Pattaya Sports Club Bunker Boys Golf
Monday, October 4th
Green Valley Country Club
1st Niall Glover (18) 43 points
2nd Geoff Atwell (24) 39 points
3rd Michael Brett (13) 35 points
Near pins Geoff Atwell, & Geoff Parker X 2.
A hot humid day for the first game of the week at Green Valley where we had four groups. Could it be that we are coming to the end of the monsoon season when we can enjoy rain-free golf on dry courses? Monday Green Valley was in excellent condition so no excuses due to conditions, even the wind was absent. A measure of how good the course was can be gauged by the fact carts were permitted on the fairways, something very few courses currently allow. Nobody to hold us up, so a nice quick round. It was surprising just how quiet the course was, we virtually had it to ourselves.
For the past couple of months Niall Glover has been threatening to take out golfer of the month and Monday he made a bold statement posting a score of forty-three points to say to everyone else “catch me if you can.” By any measure that was a very fine score.
Geoff Atwell must be paying someone at the PSC as his handicap never seems to move off twenty-four. Every week he seems to post a good score without his handicap being adversely affected; nevertheless, thirty-nine points is a very decent score.
We had to go all the way back to thirty-five points to find third place where Michael Brett edged out Les Cobban on thirty-four. Les missed a very makeable putt by his standards on the last and would have taken third place with a superior back nine.
Three near pins were taken, one going to Geoff Atwell and two to Geoff Parker. The cries grow louder to play Green Valley more often at current rates, much better value, and playing conditions than many inferior courses at higher rates.
Wednesday, October 6th
Pattaya Country Club, White tees.
1st Gerry Cooney (20) 41 points
2nd Jimmy Carr (19) 40 points
3rd Les Cobban (8) 39 points
Near pins Kevin LeBar, Jay Babin, & Les Cobban X 2.
Any notion we had that we were through monsoon season was quickly dispelled on Tuesday night when heavy widespread rain fell over Pattaya and environs through the night and into the morning. Even as we assembled at the first tee at Pattaya Country Club the skies looked dark and menacing and we felt sure we would be rained upon at some stage. However, as the round wore on the skies became clearer and the temperature rose, and with it the humidity.
Despite all the rain, the course was in decent condition with only a few wet spots to contend with here and there. The biggest problem was the greens which were inconsistent in speed and some on the back nine were being sanded as we played. At just under eleven hundred baht all-in the course was very good value.
It seems of late it takes forty points or more to win at the Bunker Boys. Wednesday’s winner Gerry Cooney returned a card of forty-one points off a twenty handicap with which went a big question mark. Also, a question mark over second-placed Jimmy Carr who played off nineteen. Many were asking how Jimmy managed to get such a generous handicap.
The real winner Wednesday was Les Cobban who played a superb round off an eight handicap to record a score of thirty-nine. All facets of his game were on show, he also managed to bag a brace of near pins with Jay Babin and Kevin LeBar taking one each. Jay had his name on three but managed to hold on to only one when Les took pity on him, said he was trying to foster good Scottish/Canadian relations, not sure anyone believed him.
Friday, October 8th
Pattavia Century Golf Club
1st Bob Innes (32) 42 points
2nd Niall Glover (16) 41 points
3rd Geoff Parker (19) 31 points
Near pins Tony Robbins, Niall Glover, Steve Durey, & Michael Brett.
A dull overcast day for our game at Pattavia where we found a very empty course. The weather looked ominous for most of the round but on the fifteenth, it came bucketing down. Fairways and greens were temporarily flooded and a twenty-minute break in play was required. On the resumption with just three holes to play we set off in slight rain and by the end, it was sunshine for the first time in the day.
Making a breakthrough win with the Bunker Boys, Bob Innes not only topped the score sheet but in the process tore up the course with forty-two points. There have been days when Bob struggled to make twenty points but all that was a distant memory Friday.
Continuing his good form of recent times, Niall Glover took second with a very tidy forty-one points, his second forty plus points for the week. Although it’s early days, he is certainly staking his claim for golfer of the month in an emphatic way.
A full ten strokes back we find Geoff Parker in third place with thirty-one points. There were a couple, Kevin LeBar and Gerry Cooney, who flew out of the blocks with two birdies each in the first three holes but that’s where the challenge ended for both. Given thirty-one took third one can see how poorly everyone else played, even Les Cobban who has been flying lately didn’t make an impression.
All the near pins were taken with one each going to Steve Durey, Niall Glover, Tony Robbins, and Michael Brett. Steve Durey’s shot on the third par three could not have been any closer without going in the hole. What a shame to miss an ace by such a slender margin.
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