Parichat International Golf Links may not be every golfer’s cup of tea as it is a tricky test of golf for the individual and has one or two quirky holes, but it is an excellent venue for a 4-person Texas scramble (Ambrose for the Aussies)!
A very satisfactory turnout attended the latest Pattaya Sport Club monthly tournament on August 15, given the low number of visitors at this time of year. No doubt many have been affected by the depressed foreign exchange rates which are also changing the playing habits of many the farangs who live here.
The 31 players were welcomed at the clubhouse by Tim and Nigel for a first tee time of 9.10am and apart from a slight scare when a six-ball was lined up outside just before our scheduled start, everything at check-in went smoothly enough, helped after a few words from Jack persuaded the starter to move them to the tenth tee.
The weather was ideal, sunny with some clouds but with a good breeze that kept the temperature very comfortable and paved the way for some very pleasant golfing conditions. There were no delays and generally a good pace of play was seen throughout, most groups finishing in a little over four hours.
Jack met up with his old Outback partner Bob at The Billabong on the Darkside for the presentation, courtesy of owner Sandy; where it was great to see so many of the players come back to enjoy a couple beers, a few stories with good friends and some good food.
The prize giving went ahead shortly after 3.30pm, with Nigel doing the usual opening speech, thankyous and introductions before handing over to Jack, the PSC Golf Chairman for a few words about future events, which included reminders about the Soi Dao trip in October (7th – 9th), with the first closing date for your secured reservation being 7th September.
Nigel then announced the results with Vice President Tim Knight presenting the prizes, and Jack taking the photos.
The winning team, comprising of Gareth, Bob, Simon & Richard were probably the red hot favourites but after seeing them all miss the fairway on the first hole, there was some doubt but with a couple of eagles and a birdie on the last, they just squeezed home by 0.2 of a shot, with 55.5.
In second place came the quartet of Gerald Sweetnam, Michael Anderson, Khalifa Nasser & Don Sinclair with a score of 55.7 while in third came the team comprising John Pierrel, Dick Warberg, Henry Wong and Brian Gabe on 57.2.
Parichat has undergone some surprising changes since it was opened in 2014 and the work done to date under the relatively new management has shown a distinct improvement to the course and facilities.
Priced sensibly with a PSC member card at 1400 baht inclusive of everything Mon to Fri except holidays, it’s well worth another look and gets even better on a Mon & Weds Sport Day for everyone at just 1250 baht. About to be released is their newest promotion, play 5 times get your next game free, anytime of the week or weekends for just 600 baht (caddie & tax) including cart!
 |
 |
 |
