IPGC Pattaya Golf Society at The Links Bar
On Monday 11th April the Pattaya Golf Society visited Phoenix for the first time since before the high season began and more importantly since the reopening of the Lakes nine.
The moderate pre-Songkran field started on the Mountain nine which was in good condition and proceeded to the revamped back nine which took some of the older hands by surprise. The addition of some new fairway bunkers with their high faces and overfilled with soft sand created problems. Some of the greens had been redesigned with slopes and levels and in some cases reduced in size but the four-five switch in the middle of the nine led to some frustration. The new Lakes sixth hole, a par five with a wickedly threatening tee shot made a mockery of the SI of 16. The third easiest hole, allegedly, saw a total of eight points scored from fifteen golfers and shows that a readjustment of the indexing system is needed.
Scenic views at Phoenix Gold.
There were four birdie ‘2’s with Russell Exley, Mark Stubbing, Mike Wilsher and Dave Heyes sharing the spoils.
In third place Derrick Kumar scored 34 points, one behind Mr Len with 35 in second. The winner was Mike Wilsher, often recently in the frame in his Monday golf and his 37 points brought back memories of when he was much lower in the lists. Good on you Mike!
The Booby Bevy went to Dave Heyes for the second consecutive round after arriving late at The Links and having to organise a taxi to the course, his cold draught as much a reward for his steadfast support of the group as for anything to do with his round. Well done Dave indeed.
Boss high and dry
The first day of Songkran saw the Pattaya Golf Society escape the potential mayhem of Pattaya for the relative calm of an empty Crystal Bay and played a stableford competition over the C and B nines, which were in reasonable condition but very dry indeed. Any bare lie was a tight lie and those with a strong iron game held the advantage. Greens were fine but the C nine greens were a little slower than the back nine.
Results saw birdie ‘2’s recorded by Karl Flood and Mr Len and the competition proper had Dave Heyes in third place with 33 points and Karl Flood holding second with 36. The winner, with his first sub-par round of the year, was Mr Len and his 40 point card could have been much better had he not left a ball up a coconut tree on the final hole, thereby resulting in a blank.
The Booby Bevy went to Mike King for his large split figures having shared the lead after nine holes but tailed away badly over the closing nine.
Crystal Bay had been an island of peace for few hours but at the end of the round reality dawned with the first of many dousings on Soi Buakhao later that evening. Now if the authorities could transfer all the dousings to the golf courses it would keep everyone happy, golfers and others.
Thompson rediscovers form after break
The Pattaya Golf Society ended its’ week with a visit to Pleasant Valley to play a stableford competition on a course which was in good condition with well grassed fairways. Greens were a little inconsistent however.
The group was small – typical of Songkran week – but contained enough quality to provide an excellent tussle and Malaysia’s Derrick Kumar and Karl Flood held down second place with 31 points each. Having endured a back problem for a week or so Stu Thompson’s golf exercises had been limited to a few dozen chips a day and it paid dividends as his short game was spot on around the greens, giving him his best round for a long time. His 38 points was a relief after the frustrations of the past few weeks.
There were no birdie ‘2’s and the Booby Bevy was held back in the absence of the beneficiary. With Soi Buakhao resembling a war zone who can blame a golfer for lying low until darkness descends, or even later, in Pattaya’s maddest week of the year.
