Monday, September 19th
Royal Lakeside, Blue tees.
1st Jay Mitchell (24) 36 points
2nd Paul Smith (3) 32 points
3rd Les Cobban (9) 28 points
Near pins Gerry Cooney & Paul Smith X 2.
The Royal Lakeside course was in sparkling condition for the first game of the week. It seems that improvements to the course are never-ending and work crews were toiling away again today. In particular, much work is being done on the bunkers which are now amongst the best anywhere,
As always at Lakeside the wind was blowing quite hard at times and with us playing off the blue tees a real challenge was in store which was reflected in the scoring. Only Jay Mitchell managed to return a decent score of thirty-six points to take first place. Paul Smith took second with thirty-two with a further four-point gap to third which was filled by Les Cobban. Gerry Cooney took one near pin and Paul Smith took two.
Whilst it’s a longer than normal drive to Lakeside the all-in fee of fourteen hundred baht plus the quality of the course made the extra travel worthwhile so we are scheduled to make a return visit in a month’s time.
Wednesday, September 21st
Green Valley, White tees
1st Paul Smith (3) 35 points
2nd Mike Smith (21) 32 points
3rd Niall Glover (12) 32 points
Near pins Les Cobban, Michael Brett, & Paul Smith X 2.
Another very pleasant day for golf at Green Valley where once again we found a course in very nice condition. No threat of rain again today and with little or no wind it was perfect for golf.
A few people were hampered slightly by having trainee caddies who were of little to no help, so it was all up to the individuals to make their own decisions about distances, lines for putts, etc. A good caddie can be very helpful whilst a novice caddie can cause a poor mindset for someone who relies heavily on them for distances and reading greens, Green Valley greens have some very subtle breaks that many find hard to read.
Once again Paul Smith took first place today with thirty-five points; he is always in the mix. Mike Smith had one of his better games to take second place on countback from Niall Glover. All the near pins were taken with one each to Les Cobban and Michael Brett and two to Paul Smith.
Friday, September 23rd
Pattana A & C White tees
1st Paul Smith (3) 37 points
2nd Niall Glover (13) 33 points
3rd Ross Schiffke (21) 32 points
Near pins Paul Smith, Niall Glover, & Les Cobban X 2.
On recent visits to Pattana, we played off the yellow tees which in many instances had been moved forward to almost the reds so today we decided to play from the whites, and wouldn’t you know it many of them had also been moved forward to where the yellows should be so it was difficult to know the actual distance we played today.
The course was damp underfoot so we played pick, clean, and drop which turned out to be a wise decision as mud balls were everywhere, as expected there was no run on the fairways.
For the second game in a row, Paul Smith took the winner’s spot with a well-compiled thirty-seven points. Niall Glover took second on thirty-three points. There was a log jam for third with Ross Schiffke taking it on countback. All the near pins were taken, one each to Niall Glover and Paul Smith with Les Cobban taking two.
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