Monday, October 24
Treasure Hill Golf Club
1st Gary Smith (9) 34 points
2nd Ken Davidson (28) 32 points
3rd Paul Smith (3) 32 points
Near pins Ken Davidson, Gary Smith, & Les Cobban X 2.
Treasure Hill was as tough as ever today, with all the usual obstacles (trees) in place, some would say all the wrong places, the saving grace being the course condition which was very good. Despite it being yet another holiday in Thailand green fees were not too bad when compared to many other courses.
Today we had the pleasure to welcome a first-time visitor to Thailand from Donegal in the Emerald Isle, Sean O Gallchoir playing off an eight handicap. Not only could he play golf but also turned out to be a mean pool player, a skill he demonstrated late in the night being one of the last to leave the bar, if only gambling was allowed in Thailand he would have cleaned up.
Nobody really mastered the course today with the top score being a modest thirty-four points by Gary Smith. Ken Davidson took second on thirty-two albeit from a very generous handicap of twenty-eight beating Paul Smith into third on countback. All the near pins were taken with one each to Ken Davidson and Gary Smith and two to Les Cobban.
A rare sight indeed for Treasure Hill with a huge troupe of monkeys massing on the seventh tee, reminiscent of Bangphra although this lot seemed much more shy and moved away as we approached.
Wednesday, October 26
Green Valley Golf Club
1st Paul Smith (3) 39 points.
2nd Travis Kim (16) 37 points
3rd Mike Smith (20) 36 points
Near pins Richard Baldotto, & Paul Smith X 2.
After a four-year absence, one of the Bunker Boys longest standing members Richard Baldotto made his long-awaited return for today’s game at Green Valley.
We would seem to be through monsoon season now with no threat of rain today and no need for the pick, clean, and drop rule to be applied, although some did experience the odd mudball. Overall the course was in very good condition and some very nice scores were returned.
It seems a matter of time before Paul Smith returns to scratch from his current three handicap. Just missing an eagle putt by a whisker on the first he set a cracking early pace and followed up with three more birdies to top the leaderboard with thirty-nine points. Another likely to receive a cut was second-placed Travis Kim who was in the frame again with a very respectable thirty-seven points.
Mr Consistency Mike Smith took third place with thirty-six points, he is now a regular fixture in the winner’s circle. A very curious pin placement on the extreme right of the green on the third par three must have tricked everyone with nobody from the four groups on the green on what is normally an easy par three. Richard Baldotto got one near pin with as usual Paul Smith taking two.
Today we were finally able to Present Travis Kim with his near-pin trophy after several failed attempts. So far this year we have had four near pins the others being Paul Smith, Raleigh Gosney, and Les Cobban, will we see another by year-end?
Friday, October 28th
Khao Kheow C & A Golf Club
1st Travis Kim (16) 33 points
2nd Neil Griffin (27) 33 points
3rd Gary Smith (9) 32 points
Near pins Neil Jones, Mike Smith, & Paul Smith X 2.
A painfully slow game today at Khao Kheow where we were allocated the C & A nines. We were out behind a group that didn’t have any understanding of speed of play or much golf etiquette and held up the whole field all day. The course was in decent condition apart from the greens which were very slow despite looking quick, not only that they didn’t take any break which meant two and three putts were common resulting in low scores.
Travis Kim took the honours today with a lowly thirty-three points. On hole C 8 where he had a first-ever ace, he went close again today but didn’t sink the birdie putt. Neil Griffin took second place again on thirty-three points of his very generous twenty-seven handicap, surely a cut is coming his way soon. Gary Smith took third a stroke adrift. All the near pins were taken with one each to Neil Jones and Mike Smith, and as usual Paul Smith took two. Normally a very assured putter Paul was another who fell victim to the difficult greens.
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