with transport departing at 8.30 a.m. 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. Sunday is Lawn Bowls and Wednesday is Indoor Bowls. All are welcome and for anyone that is interested the transport leaves The Growling Swan at 10.00 a.m. on each of those mornings. For more information please contact Paul Rennison on 0843 454 005.
