PSC golf Bunker Boys @ The Ranch
Monday, Jan. 21, Plutuluang E&S – Stableford
Another good turnout today, as 35 golfers turned up for the visit to a course which is not top of everyone’s favourites list, although it is top of Skinny and Neil Griffin’s list because the beer’s cheap. However, most players find the cabbage grass on the fairways a bit difficult to deal with.
On arrival at the course we discovered, yet again, that there was a shortage of caddies, but things were eventually sorted out and we set off with a collection of gardeners, cleaners, and various other trades that had never been on a golf course before.
We were offered the choice of playing the North and West, or South and East courses, and after some discussion we elected to play the second pair because our last several visits have been around the North and West nines.
Laughing Les (Burns) heading back to Oz.
It has to be said that even though the course was busy, the round progressed reasonably well, with only a few minor holdups. The course however is showing signs of suffering from the high season, with the fairways drying out, un-raked bunkers and as always, the slow greens.
Cyril Wallwork recorded his first win, in the fifth game of his annual tour, narrowly beating Tony Scambler by a single point. Tony Robbins almost recorded the first hole in one for over a year in the society, but his tee shot only caught the side of the hole and lipped out! Hard luck Tony, but your scribe will be back soon to show you how it’s done!
A Flight
1st Cyril Wallwork (14) 37pts
2nd Tony Scambler (8) 36pts
3rd Geoff Cox (14) 33pts
4th Tony Robbins (12) 32pts
B Flight
1st Mike Corner (19) 36pts
2nd Neil Griffin (28) 34pts
3rd Lars Strom (20) 33pts
4th Peter Habgood (20) 32pts
Near Pins: Gordon Melia, Lars Strom, Raleigh Gosney, and Tony Robbins.
Wednesday, Jan. 23, Royal Lakeside – Stableford
The perfect number of players today as 32 of us set off up the 7 motorway for the trip to Royal Lakeside. Although a few players complain that the trip’s a bit long, we were all at the course within an hour and the always excellent condition and fine layout of the course make the longer trip well worthwhile.
We played off the blue tees, and a couple of the par 4’s and all the par 3’s were playing long, but there was some run on the excellent fairways, so even the shorter hitters had little to complain about.
Keith Norman produced a long overdue fine performance to win the A flight, even with the obviously minor handicap of having 15 stitches in a leg wound over the previous weekend!
The supposedly fitter players could only follow along in Keith’s wake, although Colin Greig and Tony Robbins also produced fine performances and had to be separated on a count back for second and third places.
John Hughes scraped home in the B flight, although back at The Ranch it transpired that Richard Baldotto would have taken first place, but Paul Smith had inadvertently marked Richard’s card incorrectly, depriving him of a vital point – check it before you sign it Richard!
A Flight
1st Keith Norman (12) 40pts
2nd Colin Greig (10) 37pts
3rd Tony Robbins (12) 37pts
4th Gerry Cooney (14) 34pts
B Flight
1st John Hughes (19) 35pts
2nd Richard Baldotto (29) 34pts
3rd Jack Robertson (26) 34pts
4th Lars Strom (23) 32pts
Near Pins: Cyril Wallwork, Marion Melia, Lee Butler and Tore Eliassen
Friday, jan. 25, Greenwood A&B – Stableford
Another 30 plus field headed out to Greenwood, to be greeted on arrival by absolute chaos. Sometimes the management here seem to get things horribly wrong, and today was one of those days, with no caddies available and golfers milling around like lost souls.
Fortunately they came up with the solution of offering a buggy (with no caddy) for 1,400 baht, or walking with prospect of a caddy arriving later, for 1,100 baht. The more money conscious members of the society quickly figured out that no caddy meant no tip, and jumped into the buggies faster than rats up a drainpipe.
The round progressed reasonably well until a thunderstorm arrived as the fifth group reached the eleventh tee. Most players were forced to take shelter for 30 minutes but the leading groups carried on and completed the round. After the storm moved away there was still intermittent light rain for the rest of the day, making the course very damp in places.
Paul Smith mastered the difficult conditions superbly, shooting a level par round for a winning score of 39 points, comfortably ahead of the rest of the field.
With the delayed start and the rain stoppage, some of the later groups struggled to get back to The Ranch in time for the presentation, but eventually Buff and Tony got everything sorted out. We said goodbye today to the ever smiling Les Burns, who’s heading back to Oz for a spell – hurry back Les, we’ll miss you.
A Flight
1st Paul Smith (3) 39pts
2nd Duncan Lee (15) 36pts
3rd Mark Stanley (11) 34pts
4th Cyril Wallwork (14) 34pts
B Flight
1st Dennis Quinn (22) 34pts
2nd Thomas Nyborg (19) 33pts
3rd Gez Williams (17) 33pts
4th Richard Baldotto (29) 32pts
Near Pins: Cyril Wallwork, Thomas Nyborg and Paul Smith
The eleven games played so far this month have produced 10 different winners, so the race for the Golfer of the Month title is wide open, with two remaining games to play. Current leader, Mike Corner, has taken an ill-timed holiday with the wife and will miss the last two games, so the chasing pack have everything to play for.
Note: The Bunker Boys are a PSC affiliated golf society, who now play out of The Ranch bar on Pattaya 3rd Road (in front of the fire station, and almost opposite the Buffalo Bar). We play three times per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, so if you enjoy a fun day out, and a friendly but competitive golf competition why not come and join us.
We meet at The Ranch at 9 a.m. for breakfast and transportation, and new players are always welcome. Contact Buff on 086 046 5091 or 080 605 5663 for all enquiries. You can find all the news, schedules and results on our website at www.bunker society.com.
