PSC golf Bunker Boys @ The Ranch
Monday, August 4, Pattaya C.C. – Stableford
We had just a small turnout of golfers today with the majority of the regulars saving their energy for the annual trip to Hua Hin, departing the following day. It was however, a good opportunity for the non-travellers to get some early points in the Golfer of the Month competition, with most of the usual suspects being absent.
Our two groups were allowed to tee off a few minutes early behind another local society, and although the pace of play was slow over the first few holes, it did pick up, and the round was completed in reasonable time.
This was the third time we’ve played here in recent months and the course is improving (although some would say it has a way to go) and the construction of the impressive looking new clubhouse is progressing steadily.
Thomas Nyborg, winner of the 4-day tournament in Hua Hin.
We were welcoming back Dave Keats and Les Burns, but it was Geoff Hart, who was only playing in his fourth game back after a lengthy absence, who took the honours on the day with 34 points. Tony Robbins took second place on a count back ahead of PJ Redmond on 32 points, and Tony also took three of the near pin prizes (Peter Habgood could be seen anxiously looking back at the green to see if his near pin held up on the hole that eluded Tony).
1st Geoff Hart (23) 34pts
2nd Tony Robbins (13) 32pts
3rd P.J. Redmond (28) 32pts
Near Pins: Peter Habgood and Tony Robbins (3).
Tuesday, August 5 – Palm Hills Resort – Stableford
Our group of 12 golfers departed from Pattaya at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, and our first game was scheduled to tee off at 1 p.m. on the Palm Hills Resort and Golf Course which is located about 15km before Hua Hin town.
Unfortunately one of the vehicles (whose driver shall remain nameless, but he insists that he was accompanied by three truly incompetent navigators) took a wrong turn and ended up touring the sites of Bangkok, eventually arriving at the course some two hours later than the rest. Fortunately the course was extremely quiet so all the golfers managed to get away, although the final “lost” group were finishing just as the light began to fade.
The course has a good layout with generous fairways, but the greens are contoured and extremely grainy, thus the consensus of opinion after playing our first round here was that there are much better courses to play in the Hua Hin area.
The winner on the day was Thomas Nyborg with 35 points beating Mashi Kaneta on a count back, with Rab McDonald a point behind taking third place.
Wednesday, August 6, Springfield Royal C.C. – Stableford
The second day of the tournament saw us visiting the Jack Nicklaus designed course at the Springfield Royal Country Club where we were allocated to play the Mountain and Lake nines. We elected to play from the blue tees, which at 6,700 yards provides a very stern test, particularly when playing in a strong breeze as was the case today. The rough here is ‘fluffy’ which means that the ball sits down very low, and any players unfortunate enough to stray from the fairways, found it extremely difficult to recover.
Generally the course was in good condition with the greens running true, and it genuinely provides a true test of golf, but not surprisingly the scores on the day could be described as moderate at best. Colin Greig was the only golfer to play to his handicap and took first place five points clear of Tony Robbins, with Thomas Nyborg a further point behind in third place.
Thursday, August 7, Black Mountain – Medal
The third round of the tournament was designated as a medal competition on the championship course at Black Mountain Golf Club. The fairways and greens were in excellent condition, but as always this is the time of the year when the course carries out major maintenance work, so there were large areas of GUR on the approaches to several greens, and the 10th hole resembled a major construction site being in the process of being redesigned to include new waterfalls and water hazards.
The weather was overcast but pleasant and it’s always a pleasure to play this excellent course which was appreciated by everyone, but none more so than Colin Greig who proceeded to take it apart for the second year running. Colin came back to the clubhouse with a superb score of net 67 (74 gross) but was closely followed by Tony Robbins and Thomas Nyborg, both with net 69, with Tony taking second place on the countback.
Friday, August 8, Imperial Lake View – Stableford
The final day of the four day tournament was held at the Imperial Lake View Resort, with Thomas Nyborg leading the way, holding a six point cushion ahead of the leading contenders who all played together in the final group.
The course was deserted and the leading three-ball (Mike Grasser having dropped out of the competition with a Tiger Woods type back injury) soon disappeared into the distance, eventually coming back into the clubhouse in just under 3 hours.
As the leading group were heading to the locker room a heavy shower of rain descended on the course, leaving our title contenders struggling with some difficult conditions over the closing holes. At least that was their excuse, because none of them performed to their true ability on the day, although Tony Robbins finished in fifth place which was enough to get him within one point of the overall winner Thomas Nyborg (who finished in 10th place!).
Gerry Cooney took the honours on the day with 33 points, one point ahead of a four-way tie on 32 points, with Geoff Parker taking second place ahead of Geoff Cox on the count back.
Overall 4 Day Results
1st Thomas Nyborg (21) 36pts
2nd Tony Robbins (13) 35pts
3rd Colin Greig (7) 31pts
Our usual Near Pin competition was held each day and Lee Butler emerged as the “King of the Pins” taking 8 out of the 16 prizes available over the four days.
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 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 or go to website: www. bunkersociety.com.
