Bunker Boys Golf
Monday, February 21st
Greenwood Golf Club A & B.
1st Les Cobban (12) 39 points
2nd Neil Jones (24) 36 points
3rd Raleigh Gosney (18) 36 points
4th Niall Glover (16) 34 points
Near pins Les Cobban, & Herbert Felder X 3.
On Monday the Bunker Boys drove past five courses offering significantly better deals than Greenwood, which at fifteen hundred and fifty baht all-in is clearly not good value. Greenwood is a favourite course of many but unless we see a return to more reasonable pricing we may be forced to give it a miss. For much of the day, we seemed to be the only ones on the course and with an empty car park surely there is a message there for course management. As always, the course was in decent condition although the fairways on the A nine were in need of a good mowing.
All-day long it seemed just a matter of time before we got drenched. Heavy dark clouds filled the skies, thunder rumbled constantly, and not too far away we could see it raining. However, by some miracle we managed to avoid it and stay dry, one of those days when we just got lucky.
On the whole, scoring was on the low side; however, a couple did manage respectable scores. Top of the heap was Les Cobban who returned a card of thirty-nine points off a twelve handicap. Very high by his standards and we expect to see him return to his more regular handicap shortly.
The ever-consistent Neil Jones came second with thirty-six points and made a huge leap forward in his quest for his first golfer of the month trophy. With just three rounds to play and some low scores to come off, he is well set to make a strong finish to the month.
After a week off, Raleigh Gosney returned to take third place, losing second on countback, with Niall Glover rounding out the winner’s circle on thirty-four points. Making a remarkable debut at the Bunker Boys, Herbert Felder showed great accuracy to take three near pins with the remaining flag going to Les Cobban.
Back at the bar, there was pig on a spit plus a variety of other culinary delights to mark the birthday of our leader Niall Glover, it would be indiscrete to put a number on it, suffice to say he is no longer a teen. Partying went on long into the night with the ladies in particular, enjoying themselves fueled by some red wine courtesy of Paul Smith.
Wednesday, February 23rd
Bangpakong Riverside Country Club
1st Herbert Felder (11) 37 points
2nd Michael Brett (15) 36 points
3rd Paul Smith (4) 35 points
Near pins Gez Williams, Paul Smith, & Graeme Mullins.
The Bunker Boys made a longer than usual trip north Wednesday with a visit to Bangpakong Riverside. Not since pre-Covid days had we made this trip, so it was nice to get back there and renew some old acquaintances. A wide-open course that on the face of it looks easier than it actually is, presents its own challenges, not least the par threes which are some of the longest of any course we play. Since our last visit, the waste areas have been removed and replaced with grass, coupled with a few other alterations making for a much better course. Overall, the course was in excellent condition with well-mown fairways and quite slick greens that ran fast and true.
As usual, Paul Smith was in the reckoning, taking third place with thirty-five points. Second place went to Michael Brett with thirty-six points whilst newcomer Herbert Felder with some massive drives and good course management took first place with thirty-seven points, but no near pins, unlike Monday when he had three. Near pins went to Gez Williams, as usual, Paul Smith, and the newly arrived from Oz Graeme Mullins.
Back at the bar, we had a ringing of the bell in absentia courtesy of the departing Dave Galvin who generously did the deed as he was unable to attend while flying back to the Emerald Isle in the evening. We look forward to his return later in the year when he may once again reprise the heroics of his forty-four points at Silky Oak.
Friday, February 25th
Khao Kheow Golf Club B & C
1st Gez Williams (12) 34 points
2nd Niall Glover (16) 33 points
3rd Paul Smith (4) 33 points
Near pins Neil Jones, Ken Davidson, & Kob Glover X 2.
The last game of the week was played at Khao Kheow B & C in very blustery conditions. This is the second time this year that Khao Kheow was almost unplayable due to very strong wind. Even putting was a challenge as it was difficult to stay balanced over the ball with the buffeting wind.
As usual, the course was in nice condition so no problems on that score. The difficulty posed by the wind was reflected in the scoring which was on the very modest side. Gez Williams took first place with thirty-four points, whilst Niall Glover edged out Paul Smith on countback for second place. A good day for the Glover household with Kob back on the near pin trail taking two with one each going to Neil Jones and Ken Davidson.
The winds of change are blowing through the Bunker Boys lately. Some time ago, Jimmy Carr relinquished his role as daily organiser so Niall Glover stepped in to take that role. Subsequently, Tony Robbins decided it was time for him to pass on the job of booking courses so once again Niall was the man for the job, so Niall has his hands full.
One of the first jobs Niall did was to survey the members on which courses they prefer to play and which they would wish to avoid, taking into account the quality of the course, cost, and distance to travel. Now that the results are in we will see a different roster every month with one signature course included. There are some other changes in the wind that will be announced at the appropriate juncture, stay tuned.
 |
 |
 |
