The IPGC Monthly Medals Report January 2012
Wednesday, January 4, Mountain Shadow (Blue Tees)
CSS 73
Division 1 (0-12)
(Stroke play)
1st Garry Olliffe (12) net 70
2nd Barney Sheedy (11) net 71
3rd Adi Mayer (6) net 71
Division 2 (13+)
(Stableford)
1st Paul Chabot (26) 45pts
2nd Willy Van Heetvelde (27) 39pts
3rd Tom Atkins (13) 34pts
2’s: Ron Miller, Fred Land, Tom Atkins, Garry Olliffe, Barney Sheedy, Paul Chabot, Alan Griffiths
This month’s IPGC Medals were held over the always difficult Mountain Shadow course that had been reputedly designed and built for players with 15 handicaps and below, and not recommended for those with handicaps higher than that. With a strong breeze blowing for most of the day, it was therefore little surprise that the scores for the day were mostly higher than the participants would have wished for, excepting that two players in the second division outshone all the reputedly better golfers with outstanding rounds of golf that they will surely long remember.
In the second division, which was playing for the Medal under the Stableford system, Paul Chabot had what must have been a dream day, as he went out in 22 points and back in 23 to sweep to the top of the leader board and in the process not only win the first medal of the year but a four shot reduction in handicap. This reduction exactly matches the number of strokes he lost over the whole of the previous year which had seen his handicap work down steadily from 30 to 26, underlining how well he had performed on the day.
Garry Olliffe (left) receives his Division 1 winner’s prize from Stephen Beard.
Willy van Heetvelde almost overshadowed the winner’s accomplishments with a stunning 25 points going out but then slipped badly over the closing holes and had to settle for a well deserved second place.
Tom Atkins, having only just arrived from a year at work in the UK and not quite managing to match the leading pair, still did just enough to claim third place with a round a couple of strokes above his handicap.
The first division was a much closer affair with Garry Olliffe winning by the narrowest of margins by one stroke, after having declared a two shot reduction in his handicap prior to starting off the round, thereby giving a great example of what golf is all about.
Barney Sheedy, another recent arrival but this time from the Emerald Isle, started out very slowly but picked up the pace over the back nine to win a count back over Adi Mayer with a better 33.5 to 38, as Adi had matched Barney’s inward score on the outward half but sadly faded as the pressure mounted over the last three holes and had to be satisfied with third place for the day.
Paul Chabot (left) was the winner in Division 2.
Every month the presentations are held at one of the IPGC venues in rotation, this month’s being held at The Haven, where as usual an open buffet had been laid on for the participants for two hours prior to the presentations.
After thanking the golf organizers, Len Jones, Russell Exley, Glyn Evans and Steve Mascari for promoting the day and then the catering and service staff at The Haven for the magnificent spread, Stephen Beard handed over to Russell who acted as the Emcee for the evening with Stephen presenting the Medals and prizes to the winners.
As usual following the prize giving there were over twenty lucky draw prizes supplied from the club funds to be won by members attending the evening festivities.
More information can be obtained regarding golf with the International Pattaya Golf Club (IPGC) by visiting the web site at www.ipgc.org.
