Monday, June 27th
Pattana A & C Golf Club
1st Les Cobban (7) 40 points
2nd Gary Smith (10) 39 points
3rd Sean Murphy (19) 38 points
4th Niall Glover (13) 38 points
Near pins Gary Smith X 2, & Keith Norman X 2.
A miserable day for golf at Pattana with rain falling for most of the front nine. The course was waterlogged in places so the pick, clean, and place rule was essential. We played off the yellow tees not knowing that about half of them had been moved forward to almost level with the reds, so the course was much shorter than we expected to play, and no doubt this had a huge effect on scores which were very good again. Hard to believe a two-ball held up the whole field for much of the front nine until a few well-chosen words put the skids under them, and they were not seen again.
The Scots, Les Cobban and Gary Smith topped the scoresheet with forty and thirty-nine points respectively. Sean Murphy edged out Niall Glover for third place. All the near pins were taken, shared by Gary Smith and Keith Norman with two each.
Wednesday, June 29th
Silky Oak Golf Club
1st Niall Glover (13) 39 points
2nd Erik Antonen (12) 38 points
3rd Keith Norman (14) 37 points
Near pins Jimmy Carr, Graeme Mullins, Niall Glover, Robby Watts, & Bill Richardson.
The last game of June was played at Silky Oak or as some disparagingly refer to as silly oak. The course was in very good condition despite all the recent rain, but the greens were so hard that it was difficult to hit them and stay on, it was common to see people chipping back from over the greens.
A field of sixteen was a decent number for a course that many describe as quirky and refuse to play. Despite its poor reputation scoring was very good, not as exceptional as earlier this year when Dave Gavin shot a remarkable forty-six points, but still good by any standard. Niall Glover topped the score sheet today with an excellent thirty-nine points, his playing partners marvelled at some of his putting prowess, when his putter is on, he is lethal. Erik Antonen took second place one stroke back while Keith Norman in his last game of this short trip signed off with a very creditable thirty-seven, a score that could have been much better except for a fade-out on the last two holes. Today was also the last game for Sean Murphy before he returns to his native Kilkenny, no doubt to play in the Irish Open. All five near pins were taken going to Bill Richardson, Jimmy Carr, Graeme Mullins, Robby Watts, and Niall Glover.
As always on the last game of the month, we look for the winner of the golfer of the month. At the start of play, Jimmy Carr had a one-stroke lead but had a Barry Croker today and was eliminated virtually from the first hole with two balls in the water. One stroke back and faring not much better Michael Brett had a very mediocre round barely adding to his tally leaving the way clear for Niall Glover to sweep to victory and claim his first trophy of the year in the golfer of the month race. Niall has shown steady improvement in his game since becoming a full-time member late last year taking his handicap from nineteen down to thirteen, he may lose another stroke to handicap after this month.
Friday, July 1st
Pattavia Golf Club
1st Craig Dows (5) 39 points
2nd Robby Watts (8) 37 points
3rd Geoff Parker (19) 32 points
Near pins Craig Dows, Kevin LeBar, & Bill Richardson.
The first game of July was played at Pattavia in warn conditions with no threat of rain. The course was in good condition although the greens were not as quick as we have come to expect, still as tricky as ever with very few if any level putts.
We were instructed to start from the tenth tee although we could see nobody ahead of us on the course, later we were to find out there were two five-balls not too far ahead so starting on the tenth made sense.
Sometimes one draws the short straw with caddies and today it was the turn of Bill Richardsson who got a male, slow, grumpy caddie who was absolutely no help, a less polite golfer would have sent him back to the clubhouse and requested a replacement, apparently his big issue was that he was required to walk.
Overall scoring was poor today with only the Aussies putting in a good effort. Craig Dows took first place with a very well compiled thirty-nine off a five handicap, Craig is a bit of a curate’s egg, either very good or very bad, today all his putts dropped which made a huge difference. Old grumpy guts, Robby Watts had no reason to gristle today with a very decent thirty-seven points to take second while Geoff Parker took third with thirty-two. Three near pins were won by Bill Richardson, Kevin LeBar, and Craig Dows.
We expect to have low numbers early next week with the Aussies taking a quick trip to Kanchanaburi for a couple of days, playing Suwan, Grand Prix, and Evergreen Hills.
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